contents

EDITORIAL 2 by Vasu Gounden

FEATURES 3 Resolving Land Disputes in by Jenny Theron

11 Effectively Confronting a Regional Threat: Somali Piracy by Brian Wilson

19 The Challenges of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Africa by Rachel Stohl and Doug Tuttle

27 Explaining the December 2008 Military Coup d’État in Guinea by Issaka K. Souaré

34 Migration and Xenophobia in South Africa by Christy McConnell

41 Reconciliation, Truth and Justice: Confronting the Dilemmas by Tendaiwo Peter Maregere

48 Questioning Reintegration Processes in Northern Uganda by Grace Maina

BOOK 55 The Resolution of African Conflicts: The Management of Conflict Resolution and Post-conflict Reconstruction REVIEW by Sadiki Koko

conflict trends I 1 editorial

by vasu gounden

In the last nine months, there have been several effects of war on their economies. Both countries are major armed crises in the world. These crises included currently pursuing ambitious development agendas the massive onslaught of Russian forces against from very low economic bases. Any further disruption Georgian forces, the Sri Lankan government forces of their economies now will plunge them into deeper against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) crises and prolong their development plans by several rebels, Israeli forces against the forces of Hamas, decades. and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Pragmatic solutions that are based on mutual government forces against the National Congress benefit, interests and needs are necessary today. In for the Defence of the People (CNDP) forces of rebel the current global economic crisis, the world cannot leader, General Laurent Nkunda. These crises do not afford to resort merely to costly military means to signify a good beginning to the year 2009, nor are they resolve conflicts. Our first response must be to engage positive indicators of – and for – conflict resolution. in dialogue and to seek political solutions. Military Each of these cases have been characterised by interventions, if at all necessary, must complement a significant number of casualties, and none of the dialogue and political solutions. conflicts – except for that involving the DRC – seem It is, therefore, refreshing to observe the United any closer to being resolved. On the contrary, these States’ (US) new policy commitment to move away onslaughts may have served to harden attitudes and from military solutions as a first response, and entrench the positions of the hardliners on all sides. towards dialogue and political solutions instead. There This means that prospects of resolving these conflicts is no doubt that the US is a major participant in the are fading, and we will likely be facing protracted global military industry – as a protagonist in conflicts conflicts in these regions. like those in Iraq and Afghanistan, or as a supplier The DRC, however, may be a notable exception. of weapons to countries such as Israel. The current The reason for this is the major step that was taken by rapprochement between Russia and the US also the governments of Rwanda and the DRC to negotiate bodes well for global stability, since Russia is also a their differences. The government of Rwanda accused major supplier of weapons in the world, as well as a the DRC government of arming members of the former protagonist in regional conflicts. Armed Forces of Rwanda, who allegedly committed Such efforts must also be complemented by genocide in Rwanda and then fled to the DRC. The DRC other major global players, such as China and India, government, on the other hand, accused the Rwandan so that there is a global reduction in arms manufacture government of arming General Nkunda’s forces. Both and supply, armed conflict, and armed or military governments denied the respective accusations. By interventions, and a greater emphasis placed on means of negotiations in December 2008, the two dialogue instead. This requires that there be a r