Firstly;
My sincere condolences to all those who have suffered through this unfortunate collection of circumstances. Life as we know it is more fragile than we often would like to believe and the protection thereof should always be paramount in our missions, whatever those missions might be.
With regards to the cause of the accident;
I am firmly of the opinion (as others seem to agree) that the system as a whole is really to blame. That is to say that the rate at which the traffic levels are increasing is rather phenominal. In the old days, ATC's were expected to identify and resolve all the conflicts on their own, there was no MTCD, STCA, TCAS, SSR, CFU etc....... There were fewer restrictions on working hours, traffic levels on a frequency at any given time...
If it were one of those controllers working at the time, we would probably not be sitting here today discussing this issue.
The problem IMHO, is that because we have strived to use technology wherever we can to improve safety, we have reduced the the emphasis on individual controller abilities. I am not saying that the ATC in this instance was less than capable (OF THE STANDARD TO WHICH HE WAS HELD).
When the system relies on technology to replace the (previously) basic skills of ATC's, it is incumbent upon that system to ensure that the redundancy levels are such that the individual(s) will NEVER be left without them.
ATC's are working less aircraft in smaller sectors to reduce risk, coverage area and frequency congestion, these are all the result of increased traffic levels. It is an understandable solution/reaction. Part of the problem may well be that the "Seat of your pants" ATC's of old, that are now running the show, do not realise how much less equipped the modern ATC's are when it comes to skills.
The technology is neccessary to keep the traffic moving, that is not in doubt, but if the system cannot ensure 100% redundancy, then the ATC's must be held to a standard which allows them to reasonably handle their worst nightmare when it comes down to the wire.
Invictus