Democratic congressional aides said they expected to add more
co-sponsors for the resolution after Congress returns from its Memorial
Day recess on June 6.
Joseph
Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N.
headquarters in New York September 25, 2014.
U.S. senators called on President Barack Obama's
administration on Friday to impose targeted sanctions on officials in
the Democratic Republic of Congo responsible for violence and rights
violations amid rising political tensions.
Hoping to increase pressure on the government of President Joseph Kabila, three of Obama's fellow Democrats, senators Richard Durbin, Edward Markey and Christopher Murphy,
said on Friday they had introduced a Senate resolution this week
calling on Kabila's government to fulfill its constitutional mandate for
a democratic transition of power late this year.
They
called for targeted sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes,
until Kabila publicly commits to a peaceful transition of power.
Their
action reflected growing international worry over the situation in the
African nation. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on
Wednesday voiced concern about reports of rising political tension due
to uncertainty about the presidential election. [L2N18M1T3]
Dozens
of Kabila critics have been arrested since last year as part of what
the United Nations and rights groups say is an escalating crackdown on
political dissent ahead of a presidential election scheduled for
November.
Kabila is ineligible to stand for
re-election after serving two elected terms, but opponents accuse him of
trying to delay the poll to hold onto power. Congo's highest court
ruled last week that the president could stay in power if elections did
not occur by the end of his mandate.
On Thursday, a
protester and a police officer were killed in Goma, in the eastern part
of the country, during protests against a possible elections delay. The
United Nations said dozens of people were arrested.
Opposition leaders accuse Kabila of stalling the vote in order to extend his 15-year rule, which the president denies.
Democratic
congressional aides said they expected to add more co-sponsors for the
resolution after Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess on June
6.
There is bipartisan support for U.S. action to address the situation.
Republican
Senator Jeff Flake, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee's
Africa subcommittee, told Reuters in a brief interview this week that he
felt sanctions would be appropriate and had discussed them with U.S.
State Department officials.
"Hopefully we're
together on this," Flake said. "I think we will be. We just want to make
sure that whatever we do, pushes in the right direction."
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