Tensions remain high in China over violent ethnic clashes
Published: 10 July, 2009, 09:58
Uyghur protest in Urumqi in China's Xinjiang province (Topshots AFP Photo / Peter Parks)
(10.5Mb) embed videoChina, in an attempt to end the recent spate of bloody ethnic violence that has already left 156 dead and more than 1,000 injured, has ordered that all mosques in the troubled city of Urumqi be closed for Friday prayers.
Shops have opened and traffic is back to normal in the capital of Xinjiang province as Chinese security forces keep a firm grip on the region. Attention is shifting towards who might be behind the clashes. Chinese authorities say they were orchestrated from overseas.
“This is a pre-planned and organized violent criminal incident which was remotely controlled, agitated and commanded by certain overseas organizations and conducted by criminals at home,” says Qin Gang, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman.
Authorities point the finger at the exiled Rebiya Kadeer, the President of the World Uyghur Congress. The Congress represents the interests of the Uyghur people both inside and outside China. The government claims that it is linked to the terrorist organization the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. The ETIM is a militant Muslim separatist group, founded by Uyghurs, and is fighting for an independent state called East Turkestan.
“According to Russian media reports, two Uyghur militants were captured fighting with Chechen rebels, and Uyghur terrorists are also active in Central Asia,” says Igor Rotar, a journalist for Rossiya newspaper.
Separatist sentiments have a long history in Xinjiang. In the early 20th century the Uyghurs briefly declared independence, but in 1949 the region was brought under the control of communist China.
Since the 9/11 attacks China has been claiming that the Uyghur separatists are connected to Al-Qaeda and some Uyghurs have been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.
However, little if no evidence has been produced to support the claims. Beijing has been accused of trying to diminish the Uyghur presence by organizing a mass immigration of Han Chinese into the region.
“The recent clashes have once again drawn attention to the problem of Uyghur separatism. I think the main cause of the protests is the long lasting confrontation between the Chinese Han and the Uyghurs,” says Igor Denisov, Asian correspondent for “Golos Rossii”.
However, the former Russian Ambassador to China thinks the clashes were well-planned and organized from abroad with the aim of destabilizing the country.
“There have been reports that for some time the main aim of US foreign policy was to break the Soviet Union. They achieved that goal. Now their next goal is to break China,” says Igor Rogachev, former Ambassador to China.
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It is 100% sure that all these clashes in China are orchestrated by the USA!!! Last year after the Georgian agression on South Osetia, Russian forces founded a passport of a USA citizen in South Osetia. It was interesting that this man (on the passport) had been training the Croatian forces till 1996 and now he was a "veteran". On the russian news, the reporters showed the passport and in this passport there were Visas of Azerbajdjan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan and there were entry and exit stamps showing that this man had visited all this countries within the period 2005-2008. The russian forces said they are looking for this "veteran" to find out how he had lost his passport just a couple of days before the Georgian aggresion on South Osetia. In one month (it was in late September) they found him exactly in city of Urumqi, China. What the hell!!! To much coincidences!!! Just when I saw him on the news last year(2008) in the city of Urumqi, China I realized that this is the next place USA secret servicies are preparing the next clash or war or something like this. The russian journalist asked him what is he doing there in Urumqi, China and he said he is married to a lady from this city and he moved to Urumqi because he loved their culture and he is interested in their way of livin and so on. The Russian journalist asked him what he was doing in the period 2005-2008 in South Osetia, Georgia, Azerbajdjan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and so on, and they tell him that they found his passport in South Osetia during the war - he said he was married to Georgian women during these period living in South Osetia, and he said he was there and visited those countries because he liked their culture, way of living and said the most beuatiful woman lived there and he wanted to marry a women from these region. Oh my God!!! It is definetely sure that this veteran is working for the US secret services or something like this and he prepares such clashes !!!