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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:'Does the truth pass across the fire without burning?': locating the short circuit in Rwanda's gacaca courts
Author:Ingelaere, BertISNI
Year:2009
Periodical:Journal of Modern African Studies
Volume:47
Issue:4
Pages:507-528
Language:English
Geographic term:Rwanda
Subjects:gacaca
communication
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/40538333
Abstract:The modernized tradition of the gacaca courts has become the key mechanism for dealing with the past in Rwanda. The process needs to establish accountability for all acts of genocide and to foster reconciliation. Nevertheless, popular narratives and survey results reveal that a widespread 'crisis' accompanied the initial stages of the gacaca process. The author argues that a problematic quest for the truth is short-circuiting reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda. Truth-telling is the cornerstone of the transitional justice framework due to the design of the gacaca tribunals. On the basis of twenty months of fieldwork in Rwandan villages between 2004 and 2009, he locates tensions at different levels. The gacaca system is a distinctively modern phenomenon despite its traditional appearance. The State-sanctioned speaking of the truth according to a prosecutorial logic runs counter to the core values of the customary institution and established societal practices. This friction is further enhanced by the underlying Judeo-Christian model of truth-telling introduced with the gacaca system in a sociopolitical environment mediated by a culture of deceit and dominated by a war victor. In such a sociocultural context, communication serves the interests of the power holders (national and local), and not necessarily the interest of truth-telling and justice. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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