20120102
AFP
DR Congo opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who has declared himself president-elect after disputed elections last month, insisted Saturday there was no crisis in the troubled country.

"There is absolutely no crisis at the head of the Congo, not at all," the 79-year-old head of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDSP) told reporters at his residence in Kinshasa.

Incumbent President Joseph Kabila was declared the winner of the November 28 election with almost 49 percent of the vote ahead of Tshisekedi, who took just over 32 percent, but the election was marred by fraud allegations.

Tshisekedi had himself sworn in by his aides and followers at his Kinshasa home on December 23, three days after Kabila took the oath of office for a second term at the helm of the giant central African nation.

There had been fears that the dispute would trigger widespread violence but protests by supporters of frustrated challenger Tshisekedi were contained and a wider flare-up averted.

"To govern, two things are necessary. First, legitimacy, and I already have this legitimacy from the Congolese people. The second thing I need is command, that is to say the forces of law and order," Tshisekedi said.

"Things will get sorted," he added. But the security forces needed time to "understand that legitimacy has changed its place. It is no longer Kabila but Tshisekedi" who is leading the country.

"Once in command, I will start working," he said.

Tshisekedi had called on the army and the police to pay allegiance to him when he announced that he would be sworn in on December 23 at Kinshasa's Martyrs stadium, a venue from which he was barred after security forces broke up rallies of his followers nearby.

Dozens of police officers have been deployed in the district where Tshisekedi lives to stop rallies, and several people have been arrested.

On Thursday police chief General Charles Bisengimana, Interior Minister Aldophe Lumanu and opposition leaders including Albert Moleka, Tshisekedi's chief of staff, negotiated a reduction of police forces in the area.

General Bisengimana told AFP that after an agreement had been reached "the UDSP leader can (again) be visited -- his aides, politicians and any citizen who wants to see him can see him".

But earlier Saturday several Tshisekedi supporters who wanted to meet Tshisekedi on New Year's Eve, as well as journalists, were stopped.

"We have to make checks because if anyone goes in and kills Mr Tshisekedi, ... they will say the police did it," an officer told AFP.

Tshisekedi meanwhile said he was a free man. "I know that if I want to go out, no one will stop me. But this is not the time for provocations. I keep my calm," he said.