An electronic newsletter Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 36 25 April 1997 In this issue: (1) CONFISCATED MATERIALS OF THE BBC CREW COULD LEAD TO MORE ARRESTS
(2) CONFISCATED MATERIALS OF THE BBC CREW COULD LEAD TO MORE ARRESTS
(3) FROM THE TEXT OF THE CHINESE PRESIDENT QIAN QICHEN'S MOSCOW PRESS CONFERENCE
(4) BBC CREW EXPELLED OVER DOCUMENTARY ON UNREST
(5) ANNAN APPEALS FOR SAFETY OF BUDDHA SCULPTURES
(6) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EASTERN TURKISTAN UNION IN EUROPE MET WITH THE MEMBER OF THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
(7) CHINA UPSET OVER DALAI VISIT WITH CLINTON
(8) CIS-CHINESE BORDER AGREEMENT SIGNED.
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ETIC has received the following information on the incident with the BBC crew that was recently detained and expelled from Eastern Turkistan by the Chinese authorities.The BBC team entered China with tourist visas from Kazakstan, and arrived to Ghulje (Yining) city on Wednesday, April 9. Apparently, they had been followed by the Chinese secret police from the border to Ghulje. The main goal of the crew was to collect materials for a documentary for the British TV program Correspondent on the situation in the city after the recent violent ethnic clashes between the Uyghurs and the Chinese police. The team consisted of several people, including BBC correspondents Julie Flint and Farah Duxburg, and Sara, a member of the Kazak service of BBC. After arrival to Ghulje, the team managed to make some video taping and interviews with the local people. On Friday evening, the Chinese police detained the team and confiscated all the materials collected by the crew. The police treated the journalists with rudeness; the Kazak woman was even hit. After several hours of interrogation, the arrested were forced to admit being British correspondents. The whole process of the arrest and interrogation was video taped by the Chinese police. After 10 days under arrest, the journalists were expelled to Pakistan. There have been reports that, after the crew was expelled from China, the Chinese police conducted the large number of arrests among the Uyghurs. Giving an interview to a foreign correspondent could be a reson for imprisonment in Eastern Turkistan. On April 24, the Chinese authorities organized a medieval intimidation show for the Uyghurs in Ghulje. 27 people were given long term sentences, and three Uyghurs were publicly executed on a stadium in Ghulje. There are reports that a group of Uyghurs attempted to free the convicted while they were toured around the city with placards describing their crimes; the police opened fire killing two rescuers. The curfew is still imposed in the city. Overall, the situation in the city is described as terrifying. [Rakhim Aitbayev, Denver] (2) CONFISCATED MATERIALS OF THE BBC CREW COULD LEAD TO MORE ARRESTS
ETIC has received the following information on the incident with the BBC crew that was recently detained and expelled from Eastern Turkistan by the Chinese authorities. The BBC team entered China with tourist visas from Kazakstan, and arrived to Ghulje (Yining) city on Wednesday, April 9. Apparently, they had been followed by the Chinese secret police from the border to Ghulje. The main goal of the crew was to collect materials for a documentary for the British TV program Correspondent on the situation in the city after the recent violent ethnic clashes between the Uyghurs and the Chinese police. The team consisted of a BBC correspondent Julie Flint, film producer Farah Durrani, cameraman Mr. Duxbury, and Rosa, a member of the Kazak service of BBC. After arrival to Ghulje, the team managed to make some video taping and interviews with the local people. On Friday evening, the Chinese police detained the team and confiscated all the materials collected by the crew. The police treated the journalists with rudeness; the Kazak woman was even hit. After several hours of interrogation, the arrested were forced to admit being British correspondents. The whole process of the arrest and interrogation was video taped by the Chinese police. After 10 days under arrest, the journalists were expelled to Pakistan. There have been reports that, after the crew was expelled from China, the Chinese police conducted the large number of arrests among the Uyghurs. Giving an interview to a foreign correspondent could be a reason for imprisonment in Eastern Turkistan. On April 24, the Chinese authorities organized a medieval intimidation show for the Uyghurs in Ghulje. 27 people were given long term sentences, and three Uyghurs were publicly executed on a stadium in Ghulje. There are reports that a group of Uyghurs attempted to free the convicted while they were toured around the city with placards describing their crimes; the police opened fire killing two rescuers. The curfew is still imposed in the city. Overall, the situation in the city is described as terrifying. [Rakhim Aitbayev, Denver] (3) FROM THE TEXT OF THE CHINESE PRESIDENT QIAN QICHEN'S MOSCOW PRESS CONFERENCE
[Reporter] Sino-Russian relations have developed to a great extent today. Can we say that the Sino-Russian territorial dispute is completely resolved? [Qian] The five nations of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, namely, the countries along the former Sino-Soviet border, have signed a border agreement. Now they are settling the border issue in light of this agreement. Apart from the disputes which still exist in a very small number of areas, the entire border issue is being settled in light of the agreement. We will strive to settle the issue before the end of this year. [Reporter] Did President Jiang Zemin mention the issue of opposing ethnic separatist activities in his meetings with the presidents of the three Central Asian republics? [Qian] He did talk about the issue. He talked more about it especially with the Kazakhstani and Kyrgyz presidents. Both parties have identical views, holding that in order to maintain peace and stability in this region, including the Central Asian region and Chinas Xinjiang region, it is necessary to curb the activities of the ethnic separatists because such activities will cause instability in the region, especially if some terrorist acts spread. Therefore, both the Kazakhstani president and the Kyrgyz president have explicitly said that they will never allow a handful of Xinjiang separatists to carry out their activities in their countries. The Dalai Lama Can Return to China if He Does Not Engage in Independence for Tibet [Reporter] Just as President Jiang Zemin met with President Yeltsin in Moscow, Clinton met with the Dalai Lama in Washington. Are the two events related? [Qian] They are totally unrelated. Some people say that the Dalai is a religious leader, but I think he is actually an exiled separatist carrying out activities of splitting the motherland, although he decks himself out as a religious leader. Some people say that the Dalai is ready to hold talks with the central government. In fact, we had contact with each other for a dozen years or so before 1993, but he has suspended talks with the central government since 1993. We have said: So long as the Dalai openly declares that Tibet is an inseparable part of Chinese territory and that he will not engage in Tibetan independence and activities of splitting the motherland, and neither will he engage in similar activities, we can talk and he also can return to China. Qian Will Visit United States Shortly To Discuss Top-level Exchange Visit. (4) BBC CREW EXPELLED OVER DOCUMENTARY ON UNREST
DAVID WALLEN in London A BBC crew was waiting in Pakistan to return to Britain yesterday after being expelled from China for attempting to make a documentary on the separatist unrest in Xinjiang. The three used tourist visas to enter the region where there has been a wave of riots and bombings recently by Islamic separatists, according to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. Journalists need special permission to enter the region, and it is rarely granted. "While in China, they were engaged in illegal reporting activities incompatible with their status on coming to China. The circumstances were serious," said ministry spokesman Cui Tiankai. "Chinese public security organs" had already decided to cut short their period of stay in China and ordered them out of the country. In London, a BBC spokesman said the crew had left for China some days ago and sources confirmed they were trying to shoot footage of the unrest. The BBC said the three, who it refused to name, had been "briefly detained" after a "brief but slightly unpleasant incident". It would not reveal details of what the crew, working on a TV documentary called Correspondent, had actually managed to film before they were expelled - or whether they had managed to take any footage out of the country with them. "We don't want to get into details of what they were up to," he said, admitting concern for the presence of other BBC correspondents in China. "We don't want to aggravate what is a fairly delicate situation." (5) ANNAN APPEALS FOR SAFETY OF BUDDHA SCULPTURES
UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed on Thursday to political and military commanders in Afghanistan to protect giant sculptures of Buddha in the northern part of the country, a U.N. spokesman said. "The secretary-general is deeply disturbed by reports that the great Buddhist sculptures in the province of Bamiyan in Afghanistan may be under threat of destruction in the continuing military operations in the area," the spokesman said in a statement. "He appeals to both the political and military commanders involved to ensure that no harm is done to these priceless sculptures, which have purely historical and cultural significance which should be preserved." A report from Peshawar, Pakistan, said a U.N. official expressed concern Wednesday to a representative of the purist Islamic Taliban movement over a threat to destroy the statues of Buddha on religious grounds after Taliban captured Bamiyan from the opposition Shiite Muslim faction of Hezb-i-Wahdat. The Taliban reportedly replied that no decision had been made on the fate of the statues. (6) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EASTERN TURKISTAN UNION IN EUROPE MET WITH THE MEMBER OF THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
On April 24, the representative in Sweden of the Eastern Turkistan Union in Europe Mr. Faruk Sadik met with the member of the Swedish parliament's foreign affairs committee Ms. Tone Tingsgard. Mr. Sadik informed Ms. Tingsgard on the present extremely difficult situation of the Uyghurs in Eastern Turkistan, the Uyghurs complete deprivation of the basic human rights, continuing for more than one year "Strike Hard" political campaign in Eastern Turkistan against the Uyghurs, and the bloody clashes between the Uyghurs and the Chinese armed police in Ghulje (Yining) city of Eastern Turkistan on February 5-7. In order to provide the Swedish parliament members with the objective information on the situation in Eastern Turkistan, Mr. Sadik proposed to organize a conference in Sweden with participation of the prominent Uyghur intellectual and leader Erkin Alptekin, Tibet's spiritual leader Dalai Lama, and the well known Chinese human rights activist in the USA Harry Woo. Ms. Tingsgard stressed the importance of obtaining true information on situation in Eastern Turkistan. In particular, she said "The Swedish Parliament addresses quite often to human rights issues of minorities in other countries in the World. Unfortunately, the parliament only recently became aware on the situation with the human rights in Xinjiang. I will forward your information to the parliament members, in particular, to the members of the foreign affairs committee. I promise you to do my ...... prisoners of the block chose to stay. Those escaped had been given long term and death sentences. Having pursued the fugitives for 3 days, the police caught 5 rioters. Two of them were immediately executed in front of the prison inmates. ETIC has been receiving reports that the situation in the prisons in Eastern Turkistan are extremely inhumane. The political prisoners are subjected to physical tortures, including heavy beatings by batons, and deprivation of food. The bodies of killed inmates are usually not returned to their relatives, but secretly buried in the prison cemeteries. [Abdullah Pamir, Abduljelil Karkash, Munich] (7) CHINA UPSET OVER DALAI VISIT WITH CLINTON
BEIJING - China said on Thursday it had complained to the United States for allowing the Dalai Lama to meet U.S. leaders in Washington this week, but stopped short of saying the meetings would harm warming ties. "We are strongly dissatisfied with the United States for allowing the Dalai Lama to carry out splittist activities in the United States, and with U.S. leaders for meeting him," Foreign Ministry spokesman Cui Tiankai said. "We have already expressed our serious and principled stance to the U.S. side," Cui told a regular news briefing. President Bill Clinton ignored Chinese warnings not to meet the Dalai Lama -- Beijing's arch-rival for Tibetan loyalties -- at the White House on Wednesday and told Tibet's top monk he would urge China to open a direct dialogue with him. "We express our adamant opposition to any actions that tolerate or support the Dalai Lama's activities to split the motherland," Cui said. But Cui stopped short of saying the meeting, which Beijing had strongly opposed, would affect a Sino-U.S. relationship that both sides have been at pains to mend after a series of disputes over issues such as human rights, trade and Taiwan. "We have always made clear to the U.S. side our position on this issue, but we don't necessarily need to clarify what channels were used," Cui said, when asked how Beijing had expressed its dissatisfaction. Beijing on Tuesday warned senior U.S. officials not to meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Washington and slammed the spiritual leader as a puppet of Western forces aiming to split China. Clinton, wary of derailing the new Sino-U.S. rapprochement, avoided a full meeting with the Dalai Lama, instead "dropping in" on talks between the visiting Tibetan monk and Vice-President Al Gore. Beijing's response was much more muted than its reaction to a similar low-key meeting Clinton held with the Dalai Lama in September 1995, when it summoned the U.S. charge d'affaires to deliver a strong protest. Cui did not say if the Dalai Lama's meeting with Clinton would affect a planned trip by Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen later this month to Washington, where he is to have talks with the U.S. president. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader has been the target of a string of virulent state media condemnations in recent days. His visits to other Western nations have often prompted angry responses from Beijing. Beijing regularly accuses the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed revolt against Chinese rule, of seeking to split the Himalayan region from China. "The Dalai (Lama) must acknowledge that Tibet is an inseparable part of Chinese territory and must totally drop his support of Tibetan independence," Cui said. The Dalai Lama, who won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent campaign for more Tibetan autonomy, says he is only seeking genuine self-rule for his people under Chinese sovereignty. (8) CIS-CHINESE BORDER AGREEMENT SIGNED.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, and Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov met in Moscow today to sign an agreement reducing military forces in a 200 km zone along the CIS-Chinese border. According to Yeltsin, the agreement follows "seven years of cautious negotiations." It is unclear, however, whether the accord provides for a reduction in forces or maintains those forces at their present strength. A Chinese Foreign Minister official is quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying that "not one of our soldiers will be withdrawn from the border." According to Russian military and diplomatic sources, the CIS signatory countries are permitted to keep a total of 3,900 tanks on the border (Russia's quota is 3,810). The Chinese are also allowed 3,900 tanks, but sources in Beijing say China will not fulfill its quota as it has long ceased keeping large forces on the CIS border, Interfax reported. 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 |