Martinus Kabemba: “National dialogue must not whitewash those who take up arms”

Lawyer and political figure Martinus Kabemba says inclusive national dialogue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must not absolve those who take up arms against state institutions. A member of the presidium of the Bloc patriotique coalition, he made the remarks on Radio Okapi on October 22 during a program about reactions to the creation of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), led by former president Joseph Kabila. Founded on October 12, the FRN prompted reactions in the DRC and abroad: the African Union rejected seizures of power by force and backed dialogue, while European lawmaker Hilde Vautmans urged the EU to consider targeted sanctions.