The preamble to the reconciliation

The preamble to the reconciliation process should take as its cue the fact that all ethnic groups have suffered and that all have been excluded from a peaceful existence and mainstream international development. A new narrative has to integrate ethnic diversity, state unity, and democracy as a counter narrative to colonial divide-and-rule, and to post-colonial nationalism and ethnicism. Reconciliation only begins when the labour of representation initiates a critical reflection upon the old ethnicism. lt means that all parties have to reassess - not reiterate - the old positions. In order to facilitate such critical reflections, a thorough research of ethnic diversity, its history and ethnography, could be an important tool. The present volume is conceived - and hopefully received - in this spirit.