Understanding and resolving conflict in the Great Lakes Region
To
understand and resolve conflicts in the Great Lakes Region will begin by a
professional and unbiased analysis of the history of the region. For a better
understanding of the challenges, we shall add the Eastern part of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the traditional Great Lakes Areas of
Burundi, Rwanda, North Western Tanzania and Western Uganda (former Ankole
District and Rujumbura county in Rukungiri District).
The
region is inhabited by three groups: Batwa, the smallest group,
Bahima/Banyamulenge/Batutsi/Bahororo (used interchangeably) and Bairu/Bahutu
(used interchangeably), the largest group. The Batwa have lived in the region
since time immemorial as hunters and food gatherers. They consider themselves
the indigenous people of the region who are being pushed into extinction.