1. What Is Ethnic Cleansing?
Ch. 7 Key Issue 4
What Is Ethnic Cleansing?

2. Ethnic Cleansing
Stronger ethnicity “cleansing” their country of a weaker ethnicity to create a homogenous region (i.e. a nation-state)
Rather than war, EVERY person of that ethnicity is forcibly removed
Could take the form of genocide
Primarily in Europe and Africa

3. Conflict in Europe
Largest forced migration occurred during and after WWII
Jews and other ethnicities by Nazis
Changing borders after war forced people to migrate
Balkan Peninsula/former Yugoslavia
Failing to match borders to nationalities/ethnicities

4. FIGURE 7-28

6. Creating multiethnic Yugoslavia
Created after WWI by Allies to unite several Balkan ethnicities that spoke similar language
Region formerly controlled by Ottoman (Muslim) and Austria-Hungary Empires
Tito’s 7,6,5,4,3,2,1 shows diverse but unified country
6 republics; 5 nationalities of Yugoslavia
The creation eased tensions and promoted “Yugoslav” as a nationality

8. FIGURE 7-29

9. New boundaries were drawn as closely as possibly to the language boundaries of each ethnicity.
FIGURE 7-30

10. Destruction of Yugoslavia
Unrest after Tito’s death in 1980
Transformation of the 6 republics from local gov’ts to indep. countries
New boundaries did not match the 5 nationalities
Smaller ethnicities that were not recognized as nationalities wanted indep. too

11. FIGURE 7-31

12. Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia
Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats and Bosian Serbs
Croat and Serb nationalities wanted to unify with their respective countries
Ethnic cleansing to make case for unification
More likely to be accepted if homogenously Croat or Serb
Dayton Accords divided into 2 regions: Republika Srpska (Serb)and the Federation (Bosniak/ Bosnian Croats)

14. FIGURE 7-31

15. Destruction of the Stari Most Bridge by Serbs to demoralize Bosnian Muslims (important symbol and tourist attraction)
FIGURE 7-32

16. Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo
Kosovo became a part of multiethnic Serbia after Yugoslavia break up
90% Albanian
Serbia began ethnic cleansing campaign against Albanians
Forced into camps in Albania (750k/2mil)
Serbia withdrew from Kosovo after US/NATO involvement
Kosovo is indep. country today (Serbia opposes)

17. FIGURE 7-31

18. Documenting Ethnic Cleansing: Kosovo**
Aerial-photography analysis used to prove
Step 1: Move in military equipment
Step 2: Round up weaker people
Step 3: Force people to leave village
Step 4: Destroy vacated village

19. FIGURE 7-33

22. Balkanize Balkanized = area that cannot be organized peacefully
Balkanization = term applied to the process of a state breaking down due to ethnic conflicts
Threat to peace around the world- led to WWI by dragging larger nations they were allied with into war
Taken from the troubles seen in the Balkan region
Peace in the Balkans means ethnic cleansing “worked”?
Nation-state’s come at the price of peace

23. Ethnic Cleansing in Africa
“drawn” borders from European colonial powers do not match ethnic ones
Divided tribes among 2 states or put with dissimilar tribes
Tribes more important than states to African people
Tribes = ethnicities
Borders, lineage and total number is impossible to define

24. Ethnic Cleansing in Rwanda
Hutu (majority, farmers) vs Tutsi (minority, cattle herders)
Rwanda was German then Belgium colony
Colonial governments treated Tutsi better
1962 killing and ethnic cleansing (genocide) of Tutsi by Hutu = fear of Tutsi gaining control of new indep. country
“cleansed” Tutsi returned to Rwanda and killed ½ mil Hutu. Millions of Hutu’s fled

26. FIGURE 7-34

27. Conflict in Congo Rwandan conflict spills over to neighbors
Tutsi help overthrow Dem. Rep. of Congo’s president, Mobutu
New president, Kabila, let Tutsi kill Hutus
Kabila breaks with Tutsis and is assassinated
Son takes over and settles disputes