Washington warns of hate media in east

The US on Wednesday warned that it had received reports of “extremist literature and radio broadcasts” advocating hate and violence in eastern DRC. It described this as “a dangerous development” that further threatened peace in the Great Lakes region. Secretary of State spokesman James Rubin called on all regional religious, civil society, political, and private sector leaders “to cease provocative language and actions that may inflame inter-ethnic tensions, and to work for peace and intercommunal reconciliation in the context of an overall peace settlement”. Rubin also complained about the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) preventing Bishop Kataliko of Bukavu from returning to his diocese. Kataliko’s continued confinement at Butembo, North Kivu, “serves to heighten emotions and exacerbate tensions in opposition-controlled areas of eastern Congo, particularly in South Kivu,” Rubin said.