Can Congo’s Roman Catholic bishops break the country’s dangerous political impasse?

At the request of President Joseph Kabila, Catholic bishops began consultations this week with opposition and civil society groups, seeking, as one of the bishops told us, a consensus that would prevent violence after December 19, the date President Kabila is constitutionally required to relinquish his office.

The talks have included groups that refused to participate in or rejected the recently concluded “national dialogue,” which would allow Kabila to stay in power at least until April 2018.

Previously, the Catholic Church’s Conference of Episcopal Bishops in Congo (CENCO) urged politicians to renegotiate the national dialogue’s conclusions and ensure that presidential elections are held in 2017. “It is imperative that it be clearly mentioned in the consensus...that the current president of the republic not stand for a third term,” the statement said.

Given its standing and popular support, the Catholic church’s shuttle diplomacy has the potential to help avert a large-scale crisis in the coming weeks. The fact that Kabila requested CENCO’S involvement is a positive sign, and is in line with last week’s call by leaders from the region for all sides to reinforce confidence-building measures.

But for any gesture of goodwill to be credible, it needs to be accompanied by steps to end the repression of activists and opposition supporters and allow for peaceful protest.

That’s not happening. About 15 members of the UDPS opposition party were arrested on Tuesday – the latest in a slew of arbitrary arrests – soon after several thousand people gathered for a burial ceremony of six UDPS party members. They had been killed during protests in Kinshasa on September 19-21, when security forces responded with excessive force, killing at least 56 people. The UDPS members were arrested while riding a public bus home from the funeral service and detained overnight before being released earlier today. Authorities claimed they been arrested because they didn’t pay the bus fare.

Meanwhile, the six members of the Filimbi pro-democracy youth movement who had been arrested were released today after paying significant fines. The five arrested on Saturday have been charged with rebellion and participating in an insurrectional movement – all for organizing a peaceful sit-in with about 30 people. A colleague arrested Monday after bringing food to his friends and taking photos as they were being transferred to the prosecutor’s office has been charged with incitement to civil disobedience.

In Goma, the three activists from the youth movement Struggle for Change (LUCHA), arrested on October 24, remain in the central prison. They were arrested after trying to mobilize students to participate in a peaceful demonstration in support of a roadmap to overcome the country’s political crisis, which calls on Kabila to leave office by December 19.

The opposition coalition known as the “Rassemblement” announced it will organize a public meeting this Saturday, despite a ban announced by Kinshasa’s provincial government on holding any political public meetings. Human rights organizations, including the African Association for the Defense of Human Rights (ASADHO) and the Voice of the Voiceless (VSV), have denounced the ban as an illegal measure in violation of the country’s own laws and constitution.