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Displacement and ethnic reintegration in Ituri, DR Congo: challenges ahead

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2008

Johan Pottier
Johan Pottier*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG, United Kingdom
*
Email: jp4@soas.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article examines the ethnic character of Ituri's complex emergency. It considers the local context in which the IDP predicament has unfolded, asking questions about the prospect of, and responsibilities for, post-conflict reintegration. As militia disarmament and peace are linked but not coterminous, it is argued that militant ethnic agendas at the core of the conflict must be scrutinised for their ongoing significance. Revealing the past to be a contested terrain, these agendas call for an apartheid-style solution along lines of segregation first envisaged by Belgian colonialists. To move towards ethnic reintegration, Iturians face the challenge that they must create a common history freed from the stranglehold of extremist interpretations.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , September 2008 , pp. 427 - 450
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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Interviews

Chief G. Herabo, chief of the Andisoma and Nyankunde collectivités, Nyankunde, 30.4.2004.

A. Gashangi, programme officer, OCHA, Goma, 14.4.2004.

Hema refugees, Fort Portal, Uganda, 17.7.2004.

Lendu refugees, Kampala, Uganda, 14.7.2004.

Senior humanitarian worker, Bunia, 28.4.2004.

Newspapers and news reports

IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Network, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, daily reports); The New Vision, Kampala.