The Ugandan libertarian journalist opines: "Without rebuilding the capabilities of
the Congolese state, there is very little diplomatic engineering and
political blame-game that can stop widespread atrocities against
innocent civilians. Indeed, the main cause of atrocities in most of
Congo is the lack of discipline among the armed forces. This is partly
because the army in Congo is a collection of many militias. The central
government often negotiates a truce with a militia controlling a given
territory and integrates them into its army. But such agreements (as
the one with the M23) have proved tenuous because Kinshasa often fails
to keep its part of the bargain. And in mineral rich regions, the
militias may do better retaining territorial control than ceding power
to Kinshasa. Thus, these alliances keep changing, thereby causing
uncertainty and violence."
He continues: "To resolve the problems of Congo needs a
much more skilled politician [that President Joseph Kabila] – a leader who will understand that the
problems of his country are largely domestically generated and the
solution is not human rights advocacy. He will have to examine the
internal sources of tension and place the search for internal political
accommodation above the need to please poorly informed, albeit
genuinely motivated outsiders. In doing this, that leader will need to
draw lessons from Rwanda, Uganda, Mozambique and South Africa."
Andrew Mwenda Op-Ed: Dealing With The Congo Question
