The Ethnobarometer Reports Ethnic Conflict and Migration in Europe First Report of the Ethnobarometer Programme CSS - CEMES © CSS/CEMES for The Ethnobarometer Programme 1999. All rights reserved Designed by Utta Wickert-Sili, Rome Setting by Cecilia Bazzini Printed by ??????????????????, Rome ISBN 92-9184-004-1 Keywords: Ethnicity – Migration – Europe – Human Rights Consiglio Italiano per le Centre for European Migration Scienze Sociali (CSS) and Ethnic Studies (CEMES) Via Brescia 16 PO Box 4 00198 Rome Torpoint PL11 3YN Italy UK Fax: +39 06 841 71 10 Fax: +44 (0)1503 230031 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ethnobarometer.org Website: www.cemes.org Contents Preface 7 Executive Summary 9 Section I - Introduction: an overview of events and issues 13 Section II - Towards an analysis of inter-ethnic relations 37 Chapter 1 Constructing a typology of ethnic conflict 39 Chapter 2 Territorialist conflicts: separatism in the post-Soviet space 53 Chapter 3 National minorities: Hungarians in Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine 81 Chapter 4 Ethno-caste conflicts: the Roma in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic 105 Chapter 5 Ethno-class conflicts: industrial minorities in European cities 125 Chapter 6 New migration: undocumented immigrants in Italy and Greece 139 Chapter 7 Temporary migrants: the search for asylum 159 Section III - Case studies in inter-ethnic relations 169 Chapter 8 Eastern Europe 171 8.1 Russia 171 8.2 Ukraine 193 Chapter 9 Central Europe 211 9.1 Slovakia 211 9.2 Hungary 223 9.3 Romania 236 Chapter 10 South-Eastern Europe 249 10.1 Greece 249 10.2 Turkey 259 10.3 Bulgaria 272 Chapter 11 Western Europe 285 11.1 Germany 285 11.2 France 299 11.3 Belgium 312 References 323 Appendix A - Programme staff 330 Preface This is the first report of the Ethnobarometer Programme. The Programme is based on a network of social scientists providing independent and research-based reports on levels of racism, xenophobia and ethnic conflict in selected countries of Central, Eastern and Western Europe. It commenced its work in January 1998 and this report covers the period up to the Spring of 1999, concentrating mostly on issues and events in 1998. In 1999, the attention of the world has focussed on events in Kosovo but these occurred after the material for this report had been collected. As the report makes clear, however, the underlying issues in Kosovo are far from unique, and may indeed be seen as an extreme form of a type of conflict found elsewhere in Europe. The Ethnobarometer Programme is dedicated to understanding such conflicts in the belief that social scientists have a contribution to make in providing information and analysis that can assist in the long-term task of finding political solutions. The international community faces a number of challenges in this field which, while not new, have taken on an increased importance in recent years. Among these, two stand out as posing particular difficulties for the political process. The first is the growing demand for forms of representation which reflect local and regional identities. This issue appears to have grown in importance as international communications have been made easier and have become more significant in the management of today’s global economy. The second is the importance of international migration as individuals take advantage of increased knowledge and cross-border networks to improve their opportunities and life chances. To some extent these developments are linked. As events in the former republic of Yugoslavia have so dramatically and tragically revealed, frustrated ambitions for self-determination can lead to conflicts of such intensity that flight is the only feasible option open to the victims. Whether population movement is motivated by an attempt to flee from the atrocities of ‘ethnic cleansing’, or whether it is based simply on a desire to improve the chances of a job and higher income, it has important consequences for countries of net inward migration. The management of multi-ethnic societies is now high on the political agenda of many states that have hitherto regarded themselves as more or less culturally homogeneous. Even the task of controlling migration flows has internal effects. Strict policies of control, which in western Europe are developing steadily at a regional level, may be politically popular but, ironically, they can harden the attitudes of less tolerant 8ETHNIC CONFLICT AND MIGRATION IN EUROPE citizens against new minorities already resident. Exploring the link between ethnic conflict and migration is one characteristic feature of the Ethnobarometer Programme. The project operates mainly through correspondents in each of the countries included in the first year of operation (Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and selected countries in Western Europe including Greece, Italy, France, Germany and Belgium). Using a common methodology, our associates provide information on major events, research studies and policy initiatives in these countries. Their ‘country reports’ are a major resource for this interpretation and synthesis. This report has three sections that reflect to some extent the different audiences for work in this field. The first is an overview of the main events and issues which is intended to highlight positive and negative developments. The Ethnobarometer Programme is not designed to offer guidelines for policy but this section can be read as indicating areas where creative policy thinking is particularly important. The second section is much longer and seeks to integrate the issues in an existing social science literature. It would be wrong to suggest that such a relatively brief overview can explain complex issues but this section attempts to classify comparable situations as a first step towards exploring whether or not generalised conclusions are possible. Finally, the report contains summaries of eleven country reports that provide a sense of the descriptive detail obtained from the programme’s correspondents. Their full reports are available from either CSS or CEMES. This report provides an opportunity to thank the sponsors of the Ethnobarometer Programme who believe with us that an understanding of the factors creating ethnic conflict is critical for avoiding even more human misery and political instability. Our hope is that the work will continue and improve. To this end, comment and suggestions for improvement in our approach and methods are always welcome. May 1999 Executive Summary The first report of the Ethnobarometer Programme has three sections with separate functions. The first contains an introduction that is intended to highlight and comment upon issues of major international importance emerging during the first fifteen months of the programme’s work. The link between ethnic tensions and international population movements is selected as an issue of critical importance. International migration is both a consequence of ethnic conflict and a cause of tensions between newcomers and established populations. Western European states, seeking to control inward population flows, are not seen as yet having established either coherent migration policies or strategies to integrate new arrivals. The first section also reviews a number of areas of ethnic conflict and tension in Europe ranging from the North Caucasus to South-Eastern Turkey. While each case is unique, it would be unwise to assume that ethnic conflicts are confined to the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, however severe they may be in that case. On the other hand, these tensions and conflicts are not inevitable and the introduction concludes with a discussion of more positive cases, ranging from the Crimea to Northern Ireland. A central feature of the Ethnobarometer Programme is the objective of extracting relevant lessons from both negative and positive cases. The programme is an interdisciplinary collaboration of social scientists and the second section focuses on how ethnic conflicts can be understood in social science terms. It suggests that conflicts evolve around three central issues, namely the aspiration for political autonomy, for a greater share of resources and for membership in a political system. On the basis of these three themes, summarised as issues of exit, equity and entry the second section proposes a simple classification containing six types which are used to order the discussion. Using this typology immediately reveals some shortcomings since every instance takes place within a particular structure of opportunities, and it is this political context which is shown to be very influential in shaping the course of events. In this sense the report is critical of explanations of ethnic conflict that rely on the existence of ethnic differences only as causal factors. Rather, it can be shown that where ethnicity has been codified and adopted as a way of organising populations (as in the former Soviet Union) it can be readily mobilised for political purposes. This was the case with the transformation processes in Eastern Europe. Such mobilisation is particularly powerful 10 ETHNIC CONFLICT AND MIGRATION IN EUROPE when history and demography combine to create diasporas and external homelands. Attempts at creating new states, or even more limited autonomy, frequently generate armed conflict. By comparing a number of cases, this report shows how difficult it is to find a resolution of conflicts of these kinds once the option for military intervention has been adopted. In particular, there is no evidence that military repression resolves separatist tendencies but appears by contrast to increase support for such outcomes. Policies of accommodation, while often politically difficult to achieve, are shown to be much more effective in maintaining political and economic stability. At another level, issues of conflict occur where ethnic minorities seek fairer treatment and an end to discrimination. The position of the Roma in Central Europe is shown to have worsened dramatically over the last decade. Largely excluded from the political process, they are also severely economically disadvantaged and, on the whole, rather poorly treated by the states in which they live.