Assignment two 

ANT2004

Due 21 Oct 2015

 What is meant by ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide’? What is the evidence such behaviour is very ancient? How might it have changed in recent times?

This essay will discuss ethnic cleansing and genocide, what they mean and how and why they are different. On the service Genocide and ethnic cleansing appear to have similar definitions however upon closer examination they are different practices. This essay will also look at case studies from history showing that while the terms ethnic cleansing and genocide may be recent they acts are not. In particular the ethnic cleansing and genocide perpetrated on the Australian Indigenous population from the time of Captain Cooks landing in 1777 up until the mid-1900’s.  Finally this essay will discuss if ethnic cleansing and genocide may have changed in recent times, or if the practice of ethnic cleansing (Wees, 2010) and genocide remain the same as it always has.

The term genocide was first coined by a Polish man – Raphael Lemkin in 1944 (Krieken, 2004). In describing Nazi Germany’s practices of various forms of killing or annihilating Jews, the definition can also in a more broader sense be used to describe the variety of ways different groups can be eliminated including that of their physical environment and culture (Krieken, 2004; Hinton, 2002). Lemkin, lobbied+ to have Genocide recognised as a crime and eventually succeeded.  Genocide is the crime of eliminating a group of humans that is recognised by most international laws and by the Unite Nations (Hinton, 2002)

Ethnic cleansing may seem the same as genocide but it differs in that ethnic cleansing can be used to eliminate, destroy or forcibly remove from an area (Sirkin, 2010) another cultural or religious group by any means necessary, including removal, changing laws, bullying and intimidation , mass killings – genocide (Sirkin, 2010). The terms genocide and ethnic cleansing are often used interchangeably (Sirkin, 2010). International law has classed ethnic cleansing as a crime against humanity which can include murder, enslavement, and deportation.

The differences between the two acts become clearer when genocide is looked at more closely – in order for the crime of genocide to be present there must be a specific intent to destroy a group of people that share a common identify such as race, ethnicity or religion. The victims of genocide must belong to a protected group and a single act could constitute as genocide (Sirkin, 2010) 

Crimes against humanity such as ethnic cleansing can occur in any population group and a single act would unlikely constitute as a crime against humanity (Sirkin, 2010)

When a group of people are denied the right to exist that is genocide 

Ethnic cleansing is more of a descriptive term rather than a legal term ethnic cleansing Is used mainly to achieve ethnic homogeneity and can be done without mass murder genocide on the other hand is an international crime under the United Nations and is usually achieved through mass murder and its purpose is to destroy the entire race ethnic all religious group

There are many examples of genocide and ethnic cleansing in history, long before there was ever a term for it – Many indigenous peoples were being forcibly removed or killed by invading societies, Since the sixteenth century European nations have moved throughout the world often displacing , confining or destroying native (or Primitive) people (Goody, 2002)Genocide has occurred for centuries, from the well-known, Jewish holocaust and the genocide of the Rwandan Tutsi to lesser known Ancient Assyrians intent on the destruction of Babylon and the Mongols of Genghis Khan (Hinton, 2002).  It is thought that genocide has been a part of the human world since the beginning, in ancient Greek and roman society genocide and ethnic cleansing were common practices in order to annihilate ethnic groups or enemies (Wees, 2010).  Often the invading solders would kill all men of age and sell the women and children into slavery.  Sometimes the killing was indiscriminate including animals and when the killing stoped those left alive were split up from their family groups and sold separately ensuring the complete destruction of that group (Wees, 2010). History records even buildings and whole towns were burnt to the ground, there is some debate over the lands being sown with salt or covered in tar due to the time and cost involved but it could have been done on a small scale (Wees, 2010).  In some events in history total villages were wiped out and the buildings burnt to the ground.  In others all the men including male children were killed to ensure the line could not continue and women were sold into slavery.

In later times ethnic cleansing and genocide was practiced in Australia after Captin Cook landed right up until the 1960’s

Aborigines were wiped out by most of the 5 types of genocide described by Krieken, (2004)

Which include (a) Killing members of the group; 
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; 
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; 
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; 
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. (Schabas, 2000)

In the early part of the ninetenth centuray Europeans assumed the Aboriginies would die out, however as the continant was settled and explored relationships were created with Aborignals sometimes resulting in what was known at the time as ‘half caste’ children.  It soon became obvious to the settiling Europeans Aboriginals were not going to die out so they were often removed from their lands seperating them from their culture.  The children were forcibly removed, records are patchy at best so it is not known how many children were taken. At the time it was thought that removing “half caste” children to assimilate them into a European way of life and leaving the Aboriginal population to die off was the right thing to do.  In 1937 a Chief Protection officer in Western Austraila – AO Neville asked “Are we going to have a population of 1 million blacks in the commonwealth, or are we going to merge them into our white community and eventually forget that there ever were any aboriginies in Austraila?” (Commonwealth of Australia, 1937:11).  What is known as the Stolen Generation refers to the forced removal of children from their families.  The Children of mixed blood or ‘Half Caste’ as it was called at the time were taken from their familes by force or decit – one women recalls the police coming and telling the parents that the kids had to go to school, the children were loaded into the car and were never seen again. Many children were taken far away from their home lands and seperated from their siblings in order to separate them from their land and culture.  Often Aboriginals were placed in camps or areas such as Melville island and left to die out. (Eller, 2006)

Under the definition of Genocide these acts meet the crietira of genocide – the forced removal of children, serious mental harm and infilicing conditions calculated to bring about the destruction of people

All of this also resulted in the destruction of cultural values and was either deliberatly intended or a consequence of the acts of genocide, the destruction of cultural values comes under the definition of ethnic cleansing which is a term used to describe a wide number of atrocities but is not a crime in isteslf unlike genocide 

The crime is the indiviudal events that take place during a period of ethnic cleansing which often sees massive abuse of human rights, intimidation, bullying, removal, mass murder or genocide (Cohan, 2007).

In even more recent times in the last ___ years the world has seen genocide and ethnic cleansing being practices, the atrocities that have occurred in Rwanda is a well known example

The difference between genocide and ethnic cleanisng in the past and today is minimal

There is now a term for it and genocide at least is recongnisaed globally as a crime and has been defined by the United Nations 

However forced removal and mass killings still take place.  There is more media coverage and anthropologist are beginning to realise they need to look more closely at genocide and ethnic cleansing.  However as good anthropolgy is ethnographic study this is quite difficult.

In ancient times the motivation for genocide may have been sligthly different in some instances, however political gain and resources seem to be a common thread as does religious differences, language and culture 

A difference is that in most cases other coutries would step in to stop a whole town being massucured and burnt to the ground.

The rwandawn genocide is considered a moden genocide (Eller, 2006)

The population growth makes it hard to  a whole group and wide spread slavery or the ability to sell large groups into slavery dose not exsist, although slavery still exsists it is illeagal.  Other countries will take in refugees and protect them from acts of genocide but it is usually too late to shelter them from ethnic cleansing as simply by being a refugee in another land human rights abuses have occurred 

In modern times the world has the united nations to turn to and genocide is offically recognised as a crime against human rights 

Initating group leaders can be held accountable and stand trial for crimes against humanity 

With modern warfare and technology ethnic cleansing and genocide can occur more viciously and if not stopped by outside groups could be quite successful, although as mentioned before population groups are often more numerous and wide spread if ethnic cleansing and is described as the expulsion all removal of the population from their lands due to either religious or ethnic discrimination political strategic or idea logical considerations or a combination of these reference Bell -fialkoff.

Then estimate cleansing has been around for many centuries although in ancient times the practice may have been because of a different motivation the Romans and Greeks practised estimate cleansing on a smaller scale to procure slave labour during the Middle Ages ethnicity was not a source of prosecution but religion was mini anthropologist's remark that most of Native Americans suffered definite cleansing when they were forced to reset all in allotted territories ethnic cleansing Ndis century is more motivated by nationalist movements in order to cleanse and area

But scholars often note that the difference between ancient ethnic cleansing Angie on your side and modern closing in genocide is that of the nationstate