South Kivu bishop prevented from landing in Goma

Civil society groups in South Kivu have condemned the refusal by the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) to allow the South Kivu bishop Emmanuel Kataliko to disembark from his plane in Goma on Saturday. Sources in the region told IRIN he has since gone to his home area of Bunia, after the RCD declared him persona non grata, accusing him of "preaching ethnic hatred". In an interview with rebel-controlled Goma
radio on Monday, RCD vice-president Jean-Pierre Ondekane said the bishop was "calling his flock to violence". He alleged the bishop had called on the people to rise against the authorities and had urged civil disobedience in RCD-controlled territory. RCD spokesman Kin-Key Mulumba added that his group was responsible for maintaining peace in that part of
the country. "In that respect we cannot allow the bishop to go around telling people to kill others," he told IRIN. "The Catholic church has a history of promoting genocide in this region and we do not want to take chances. Eventually the bishop will be free to come back when we politically control the situation."