1995-10-01a- CIA Conference Report: THE CHALLENGE OF ETHNIC CONFLICT TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORDER IN THE 1990S GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES 01-Oct-95

C00123268
certain extent, differences in urban settlement pat- to meet the need for agricultural labor in the country. If
terns, although a more fundamental cause of conflict is large numbers of Haitians try to settle in Dominican
over which group will control the national govern- territory, there is always the possibility of another vio-
ment and gain the benefits that come from such con- lent response on the part of the Dominicans.
trol. East Indians and Afro-Americans are roughly
equally represented in Trinidad-43 percent Afro-
American, 40 percent East Indian. In Guyana the East Conclusion
Indians comprise 51 percent of the population and
Creoles account for 44 percent; but, in Suriname, Cre- Probably the most common source of ethnic conflict
oles make up only 31 percent of the population while between Indians and the state, whether located in the
East Indians, Javanese, and Bush Negro account for lowlands or highlands, is the dispute over control of
37 percent, 15 percent, and 10 percent, respectively. territory and mineral or biotic resources. Ethnic group
autonomy and greater participation in the political
Relations among East Indians and Creoles have been system are often secondary factors in ethnic conflict.
particularly tense in Guyana, where politics has been The principal areas of current ethnic conflict are in the
characterized by violence and conflict between mem- Amazon Basin and other lowland areas where native
bers of political parties that are strongly linked to eth- Indian populations confront expanding national states.
nic groups. Cheddi Jagan was elected President of These conflicts involve small numbers of people, but
Guyana in October 1992, ending more than 25 years they are locally important and may have international
of Creole domination of the government. The election implications when they occur in border areas or if they
was accompanied by riots and violent conflict among involve international environmental or cultural protec-
members of the two dominant political parties, but the tion organizations or political or lending organizations
situation seems to have stabilized since then. As long such as agencies of the UN, the World Bank. and the
as Jagan remains in power, he may be able to limit Interamerican Development Bank. Such local con-
ethnic conc respecially if he is able to improve the flicts may cause problems for governments in the
etccntry's depeed ieconomic ialtoconditions and bring affected countries,ipand they will undoubtedly affect
better lives to both Creoles and East Indians. How- the course of natural resources development.
ever, unless he is able to establish institutions that
break down longstanding ethnic differences, hostili- Indian political action organizations are likely to
ties may accompany the next election. become increasingly more powerful in national poli-
tics. They will receive help from international organi-
Other areas that might bear watching include Suriname zations with whom they share common interests. To
and the longstanding international dispute between the extent that national governments accommodate the
Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In the latter, racial demands of these organizations, they may reduce eth-
and cultural differences and a history of-conflict, com- nic tensions. If ethnic interests are ignored, conflicts
bined with Dominican concerns about migration of are likely to develop, as in Mexico in 1994.
land-hungry Haitians, has led to repeated expulsions of
Haitian migrants. However, Haitians have been wel-
comed at times when Dominican workers were unable
92