[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"core\/picturefill,entity_embed\/caption,views\/views.ajax,views\/views.module","theme":"hrw_design","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"views":{"ajax_path":"\/views\/ajax","ajaxViews":{"views_dom_id:blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__304139__en":{"view_name":"blog_live_feed","view_display_id":"blog_body_block","view_args":"304139","view_path":"\/blog\/content\/304139","view_base_path":null,"view_dom_id":"blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__304139__en","pager_element":0}}},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"0ae5601d8790ff50fca3cf23b9ac9170285f2f75823ebdc8d9cc054bc03a679b"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":"\u003Clink rel=\u0022stylesheet\u0022 media=\u0022all\u0022 href=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_reI-6YIYy-k9pvxm-gaCRrn5cSrTZRtyAMrp4YXDUJw.css\u0022 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class=\u0022figure figure--expand text-center\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__media relative inline-block mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/modal\/31996\u0022 rel=\u0022modal:open\u0022 class=\u0022figure__link\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg srcset=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/480w\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/crg_drc0524.jpg?itok=7iXfhHOJ 480w, \/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/crg_drc0524.jpg?itok=4_KP10PK 850w\u0022 sizes=\u0022(max-width: 524px) 100px, 500px\u0022 data-responsive-image-style=\u0022embedded_images\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/crg_drc0524.jpg?itok=4_KP10PK\u0022 width=\u0022850\u0022 height=\u0022551\u0022 alt=\u0022\u00a9 Congo Research Group\/Bureau d\u2019\u00c9tudes, de Recherches, et Consulting International (BERCI) \u00a9 Congo Research Group\/Bureau d\u2019\u00c9tudes, de Recherches, et Consulting International (BERCI)\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022 typeof=\u0022foaf:Image\u0022 \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__expand absolute block bottom-0 right-0 w-8 h-8 bg-white text-gray-700\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022sr-only\u0022\u003EClick to expand Image\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022icon fill-current w-full inline-block\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg viewbox=\u00220 0 20 20\u0022 fill=\u0022currentColor\u0022 role=\u0022img\u0022 focusable=\u0022false\u0022 aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/hrw_design\/dist\/app-drupal\/assets\/spritemap.svg?cacheBuster=#sprite-expand\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022figure__info text-left font-serif text-xs md:text-sm lg:text-base mx-auto text-gray-700 mt-1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__credit\u0022\u003E\u00a9 Congo Research Group\/Bureau d\u2019\u00c9tudes, de Recherches, et Consulting International (BERCI) \u00a9 Congo Research Group\/Bureau d\u2019\u00c9tudes, de Recherches, et Consulting International (BERCI)\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#13;\n\tThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/congoresearchgroup.org\/crgberci-poll-a-troubled-transition-in-the-dr-congo\/\u0022\u003Epoll\u003C\/a\u003E by the New York University-based \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/congoresearchgroup.org\/\u0022\u003ECongo Research Group\u003C\/a\u003E and a Congolese polling agency, the Bureau d\u2019\u00c9tudes, de Recherches, et Consulting International (BERCI), found that 77 percent of the 2,301 people surveyed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in February and April 2017 shared that gloomy outlook.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#13;\n\tOther results included:\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E69 percent said President Joseph Kabila should have resigned at the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit on December 19, 2016;\u003C\/li\u003E\u0026#13;\n\t\u003Cli\u003E83 percent support the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/democratic-republic-congo-crisis#blog-298259\u0022\u003Epolitical agreement\u003C\/a\u003E struck on December 31 to overcome the country\u2019s political impasse;\u003C\/li\u003E\u0026#13;\n\t\u003Cli\u003EThe Catholic Church, which \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/democratic-republic-congo-crisis#blog-296080\u0022\u003Emediated\u003C\/a\u003E the deal, enjoys an 84 percent approval rating;\u003C\/li\u003E\u0026#13;\n\t\u003Cli\u003EIn February, 72 percent of respondents blamed the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/democratic-republic-congo-crisis#blog-299587\u0022\u003Epolitical impasse\u003C\/a\u003E on Kabila\u2019s ruling coalition, while 27 percent blamed the Rassemblement opposition coalition.\u003C\/li\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe New Year\u2019s Eve agreement includes a commitment that presidential elections will be held by the end of 2017, and no attempts would be made to hold a referendum or change the constitution to allow the president to run for a third term.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#13;\n\tSince the agreement was signed, members of the ruling coalition have repeatedly invoked the possibility of holding a referendum. Soon after the deal was signed, senior officials from Kabila\u2019s ruling coalition \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.radiookapi.net\/lu-sur-le-web\/en-rdc-le-clan-kabila-accepte-la-transition-sous-reserve\u0022\u003Esaid\u003C\/a\u003E they had signed the agreement \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.radiookapi.net\/lu-sur-le-web\/en-rdc-le-clan-kabila-accepte-la-transition-sous-reserve\u0022\u003Ewith reservations\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d and some \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/democratic-republic-congo-crisis#blog-298918\u0022\u003Easserted\u003C\/a\u003E the agreement wasn\u2019t constitutional because it explicitly prevents a referendum to change the constitution. In late January, an anonymous source close to Kabila \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.jeuneafrique.com\/398251\/politique\/dialogue-rd-congo-blocages-persistent-lhypothese-referendum-refait-surface\/\u0022\u003Etold\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Cem\u003EJeune Afrique \u003C\/em\u003Ethat the \u201chypothesis [of a referendum] has to be seriously discussed.\u201d On April 16, the North Kivu provincial president of the moderate opposition party Union of Nationalists (UNANA) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.politico.cd\/encontinu\/2017\/04\/17\/parti-de-lopposition-veut-referendum-a-place-elections.html\u0022\u003Ecalled\u003C\/a\u003E for the holding of a referendum instead of elections by the end of the year, in light of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/democratic-republic-congo-crisis#blog-300008\u0022\u003Ebudgetary constraints\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#13;\n\tMost recently, on May 13, 2017, the ruling coalition\u2019s spokesperson Andr\u00e9 Alain Atundu \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.radiookapi.net\/2017\/05\/15\/emissions\/dialogue-entre-congolais\/referendum-un-droit-du-peuple-selon-la-majorite#sthash.xVco18C1.dpuf\u0022\u003Ecalled\u003C\/a\u003E on the country\u2019s political class not to take away the \u201cright [of the Congolese people] to express themselves through a referendum,\u201d following a meeting of the coalition in Kinshasa. In recent weeks, T\u00e9l\u00e9 50, a pro-government television station, has been showing advertisements with images of violence in several African countries, including Congo, juxtaposed by images of seemingly peaceful referenda in neighboring Republic of Congo and\u00a0Rwanda. The narrator states that people in these countries \u201cprivileged their homelands.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#13;\n\tThe poll also found that the youth movement Struggle for Change (LUCHA) enjoys a 65 percent approval rating, as government repression against the group continues. On May 15, four LUCHA members were \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/actualite.cd\/2017\/05\/15\/mbuji-mayi-4-militants-de-lucha-aux-arrets-reclame-publication-calendrier-electoral\/\u0022\u003Earrested\u003C\/a\u003E in front of the office of the electoral commission (CENI) in Mbuji-Mayi, Kasai Oriental province, during a peaceful protest calling for publication of the electoral calendar. They were released on May 21. Fourteen members of another youth movement, Collectif 2016, were arrested on May 17, while protesting bad road conditions in their neighborhood in Kinshasa. Thirteen were released two days later, while one of the activists, Rossy Mukendi, is still being held at a military intelligence detention center in Kinshasa, without access to his family or lawyer.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#13;\n\tA large majority \u2013 72 percent \u2013 of all survey respondents said they approved of the targeted sanctions \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/democratic-republic-congo-crisis#blog-297602\u0022\u003Eimposed\u003C\/a\u003E by the United States and European Union against senior government and security force officials last year. The EU and US are discussing \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/democratic-republic-congo-crisis#blog-300811\u0022\u003Enew sanctions\u003C\/a\u003E, which might be announced in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-eu-congo-sanctions-idUSKBN18K16E\u0022\u003Ecoming days\u003C\/a\u003E or weeks.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#13;\n\tThe CRG\/BERCI poll provides a rare and insightful glimpse into Congolese public opinion. The poll suggests that there would be strong public support for salvaging the New Year\u2019s Eve deal and ensuring the organization of credible presidential elections by year\u2019s end, while there might be considerable opposition to a referendum process to change the constitution.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null}]