「紛争犠牲者」の証言と競合する「真実」 : グアテマラにおける個人的な経験から(<特集1>オーラル・ヒストリーと<和解>)

抄録

How should the researchers respond, interpret and represent the changing narratives of the victims of the massive political violence? In cases of devastating long-term internal armed conflict such as in Guatemala during the 1970s and 80s, it is not unusual when the victims turn into killers, switching their positions with each other within the same village or even in the same family. As a result, the narratives of the same person are transformed in the contents from those of being the victims to those of being the perpetrators and vice versa according to the changing course of the war. There have been various positions, selected consciously or not, among researchers correspondingly, from those who stand in with the "victims" to those who seek to reveal the "hidden aspects" of the same narratives. The publication of the voluminous reports of the so called "Truth Commissions" may not settle the competing accounts surrounding the political violence. The perpetrators do not accept their responsibilities and try to legitimize their actions with all necessary measures. There will be little space toward reconciliation through the compilation and common acceptance of the "official history." There would alwaysl be competing narratives and at the same time, researchers claiming and competing with each one's truth in parallel or simply ignoring each other.