So, after the summit in Kampala, the leaders agree: there must be a neutral, international force deployed in eastern DRC to ensure peace and stability. However, one big question must be asked: will this help?
Given the history of the Kivus, another military force could be petrol on top of a burning fire. Then again, how else can M23 be kept at bay? Force seems to be the only language that rebel groups understand. But, in the future, when/if these rebels give up (be they M23, FDLR, or others) how does one treat the post-traumatic stress disorder, the bitterness, the ethnic tensions? Ethnicity is a huge problem in the Kivus; many Kinyarwanda-speaking people probably feel threatened by anti-Rwanda backlashes thanks to M23 activity in the area. That's right: Rwanda's militarism and cross-border smuggling could be threatening its own people.
Anyway, for the moment, the Great Lakes region leaders agree on the military solution for the military problem. A good story by the East African on the Kampala summit can be found here. Good luck Great Lakes leaders! Oh, and the people in the region, I hope you survive the skirmishes--at present and in the future. You are, to me and your leaders, a mere afterthought.
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