''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 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

(DRC).

History

The extermination was carried out by soldiers from the

Movement for the Liberation of Congo The Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (french: Mouvement de Libération du Congo, or MLC) is a political party in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Formerly a rebel group operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo that fought the govern ...

(MLC), who became known to locals as ''les effaceurs'' ("the erasers"), and troops from the

Rally for Congolese Democracy The Congolese Rally for Democracy (french: Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie; abbreviated RCD), also known as the Rally for Congolese Democracy, is a political party and a former rebel group that operated in the eastern region of the ...

(RCD-N). The primary objective of ''Effacer le tableau'' was the territorial conquest of the

North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the s ...

province of the DRC and ethnic cleansing 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 ''SubHuman'' is the sixth studio album by Recoil. Alan Wilder stated in a YouTube greeting that there would be a new album coming in spring or early summer 2007. On 23 April 2007, he released information regarding the album via Myspace and hi ...

", and it was believed by the rebels that the

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

of the Bambuti held " magical powers". There were also reports of cannibalism being widespread. It is estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Pygmy were killed in the campaign. In March 2016, the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

found

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2 ...

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.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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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 {{DRCongo-stub

History

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links