from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
DRC Bureau
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – SOME youths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are planning protests against their country’s diplomatic relations with France.
The strike action by the National Youth Council (abbreviated as CNJ locally) adds to the apprehension in the volatile Central African country.
Protests are planned for Tuesday in the capital, Kinshasa.
The march is scheduled to begin near the Palais du Peuple (Palace of the People), which is the seat of the National Assembly, and to end near the French embassy.
The main action is to demand the DRC’s withdrawal from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), an international organisation of French-speaking countries.
A spokesperson of the CNJ said the protesters planned to deliver memoranda in that regard to Prime Minister Judith Suminwa and to the French embassy
Prevailing sentiment is that France maintains dominance over its former colonies despite granting independence.
DRC, the former Zaire, which attained independence in 1960, is the largest Francophone nation, with over 110 million people.
Sources forecast heightened security in Kinshasa, especially near the French embassy, ahead of and during the protest.
Administrative service disruptions are likely, as well as road travel disruptions.
A leading think-tank predicted clashes between police and demonstrators as well as protesters engaging in acts of violence, including arson and vandalism.
The resources-rich DRC is the latest country in Africa bedeviled by anti-French sentiment after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
– CAJ News