Why are the terms 'ethnic cleasing' only used to describe some racial groups behaviour and not others?

Answer 1

Ethnic cleansing is a term used specifically to illustrate the effort of one group to wipe out or eradicate another solely for the ethnic or cultural differences between the two. Examples of this would be the Armenian Holocaust, the Holocaust of World War 2 Germany, actions against the Kurds by Saddam Hussein's administration, and events surrounding the Serbo-Croatian war. These events were specifically focused on the differences between two groups' ethnicity, religion, or culture. An argument can be made that the efforts of the Taliban might have an element of ethnic cleansing, however the motivation of the Taliban while driven by religious interpretations, is focused on obtaining political power, therefore would not be an example of ethnic cleansing.

Like any term or phrase in any language, it can be misused. Perhaps this is this to which the asker refers. Without specific instances, it would be next to impossible to be any more detailed. A "why is it this way in this situation but not in that" sort of scenario is necessary, a comparison, two or more incidents for contrast.