''Effacer le tableau'' (, literally "erase the board" or "clean the slate") was the operational name given to the
systematic extermination of the
Bambuti pygmies by rebel forces in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
History
The extermination was carried out by soldiers from the
Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), who became known to locals as ''les effaceurs'' ("the erasers"), and troops from the
Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD-N).
The primary objective of ''Effacer le tableau'' was the territorial conquest of the
North Kivu province of the DRC and
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
of Pygmies from the Congo's eastern region whose population numbered 90,000 by 2002. The Bambuti were targeted specifically as the rebels considered them "
subhuman", and it was believed by the rebels that the
flesh of the Bambuti held "
magical powers
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrel ...
". There were also reports of
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
being widespread. It is estimated 60,000 to 70,000
Pygmy were killed in the campaign.
In March 2016, the
International Criminal Court found
Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of human rights violations in the Central African Republic. Bemba was the vice president of the DRC, and leader of the MLC during the year-long extermination campaign, but was fully acquitted by the ICC's appeal court in June 2018.
See also
*
Outline of Genocide studies
*
Bibliography of Genocide studies
References
Notes
Bibliography
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*
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External links
Human Rights Watch report on the genocide
African Pygmies
Ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Genocide of indigenous peoples
Genocides in Africa
Second Congo War
2002 murders in Africa
2003 murders in Africa
2002 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2003 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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