Repenser la crise au Kivu : mobilisation armée et logique du gouvernement de transition

Abstract

Plusieurs théories ont été avancées pour expliquer la persistance du conflit dans l’Est du Congo, insistant tour à tour sur la faiblesse de l’État, les ressources naturelles abondantes, ou encore l’importance des conflits locaux. L’article soutient pour sa part que de telles approches ne permettent pas de rendre compte des variations internes au conflit et de comprendre comment revendications et intérêts s’expriment à travers la mobilisation armée. À partir d’une recherche sur trois groupes armés menée au Kivu – CNDP, Pareco, et Raia Mutomboki –, l’auteur insiste sur les réseaux sociaux et les lignes de faille qui sous-tendent les groupes armés. La persistance du conflit peut ainsi être comprise à travers les scissions politiques engendrées par le processus de paix, des réseaux de mobilisation forts et le recours croissant des acteurs politiques aux groupes armés pour renforcer leur poids.

Marginalisation from Education in Conflict-Affected Contexts: Learning from Tanganyika and Ituri in the DR Congo

“…Suzette Heald (2006Heald ( , 2007 shows that rural "bandits" were deeply entrenched into the very fabric of rural Tanzanian societies, through networks of families that gave a "tentacle" form of presence to these organisations (Heald 2007 p.6). Such configurations are also prevalent in the eastern provinces of the DRC, where armed actorsfrom large scale rebel groups to small self-defence militiashave longstanding embeddedness in rural societies, often dating back to the 1960s or earlier (Verhaegen 1969;Stearns and Botiveau 2013). The forms of control that armed organisations exert over their members and their communities should therefore be understood as part of their wider insertion into the societies in which they evolve, which results from their institutional 24 Elizabeth Jean Wood defines such social processes of civil war as "the transformation of social actors, structures, norms and practices" (Wood 2008: 540 genealogies and their social bases on one side, but also the multi-faceted roles that they come to play within these societies on the other.…”

Social Origins of Militias: The Extraordinary Rise of “Outraged Citizens”

“…The Raia Mutomboki tapped onto grievances created by the FDLR's violence against the population. In the initial stages of the 2004-05 and 2011 mobilizations, the movement enjoyed considerable popular support, displaying the characteristics of a social movement (Stearns and Botiveau, 2013). The decentralized character of the movement allowed franchise-like local chapters to emerge in villages and towns of Shabunda .…”

“…However, even if that made participation easier, the environment was also less militarized at that time and thus the state weakness episode is less relevant. 44 In fact, historical evidence shows how the state forces, both the Congolese army and the RCD, engaged in drastic counterinsurgency campaigns aimed at eradicating Congolese militia in the areas that they controlled (Stearns, 2011). While the RCD was extremely violent in repressing militia, the Congolese army continues to fight many Mai-Mai's groups today to assert their territory.…”

‘Mundele, it is because of you’ History, Identity and the Meaning of Democracy in the Congo

“…Although in December 2002 an inclusive peace agreement was signed that formally ended the Second Congolese War, in large parts of the country violent conflict has been on-going, or has since even deteriorated, and a general situation of human insecurity persists (Autesserre 2006, 2010; Larmer et al 2013; Stearns & Botiveau 2013). During the peace negotiations, all attention went to the national conflict and the installation of a new regime, while local conflicts were ignored or expected to end automatically in the context of the national peace process (Autesserre 2007).…”