Sadly the world has seen many, what could be called genocidal
events - the Serb/Kosovo wars, the Chechen war, E Timor, to
mention a few. Rightly, any more powerful govt directing its forces
to exterminate, or nearly so, another people, is to be condemned.
But do all the Serbs/Russians/Indonesians/etc/etc really support
this? No doubt there some in these groups who thinkthe war
should never have happened, even though they would have been
seeing the partial breakup of "their" country.
But I suspect there are quite a few who, while whole-heartedly
opposing any genocidal tactics of their govt, nevertheless would
rather not see "Their" land broken up - I put "their" in quotes as of
course what territories actually constitute "their" land is open to
question by many, you would get very different answers from an
Indonesian and an East Timorese as to what "Indonesia" actually
includes, for example, same with a Russian and a Chechen.
It would be very interesting to get the "other" side's view on this ( I
am neither Russian or Chechen or...etc.).
Finally a question it would be interesting to get some debate on.
Imagine an alternative history for the UK. One in which, in the 70s
or 80s, at the hieght of the N Sea Oil boom, Scotland seceded.
(hope I don't annoy too many Scots here!) All English people in
Scotland were ejected by the new Republic of Scotland. Groups of
Scots in London are being attacked, so are groups of English in
Edinburgh. What would "we" the English be thinking, and doing?
Of course "we" could mean the English people, its govt, or its
academic community, among others. What if it was not Scotland
but Yorkshire that was trying to secede?
Hillary Shaw
P/G Geography, University of Leeds.
Hillary Shaw, P/G Geography, University of Leeds
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