{"id":1285,"date":"2010-03-01T01:00:39","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T06:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/practicalmattersjournal.ecdsdev.org\/?p=1285"},"modified":"2016-05-27T14:06:57","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T18:06:57","slug":"genocide-or-just-another-conclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/2010\/03\/01\/genocide-or-just-another-conclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Genocide or Just Another “Casualty of War”? Concluding Remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"
Download PDF: Whitmore, Genocide or Just Another<\/a><\/h5>\n
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Editor\u2019s Note (December 22, 2010):<\/strong> Dr. Todd Whitmore of the University of Notre Dame published his peer-reviewed article \u201c\u2018If They Kill Us, At Least Others Will Have More Time to Get Away\u2019: The Ethics of Risk in Ethnographic Practice<\/a>‘\u201d in our most recent issue (issue 3, spring 2010). In that article, Dr. Whitmore develops a theological framing of ethnography as both a research method and an ethical practice. Since the publication of \u201cIf They Kill Us,\u201d Dr. Whitmore has been in conversation with Practical Matters<\/em> about the publication of documents, dating from the 1980s, that he received while doing research in Northern Uganda (available at musevenimemo.org). These documents attribute to the sitting President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, the intent to commit acts of genocide against the Acholi people, an ethnic group situated in Northern Uganda, as early as the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Over the summer of 2010, Practical Matters<\/em> undertook an academic review process, which included experts in Ugandan history and politics, to evaluate both the authenticity of these documents and the ethical implications of publishing them. While the reviewers generally supported the journal in a decision to publish the documents, Practical Matters<\/em> decided that it is not the most appropriate medium in which to make these documents available. Practical Matters<\/em>, the journal\u2019s editors and advisors concluded, cannot adequately contribute to securing the safety of persons in Uganda who might face retaliation as a result of the publication of these documents.<\/p>\n

The journal did, however, decide to publish Whitmore\u2019s analysis of these documents, which is available here. In this piece, Whitmore examines the historical and political situation in Northern Uganda that, he thinks, renders the documents\u2019 purported provenance and authenticity likely. He also explores the ethical implications of publishing them in an online format. The editors and advisors of Practical Matters<\/em> feel that it is important to provide Whitmore a public context in which to practice the ethic he prescribes in \u201cIf They Kill Us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Readers who wish to send me their comments can do so to musevenimemo@gmail.com<\/u>.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n