Conflicts Divide Nations

Chapter 17Section 1

Ethnic Differences Lead to Conflicts In recent decades, many wars and conflicts

have arisen over ethnic differences Example: in Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Buddhists are

the majority Sinhalese nationalists forbade the use of the

Tamil language and made Sinhalese the official language

This and other policies led to a civil war between the Buddhists and Tamils

Tamils agreed to a ceasefire when the government agreed to negotiations over a separate Tamil government

Malaysia and Singapore

Malaysia and Singapore have great ethnic and religious diversity but little internal conflict. Both countries enjoy peace because they have tried to distribute economic resources and political power fairly among their ethnic and religious groups.

Sri Lanka

Peaceful Resolution of Conflict

In some countries, conflicts have been peacefully resolved

In Canada, the democratic government helped prevent French-speaking Quebec from seeking independence

Occasionally, residents of Quebec vote to decide if they want to remain part of Canada or if they would like to secede from Canada

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland was the scene of another long-term conflict

In 1922, the Protestant majority in six northern counties voted to remain part of Britain when Ireland became independent

However, many Catholics in those counties wanted to join with Ireland, which has a Catholic majority

Beginning in the 1960s, extremists on both sides turned to violence and fighting (religious conflict)

Peace talks dragged on for years as violence continued

Map of Ireland and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland (continued) Finally, in 1998, Protestants and Catholics

signed the Good Friday Agreement, a peace accord that finally ended the violence between Protestants and Catholics.

Ethnic Tensions in the Former USSR

After the fall of the Soviet Union, any minorities in several former republics wanted independence

For example, ethnic Armenians fought for freedom against Azerbaijanis

The fiercest struggle occurred in Chechnya where Muslim Chechen nationalists fought to free Chechnya from Russian control

Russia crushed a Muslim Chechen revolt in the mid-1990s that killed many civilians

Both sides committed war crimes against humanity When a 1997 peace treaty failed, some Chechens turned to

terrorism and extreme violence

Former Soviet Union

Chechnya

Yugoslavia Ethnic tensions tore apart Yugoslavia in the

1990s Before 1991, Yugoslavia was a multiethnic,

communist country The Serbs dominated Yugoslavia, which

was controlled by the Communist Party The fall of communism resulted in

nationalist unrest and fighting between Serbs and Croats in Croatia

Soon the fighting spread to neighboring Bosnia

Former Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia (continued) During the war, all sides committed horrible human

atrocities In Bosnia, the Serbs conducted a vicious campaign of ethnic

cleansing, the killing or forcible removal of people of different ethnicities from an area by aggressors so that only the ethnic group of the aggressors remains

Thousands of Bosnians and Croats were murdered in mass executions and placed in mass graves

Croatian and Bosnian fighters took revenge Croats launched an ethnic cleansing campaign to drive

ethnic Serbs from parts of Croatia The ethnic cleansing ignited painful memories of the

Holocaust In 1995, the war in Bosnia ended with the signing of the

Dayton Accords (peace agreement)

Yugoslavia (continued) Then, however, another ethnic crisis broke out in the Serbian

province of Kosovo Ethnic Albanians made up about 90% of Kosovo’s population The rest of the population was mostly Serbian In 1989, Serbian nationalist president Slobodan Milosevic began

oppressing the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo Milosevic wanted to exterminate the ethnic Albanians living in

Kosovo Ten years later in 1999, NATO launched air strikes against Serbia

to stop the ethnic cleansing campaign NATO air strikes eventually forced the former Yugoslavia to

withdraw its forces from Kosovo UN and NATO forces eventually restored peace through military

intervention and effective air strikes on Bosnian Serb targets

Kosovo

Serbia wanted to ethnically cleanse (eliminate) Kosovo of the ethnic Albanian population.

Ethnic Cleansing

Ethnic Cleansing

Horrific crimes against humanity.

Slobodan Milosevic

Former President of Serbia who authorized ethnic cleansing campaigns against ethnic minorities in Serbia.

Milosevic was arrested and ordered to stand trial for charges of war crimes. Milosevic conducted his own defense in the five-year long trial, which ended without a verdict when he died on March 11 2006 in his prison cell in The Hague (Netherlands).

Milosevic, who suffered from heart ailments and hypertension, died of a heart attack.

NATO Air Strikes

Powerpoint Questions (13 points)

1. The war in Sri Lanka was between ___ and ___ (2 points).2. Which multi-ethnic society has avoided violent conflict? (2 points)3. What event led to nationalist unrest in the former Yugoslavia?4. While Yugoslavia was multi-ethnic it was dominated by the __.5. Who was Slobodan Milosevic?

Powerpoint Questions (13 points)

6. Define “ethnic cleansing”.7. What happened to thousands of Bosnians and Croats?8. What peace agreement concluded the war in Bosnia?9. In what break-away rebel republic did Russia fight Muslim separatists?10. Whom did Slobodan Milosevic begin oppressing in 1989 that triggered NATO intervention in 1999?11. What agreement ended the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland?

The End