Can a solution to persistent conflict in the eastern DRC be found Essay - 1

Can a solution to persistent conflict in the eastern DRC be found through addressing 'local antagonisms' and 'local grievances', as Severine Autesserre suggests - Essay Example Instead of seeking long term solutions, Autesserre (2008) argues, these peace finders have only been making temporary peace trials after which conflicts emerge again. Their role has been to treat the wounds but not focusing on terminating the causative agents once and for all. Autesserre (2008), after providing a comprehensive history of wars and conflicts in the Eastern Provinces of Congo, suggests that permanent solutions can only be found if local antagonisms and grievances are addressed. Autesserre brings forward the view that those intervening have mistaken locally triggered turbulence as a national and or international issue whereof only humanitarian interventions for temporary healing of the casualties have been imposed. This paper attempts to argue in line Autesserre’s standing. The discussion critically addresses the nature of the problem in Congo – as explained by various authors – to estimate the truth in Autesserre’s suggestions. Later, the study defines what exactly the government of Congo needs to ensure local issues – as raised by Autesserre (2008) – are successful tools in pacifying Eastern Congo. The arguments are made in realization that, anyhow, there must be some solution, a unique solution (Yenyi, 2010). In the previous efforts to bring peace in the Congo, there have been various challenges and mammoth spending but in the end, the war starts all over again. It is obvious there are roots to the intermittent animosity that keeps recurring, much to the loss of many lives on a daily basis, loss of properties, misappropriation of natural resources, and the general deterioration of humanity. Therefore, all indications point to the prevalence of speci fic causes of violence that have never been addressed, or at least the wrong approaches have been in use. So the problem is extraordinary and as so, it will call for extraordinary measures as suggested in Autesserre findings (2008). Certainly, Autesserre’s idea is appealing,