Editor,

After reading The New Times yesterday, I found out that attacks by the FDLR on the population of the Eastern Democratic Republic Congo have drastically reduced in the past months. The publication quoted Congolese army spokesman, Capt. Olivier Hamuli.

This decrease in the number of attacks shows that the pressure currently being mounted on the rebel movement has really worked.

This is surely a result of the cooperation between the three countries of Rwanda, Congo and Burundi which form the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL). The member states of CEPGL had agreed to maintain military pressure on FDLR rebels in eastern of DRC.

Therefore this reduction in civilian deaths is hard evidence that the Community isn’t merely a paper tiger, but rather one that can bite as well.

I therefore want to encourage the member states to continue hitting the FDLR hard until they completely surrender.

Linda Kayitesi
Kampala