Since the dawn of human civilization, the world has been plagued with ethnic conflicts as different groups of people with different cultures clash with one another. It remains one of the key causes of conflicts in our so called “modern, civilized” world. Ethnicity, however, is difficult to differentiate especially with people that have similar physical attributes or, to put in broader terms, racial characteristics. Nevertheless, the precise definition of ethnicity, quoted from Wikipedia, would be a socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural, or national experience. Thus, when two different ethnic groups with clashing beliefs come in contact with one another, conflicts are likely to arise. Therefore, this post will look at two different ethnic conflicts, one of which continues to trouble the already chaotic country. The first is the Sri Lankan Civil War that lasted for nearly 26 years from 1983 to 2009 and the second being the ongoing fight against the terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria.
The civil war in Sri Lanka was between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and for a quarter of a century, spanning from the late-1900s to early-2000s, the conflict caused internal turmoil for the country, severely crippling the environment and economy, as well as costing the lives of around 100,000 people. The cause of the conflict stretches back to the early 20th century, during the British colonial rule. Before the United Kingdom’s imperialistic reign, the Sinhalese and Tamils have coexisted peacefully within the country then known as Ceylon. Yet, as characteristic of European colonization, once they leave those countries, they never considered what was left behind, how the new country could compete internationally, and most importantly, who was to rule. At the end of British colonialism in 1948, the Sinhalese were soon in control of the government of the newly founded Sri Lanka as a series of laws were passed, taking advantage of the Tamils. One of them was the Ceylon Citizenship Act, which was passed to purposefully make it nearly impossible for Tamils to become citizens. Around 700,000 Tamils were made stateless and around half moved to India. In addition, in 1956, to weaken the continuation of Tamil culture, Sinhala was made the only official language of Sri Lanka, therefore, discouraging the learning of the Tamil language if one wanted to take governmental positions. The civil war soon began after conflicts escalated in 1983. The LTTE became infamous for their tactics that resembled those of extremists, including numerous suicide bombings, and therefore, they were branded as terrorists by 32 countries. This particular conflict had little to do with territory but rather more so on political control over the country. Ethnicity and religion did not seem to bother the residents of Ceylon until after the end of the British rule. After that, the grab for power separated the two religious groups as the Sinhalese majority quickly gained control of the government. The LTTE’s struggles were not based strongly on different ethnicities either, but on the discrimination that they faced under Sinhalese rule.
Like the Sri Lankan civil war, the conflict in Nigeria was the aftermath of British colonialism. The whole continent of Africa in the 19th to 20th century basically became one huge land of colonies split amongst the European powers. After the end of colonialism, these European countries met and split up Africa into separate regions, ignorant to the different ethnic or religious groups existent in the area. Such was the case for Nigeria. Since the 1400s, the Bornu Empire reigned over northern Nigeria and by their decline in the 1800s many Muslim groups were living in the area. During the British rule, they put in place various educational reforms and set up numerous churches to convert the people. By their independence in 1960, Nigeria was largely split into two religious groups: Christians and Muslims. The Muslim majority lived in the north. However, the European countries never considered splitting up the country. For decades after independence, politicians of the Muslim north have strongly opposed Western education but their concerns were ignored by the government. Boko Haram was founded in 2002 and they lured followers from poor Muslim families where people desperately needed an organization to believe in. Although they had the eventual goal of creating an Islamic State, their operations remained peaceful until the outbreak of violence in 2009. Military activities gradually increased among Boko Haram, mostly the buying of weapons or making of bombs. Thus, when security forces captured several Boko Haram members in 2009, a violent revolt began as the military group committed revenge attacks on the police and widespread looting. When Yusuf, their leader, died the organization grew even more radical under the new leadership by Abubakar Shekau. The conflict continues to trouble the developing country and early in 2015, an estimated 2,000 people were killed in the Baga massacre, the majority being civilians. Religion in this case was the key cause to the conflict. Muslim fundamentalists were unhappy with the way in which the Christian-run government was ruling the country. Political power has less of an impact in this conflict as Boko Haram does not wish to rule the country of Nigeria, but instead, create an all new Islamic State for themselves.
The civil war in Sri Lanka was between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and for a quarter of a century, spanning from the late-1900s to early-2000s, the conflict caused internal turmoil for the country, severely crippling the environment and economy, as well as costing the lives of around 100,000 people. The cause of the conflict stretches back to the early 20th century, during the British colonial rule. Before the United Kingdom’s imperialistic reign, the Sinhalese and Tamils have coexisted peacefully within the country then known as Ceylon. Yet, as characteristic of European colonization, once they leave those countries, they never considered what was left behind, how the new country could compete internationally, and most importantly, who was to rule. At the end of British colonialism in 1948, the Sinhalese were soon in control of the government of the newly founded Sri Lanka as a series of laws were passed, taking advantage of the Tamils. One of them was the Ceylon Citizenship Act, which was passed to purposefully make it nearly impossible for Tamils to become citizens. Around 700,000 Tamils were made stateless and around half moved to India. In addition, in 1956, to weaken the continuation of Tamil culture, Sinhala was made the only official language of Sri Lanka, therefore, discouraging the learning of the Tamil language if one wanted to take governmental positions. The civil war soon began after conflicts escalated in 1983. The LTTE became infamous for their tactics that resembled those of extremists, including numerous suicide bombings, and therefore, they were branded as terrorists by 32 countries. This particular conflict had little to do with territory but rather more so on political control over the country. Ethnicity and religion did not seem to bother the residents of Ceylon until after the end of the British rule. After that, the grab for power separated the two religious groups as the Sinhalese majority quickly gained control of the government. The LTTE’s struggles were not based strongly on different ethnicities either, but on the discrimination that they faced under Sinhalese rule.
Like the Sri Lankan civil war, the conflict in Nigeria was the aftermath of British colonialism. The whole continent of Africa in the 19th to 20th century basically became one huge land of colonies split amongst the European powers. After the end of colonialism, these European countries met and split up Africa into separate regions, ignorant to the different ethnic or religious groups existent in the area. Such was the case for Nigeria. Since the 1400s, the Bornu Empire reigned over northern Nigeria and by their decline in the 1800s many Muslim groups were living in the area. During the British rule, they put in place various educational reforms and set up numerous churches to convert the people. By their independence in 1960, Nigeria was largely split into two religious groups: Christians and Muslims. The Muslim majority lived in the north. However, the European countries never considered splitting up the country. For decades after independence, politicians of the Muslim north have strongly opposed Western education but their concerns were ignored by the government. Boko Haram was founded in 2002 and they lured followers from poor Muslim families where people desperately needed an organization to believe in. Although they had the eventual goal of creating an Islamic State, their operations remained peaceful until the outbreak of violence in 2009. Military activities gradually increased among Boko Haram, mostly the buying of weapons or making of bombs. Thus, when security forces captured several Boko Haram members in 2009, a violent revolt began as the military group committed revenge attacks on the police and widespread looting. When Yusuf, their leader, died the organization grew even more radical under the new leadership by Abubakar Shekau. The conflict continues to trouble the developing country and early in 2015, an estimated 2,000 people were killed in the Baga massacre, the majority being civilians. Religion in this case was the key cause to the conflict. Muslim fundamentalists were unhappy with the way in which the Christian-run government was ruling the country. Political power has less of an impact in this conflict as Boko Haram does not wish to rule the country of Nigeria, but instead, create an all new Islamic State for themselves.