How ethnic is "ethnic cleansing"? From Cyprus to Andalusia, Ireland to Bosnia, Pakistan to Palestine, Jack Goody finds religion -- inherently threatened by apostasy or conversion -- a stronger marker of communal conflict & mass expulsion than an ill-defined ethnicity. Adapted from the source document.
Two recent cases of ethnic cleansing, in North & South Ossetia in the Caucasus, are examined to ascertain their impact on the communities involved & the degree to which such actions have produced solutions to long-standing problems instead of mere management of them at a tolerable level of violence. With similar clashes likely to occur elsewhere in the former USSR, it is hoped that some lessons be learned. Adapted from the source document.
TWO CASES OF RECENT ETHNIC CLEANSING IN THE TERRITORIES OF NORTH AND SOUTH OSSETIA IN THE CAUCASUS ARE EXAMINED HERE, NOT IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE ORIGINS BUT RATHER TO LOOK AT THEIR IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITIES INVOLVED AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH SUCH ACTIONS HAVE PRODUCE SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS OF LONG STANDING INSTEAD OF MERE MANAGEMENT OF THEM AT A TOLERABLE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE. WITH SIMILAR CLASHES LIKELY TO OCCUR ELSEWHERE IN THE TERRITORIES OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION CAN ANY LESSONS BE LEARNED?
Describes Ethiopia's expulsion of people with Eritrean heritage as a moderate form of ethnic cleansing. A historical overview of Ethiopia discusses Haile Mariam Menghistu's regime's movement of large ethnic communities around Ethiopia's provinces, & analyzes President Meles Zenawi's regime's initial preservation of Ethiopian-Eritrean relations & his later decision to adopt a more belligerent attitude toward Eritrean peoples living in Ethiopia. The May-June 1998 battles between Ethiopian & Eritrean forces in the Badme region are discussed. Although US President Bill Clinton's intervention calmed Ethiopian-Eritrean relations, Ethiopia's expulsion of people with Eritrean heritage reignited ethnic tensions. While Ethiopian officials claimed that those being expelled were armed spies, several anecdotes invalidate this assertion. Although the Eritrean government has embraced & provided some financial assistance for the expelled people, the issue of housing these individuals remains an immediate problem. It is suggested that the current Ethiopian government is slowly heading toward dissolution as a result of increased ethnic tensions. J. W. Parker