Nationalist movements span globe (REPRODUCTION)

By Sriram Khe

To understand ethnic and religious tensions in faraway places such as Iraq, Lebanon or India, we need look no farther than our own northern neighbor – Canada.

The Canadian parliament recently acted to formally recognize the Francophone province, Quebec, as a nation within Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced the motion, which passed overwhelmingly.

The move explicitly recognizes the ethnic nationalism that has been the driving force behind two failed referenda that called for a formal separation of Quebec from Canada.

For years Quebecers have maintained that their language, history and cultural traditions were being systematically ignored, put down and forgotten by Canada's English-speaking majority. It's like Rodney Dangerfield's complaint: "I don't get no respect." Quebecers felt so intensely about this that in 1980 and 1995, they voted on proposals to formally secede from Canada. The prime minister's hope is that this formal recognition of Quebecers as a nation within Canada will preclude further independence efforts.

Recognition of Francophone Canadians as a nation within the country comes almost 140 years after the country was formed.

This recent development is a reminder that humans value and cherish their respective identities – in this case as members of a group with its own shared language, history and cultural traditions. Once we grasp this, we can begin to understand why there is a great deal of commotion along ethnic and religious lines in many other parts of the world.

Take the case of Iraq. During World War I, the Ottoman Empire supported Germany, and after the war the empire essentially was carved into territories, one of which was the territory of Iraq. Iraq was placed under British control, as per the agreement developed by the League of Nations – the forerunner to the United Nations.

Iraq then went through different forms of government, many of which were externally imposed. The modern-day Iraqi republic was established in 1958 after a military coup. In 1979, Saddam Hussein emerged as the president; as they say, the rest is history.

During all this time, the many "nations" within Iraq not only were ignored by the government, some were in fact systematically abused because of their culture, language and religious beliefs.

The Kurds are one of Iraq's ethnic groups; as a people, they also are scattered across Iran and Turkey. They want to be recognized as a "nation" as much as Quebecers did. Saddam's government killed many Kurds simply because they were Kurds.

Turkey does not want the Kurds in Iraq to gain independence because of the worry that Kurds in Turkey will demand recognition of their status or, worse, join hands with the Kurds in Iraq and form a greater Kurdistan.

These "nation" issues are not unique to Iraq or Turkey. These are found all across the world. In Quebec, the struggle for recognition is nonviolent. Unfortunately, that is the not the case in a number of other struggles to establish national and state identities.

And even if a people's nationality is well recognized, achieving formal statehood is not always an orderly or peaceful process. Take the case with Palestine, where violence has been endemic for decades.

Even in Bhutan, regarded by outsiders as a Shangri-la, there are problems related to ethnicity and nationality. Ethnic Nepalese have left Bhutan in large numbers because the monarch's policies do not appear to recognize differences in the way the Nepalese look, the Hindu religion they practice and, of course, the language they speak.

We have been so wrapped up with our fascination with globalization that maybe we assumed that ours is a homogenous world. On the contrary, we have different languages, religions, beliefs, histories. And sometimes, people want explicit recognition of those differences.

It has taken Canada 140 years to formally recognize that Quebecers are a nation within their country. How long will it take for the Kurds, for instance, to be recognized as a nation within Turkey?

So, let us use the opportunity that Quebecers have given us and understand not only the thirst for recognition, but the similar feelings that various "nations" have in all corners of the world. This recognition is a fundamental step in achieving peace and stability, particularly in the violent Middle East.

(Sriram Khe of Eugene is an associate professor and director of the honors program at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. SOurce: The Register-Guard) Tuesday, December 12, 2006