Having endured the ignominy of having to hack into my own blog, I’m pleased to wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful 2008, wherever you live, and notwithstanding the grim news from Pakistan.
News from eastern Congo is mixed. A conference on ‘peace, security and development’ is to be held in Goma from January 6th. It’s better to talk than fight, but Congolese commentators are sceptical, and ongoing forced recruitment of children by armed groups suggests that they are not about to change their ways.
Hotel owners will certainly profit from the conference, as 500 or more delegates plus press and entourage descend on a town that boasts, I believe, around 250 hotel rooms. Ironically, many of the smartest hotels in Goma pay ‘taxes’, willingly or unwillingly, to Laurent Nkunda’s rebels.
The merry-go-round continues.