Description
Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group to varying degrees.
There are multiple origins of ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflicts. In some societies, it is rooted in tribalism, and in other societies, it originates in a history of non-peaceful co-existence and the resulting actual disputed issues. In many countries, incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a criminal offense. Frequently, ethnic conflict is stoked by nationalist fervor and sentiments of national superiority—for which reason, inter-ethnic hatred borders on racism, and frequently, the two terms are conflated.
Various political leaders have exploited and even fueled ethnic hatred in the service of their desire to consolidate their power or make electoral gains by calling for the formation of a united front against a common enemy (real or imaginary).
An example of ethnic hatred is the reported animosity towards the Romani people in Europe. The Romani people, also known as Gypsies, are one of the most marginalized and persecuted ethnic groups in Europe.
Incidence
With the breakup of centralized Soviet rule, problems of ethnic hatred are coming to the fore in every Soviet region and republic, and are particularly acute in the Caucasus, where dozens of national and ethnic groups mingle in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ossetians speak a language related to Persian. In the early 1920's, they were persecuted by the Georgians, and in 1991 it was reported that Georgians had again burned 80 villages, killed 214 Ossetians, wounded 740 and caused 106 to disappear. By 1991, 83,000 Ossetians, half of Georgia's Ossetian population, had fled through the mountains to the North Ossetia Autonomous Republic in the Russian Empire.