Any analysis aimed at coming up with strategies to positively transform a confl ict has fi rst to identify all the actors involved and interests pursued, either individually or collectively. This rule applies best to protracted confl icts like the one under scrutiny. In this research study, Ladislas Bizimana tries to answer the most fundamental question: Who has been doing what, why, how in the bloody confl ict that continues to plunge the peoples of the African Great Lakes region into mourning? In doing so, Ladislas draws upon both his personal experience and professional background. As a Rwandan who lived through and survived the 1994 Rwandan horror, Ladislas speaks from within. This matchless, insightful and compelling testimony is enriched by his being a former TV and Radio reporter working for humanitarian agencies in the African Great Lakes region (1994-1995).