The Risks of Idealizing Reconciliation

The paper questions the scope and limits of reconciliation in Rwanda. The analysis is divided into four parts. The first examines the various conceptions of reconciliation as apolitical process. The second considers official calls for reconciliation. The third stressesthe motivations of interviewed practitioners. The last part emphasizes the discordantvoices that resist reconciliation. The conclusion underlines one of the major risks of idealizing reconciliation: suffocating victims’ indignation in order to reassure third parties.From a methodological perspective, four sources of data were used: official speeches, interviews, documentaries and testimonies.