Kinshasa, Dec 29 (Prensa Latina) General Sylvain Ekenge, spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), was suspended over making discriminatory remarks toward the country's Tutsi community.

The Congolese Press Agency (ACP, in French) informed that the measure stems from comments made by the general during an interview on Congolese national radio and television (RTNC) this weekend, in which he promoted the “supremacy” of a segment of the population.

Among the issues addressed by Ekenge was that Congolese men should not marry Tutsi women, whom he described as Rwandan intelligence agents.

These statements were widely disseminated and exploited by Rwandan officials in a context of persistent tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali, reinforcing the image of a Congolese State that does not protect its citizens equally, precisely as Rwanda and the rebels allege.

The Congo River Alliance-March 23 Movement (AFC/M23) issued a statement describing the comments as “genocidal propaganda” and saying they are part of a “persistent pattern, consistent with the final stage of preparations for genocide, directed against Congolese Tutsis in general, and against women and children in particular.”

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