An electronic newsletter Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 20 14 February 1997 In this issue: (1) CHINA - UIGHURS
(2) TAIPEI TELLS BEIJING TO RESPECT ETHNIC MINORITIES
(3) TIBETANS CONDEMN CRACK DOWN ON UIGHURS (DIIR)
(4) DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE EMBASSY OF CHINA IN BISHKEK
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Riots by separatist Muslims in China's northwestern province of Xinjiang have raised renewed security concerns in central Asia and beyond. The rioting is the latest in a series of violent incidents that have plagued the ethnically troubled area in recent years. V-O-A's Ali Jalali takes a look at the sources of the unrest and its implications for regional stability. The ethnic rioting last week (February 4-5) in the town of Yining near the Kazakstan border has been described as the worst since 1949 when China toppled a short-lived independent republic of Uighurs in the region. Chinese authorities said that at least 10 people were killed in the rioting, and 140 injured. A statement from the regional government blamed the unrest on what it called a small number of Hostile elements trying to overthrow the government. Uighurs -- a Muslim Turkic majority among Xinjiang's sixteen—million population -- have preserved centuries old political and cultural history of the area, which is commonly known as eastern Turkistan. The area was the heart of a medieval Uighur empire that fell to the Mongols In the thirteenth century. China acquired control of the land in the eighteen century and officially named it Xinjiang--Uighur autonomous region in 1955. Disturbed by a Chinese policy of assimilation, Uighurs' separatist feelings intensified during the last two decades. The separatist campaign also was inspired by the emergence of newly independent states in central Asia following the break-up of the soviet union in 1991. The Movement, which has periodically expressed itself in violent forms, reached a new level last april when a wave of separatist riots hit the provincial capital of Uromqi. Exile Uighur political groups charge that Chinese policy is aimed at destroying Uighurs' national identity and cultural traditions. A recent u-s state department report notes that migration of han Chinese into the area in recent decades has drastically changed the hans-Uighur ratio in uromqi. This, says the report, along with Chinese officials' control of the region's political and economic institutions, has led to the growth of tension. Chinese officials disagree, however, saying that the government has greatly improved the economy in Xinjiang and created equal opportunities for the multi-ethnic communities there. China blames what it calls small groups of Islamic radicals for the growing disturbances. Observers believe that weapons have been smuggled into the province from the neighboring central Asian countries. Uighur nationalists in central Asia claim that they merely seek preservation of their national identity and cultural heritage. But Erkin Aleptekin, the president of Uighur organizations in europe, says Chinese policies make it difficult to achieve this peacefully. Aleptekin: "At present, the Uighurs are forced to choose between gradual assimilation or a mortal struggle (to) die as a hero. So there is no choice. On the other hand, the Uighurs living abroad are trying very hard to pacify our countrymen, to try to tell them not to use Violence to reach their aims or goals. (the) great majority of the people at home and abroad are totally against any kind of armed struggle. We believe that could easily lead to self-destruction and we don't want to have that." Uighur leaders warn that if China fails to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, it may face a situation similar to what russia has faced in Chechnya. That possibility, says Helmut Sonnenfeldt of the Brookings Institute in Washington, can not be ruled out. Sonnenfeldt: "I think the Chinese have tried to observe very closely what happened in chechnya, in part because they may be conscious of the possibility that something of that sort might arise in their own domain. And my guess would be that the lesson learned is, if it [i.e., any possible uprising] does occur it needs to be dealt with harshly and rapidly so that it doesn't fester." Mr. Sonnenfeldt says a peaceful solution would entail awarding partial autonomy to the region. But, he says, there are no indications that such a policy will be adopted. This, he says, leaves violence a likely option. However, Song Yimin of the China institute for international studies does not see much similarity between Xinjiang and Chechnya. She says the two regions are socially, politically and culturally very different. Song Yimin adds that Xinjiang's proximity to potential conflict points in central Asia raises the stakes for regional security and may promote efforts to maintain peace in the region. Song Yimin: "All central Asian republics, don't like any nationality conflicts in their countries so they don't like disturbances of nationality in Xinjiang, because there is some chain reaction, negative reaction. So we have common interests to put down all the nationality disturbances and hope we can find some way of cooperation to try to settle these, perhaps exasperation, in these countries." People in central Asia have strong ethnic and cultural affinities with their neighbors in Xinjiang. The remote Chinese province has closer historical ties with central Asia than to the mainstream China. Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan, for example, are home to about a quarter-million Uighurs and the base for several Uighur political groups. But governments in the central Asian states have been strongly opposed to irredentist Uighur nationalism and constantly restricted the political activities of Uighur nationalists in their territory. The Commitment was reiterated last year (April 27) in the Shanghai summit in which Russia and China's three central Asian neighbors (Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) signed an agreement to demilitarize the border. Uighur leaders say the situation is no surprise to their people, who since the mid eighteen century have seen the fate of their nation shaped by political deals among the major powers surrounding them. They say that twice during this century (1933 and again in 1949), the short-lived independent state of Uighurs was thwarted through Soviet-Chinese cooperation. Despite all this, says Kahraman Khojemverdi, a leading Uighur political figure in Kazakstan, the current situation in Xinjiang is becoming more tense. continuation of the current Chinese policy, he says, can lead to more trouble. Mr. Khojemberdi says it is the responsibility of the democratic forces in China and the international community to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. But Helmut Sonnenfeldt of Washington's Brookings institution says it is difficult for outsiders to have a significant influence on the situation in Xinjiang. Sonnedfeldt: "I think the obvious position is to urge that the issues be dealt with peacefully and in a way that gives the people in the area a sense of identity and that the Chinese treat them with tolerance. And I think the Chinese should be aware, regardless of what other governments say, that evidence of bloodshed and major military clashes are not going to help the Chinese image in the world. That is certainly the experience of the Russians and the experience of the Chinese when they tried the deal with the developments in Taiwan." Given the emerging geopolitics of the region, independent observers see little prospects for major changes in the status of Xinjiang in the foreseeable future. All states in the region have publicly denounced separatist tendencies and supported the territorial integrity of China, including Xinjiang and Tibet and Taiwan. However, analysts also believe that the use of force to pacify the area may lead to deeper ethnic polarization and expanded Islamic radicalism in the troubled land of the Uighurs. (2) TAIPEI TELLS BEIJING TO RESPECT ETHNIC MINORITIES
Taiwan has urged Beijing to respect ethnic minorities' customs, cultures and languages so as to maintain harmonious instead of turbulent relations with them, Reuters reports from Taipei. The statement was issued Monday by the Mainland Affairs Council on the latest riot in Xinjiang where about 1,000 Moslem separatists rampaged through Yining on February 5, demanding independence. Ten people were killed including a police officer. (Gai Xie, YIN De An) (3) TIBETANS CONDEMN CRACK DOWN ON UIGHURS (DIIR)
We condemn the recent brutal suppression by Chinese Communist security forces of Uighur demonstrators in the town of Yining. The people of Eastern Turkestan have been subjected to the worst fate of brutal Chinese Communist suppression, systematic exploitation of their rich natural resources, forced assimilation and sinicization through transfer of Chinese population into the region. The people of Eastern Turkestan have been expressing their opposition to the violation of their basic rights and freedoms. We believe that the use of brutal military force cannot suppress any people's yearning for freedom, and urge the Chinese leadership to show courage by addressing the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the people through peaceful method of negotiations. Statement of Kalon Tashi Wangdi Minister for the Department of Information and international relations Central Tibetan Administration Gangchen Kyishong Dharamsala (4) DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE EMBASSY OF CHINA IN BISHKEK
On February 17, 1997, the Uyghur community in Kyrgyzstan staged a demonstration in front of the embassy of China in Bishkek protesting the brutal policies of the Chinese government in Uyghuristan. About 400 people took part in the demonstration. The protesters were holding the sky blue with the crescent and star flags and slogans: "The Chinese must leave Uyghuristan!", "Take you hands off Uyghuristan!", "The International Community, help us!". The leaflets describing the events in Ghulje, when hundreds of people were killed in clashes with the Chinese military, and thousands of people were arrested, were distributed to the correspondents and human rights organizations' activists attending the demonstration. The letter of protest was delivered to the Chinese embassy. Even though the local government authorities requested to leave the place, the demonstrators stayed. The demonstration continued for more than one hour.--Rabiyem Yakub, Bishkek Prepared by: Abdulrakhim Aitbayev (rakhim@lochbrandy.mines.edu) WUNN newsletter index*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= The World Uyghur Network News electronic newsletter is produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center (ETIC) in cooperation with the Taklamakan Uighur Human Rights Association (USA), and is devoted to the current political, cultural and economic developments in Eastern Turkistan and to the Uyghur people related issues. Eastern Turkistan (Sherqiy Turkistan in Uyghur) is a name used by the indigenous people of the region for their motherland located in what is at present the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic China. The World Uyghur Network News brings information on situation in Eastern Turkistan from the Uyghur and other sources to the attention of the international community. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= EASTERN TURKISTAN INFORMATION CENTER |