Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 45 17 June 1997 In this issue: (1) THREE MORE UYGHURS WERE EXECUTED IN GHULJE Eastern Turkistan Information Center, 6/14/97 (2) UYGHUR STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN FACE DEPORTATION Eastern Turkistan Information Center, 5/25/97 (3) EXPLOSIVES FIND SPARKS PLEA TO XINJIANG CLERICS Reuter, 6/17/97 (4) TEN 'TERRORIST ACTS' REPORTED IN XINJIANG SINCE 1996 AFP, 06/11/97 (5) BEIJING REJECTS CHARGES OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION CND-Global, 6/13/97 (6) CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER IN KAZAKSTAN RFE/RL Newsline, No. 51, Part I, 6/12/97 (7) REPORT ON XINJIANG OIL, GAS EXPLORATION Beijing Xinhua, 06/12/97 (8) CHINA DEALS WITH FOREIGN SUPPLIERS TO DOUBLE OIL IMPORTS The Washington Post, 6/9/97 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (1) THREE MORE UYGHURS WERE EXECUTED IN GHULJE Eastern Turkistan Information Center, 6/14/97 According to Ismail Cengiz, the chairman of the Eastern Turkistan National Center in Turkey, the Chinese authorities continue to conduct fabricated trials of the Uyghurs arrested after the Uyghur youth clashed with the armed police in Gulje city of Eastern Turkistan on February 4-6. He reported to an ETIC correspondent that, on June 11, 3 more Uyghurs were convicted in causing social disturbances and hooliganism and executed in Ghulje. By his estimates, the total number of killed on and after the Ghulje events reached 162 people, and about 1600 people have been arrested. [Ismail CENGIZ , Istanbul] *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (2) UYGHUR STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN FACE DEPORTATION Eastern Turkistan Information Center, 5/25/97 [ETIC, 5/25/97] The situation around the Uyghur students in Pakistan continue to deteriorate. The Pakistani newspapers reported that, having deported to China 12 young Uyghurs who sought political asylum in Pakistan from religious and ethnic persecutions in China, the government of Pakistan plans to deport all the Uyghur religious students currently studying in the Islamic schools of that country.The administrative office in Peshawar reported that it has a list of about 130 people to be deported to China, but they had not received the directive for detaining those people. It was also reported that the consulate agencies of Pakistan suspended granting entering visa's to Uyghur individuals from China. In addition, the Chinese embassy in Pakistan refuses to renew passports to the Uyghur students. [Yorungkash, Pakistan] More on Uyghur students in Pakistan: [ETIC, 5/13/97] Pakistani newspaper "Rozi Name" reported that all 12 Uyghur students were executed soon after they were deported to China. [Abduljelil, Munich] *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (3) EXPLOSIVES FIND SPARKS PLEA TO XINJIANG CLERICS Reuter, 6/17/97 Xinjiang authorities have called on Muslim clerics to help ensure stability in the restive northwestern region after seizing 11 tonnes of explosives in an anti-crime crackdown. Keyum Bawudun, the Communist Party's deputy secretary in Xinjiang, urged about 300 Muslim clerics to make contributions to the stability of the region, the Xinjiang Daily said in an edition seen in Beijing yesterday. Xinjiang has been rocked repeatedly by anti-Chinese unrest in recent months. "It is the unshirkable responsibility of clerics," the deputy secretary was quoted as saying. "A majority of clerics are good, patriotic and for maintaining stability," he said, hinting that some religious leaders may sympathise with the independence movement. He warned against religious fanaticism. "We will resolutely and severely deal a blow to those who engage in illegal activities under the cloak of religion and the small group of people who develop religious extremist forces," he said. Xinjiang has no single high-profile religious leader. The call for clerics to help restore stability in the region came after Chinese authorities seized the 11 tonnes of explosives and uncovered 83 hideouts illegally selling firearms between March and May. Authorities also seized 110,000 detonators, 638 illegal firearms and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. In May, Chinese authorities executed eight people in the regional capital Urumqi for bombings, murders and robberies that left nine people dead. The group planted home-made bombs on public buses that blew up within minutes of each other in Urumqi on February 25, killing nine people and injuring 58 others. The attacks coincided with funeral rites in Beijing for Deng Xiaoping who died in February aged 92. The group planted two other bombs which did not explode. Exiled separatists of the ethnic Uygur minority have claimed responsibility for the assaults and vowed to stage more until they gain freedom for their homeland. Uygur militants want to set up an independent East Turkestan in Xinjiang. In April, a self-taught expert on the Koran was executed for bombing a military vehicle last year. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (4) TEN 'TERRORIST ACTS' REPORTED IN XINJIANG SINCE 1996 AFP, 06/11/97 Beijing, June 11 (AFP) -- Security forces in China's troubled Xinjiang province have dealt with 10 terrorist acts since last year including a demonstration which left at least 10 dead and several deadly bomb attacks, a report said. "Security forces in the region have since 1996 dealt with 10 acts of terrorist violence in accordance with the law, including the February 5 (1997) incident at Yining and the attacks on the buses in Urumqi on February 25," said the Xinjiang Daily, received here Wednesday. The predominantly Moslem area in northwest China has been plagued by clashes. On February 5 rioting by ethnic Uighur in Yining left at least 10 people dead by official count, but at least 100 according to the separatists. On February 25 three bomb blasts on buses in the regional capital Urumqi killed nine and injured 74. Three people were executed in April for involvement in the Yining clashes, while the following month eight were shot for the bomb blasts, blamed on separatists among the majority Uighur Moslems. The newspaper also mentioned the assassination attempt on May 12, 1996 against a senior official. Of the two men who stabbed the official at least one was killed a few days later in a gunfight. The paper did not give details of the other incidents in the region *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (5) BEIJING REJECTS CHARGES OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION CND-Global, 6/13/97 [CND, 06/12/97] China defends itself on Monday against charges of religious persecution, according to AFP. Director of the state religious affairs bureau YE Xiaowen said that the two cases involving WU Yangmin and XU Yongze were of legitimate crackdown of "evil, illegal organizations." Ye said that western media's misrepresentation of the cases has fueled criticism of China's religious policies, which is unjustified and is *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (6) CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER IN KAZAKSTAN RFE/RL Newsline, No. 51, Part I, 6/12/97 Chi Haotian, met with his Kazak counterpart, Mukkhtar Altynbayev, in Almaty on 11 June, and discussed expanding military ties, ITAR-TASS reported. Chi said after the meeting that China will offer boats to Kazakstan for patrolling the Caspian Sea and that some Kazak officers will learn Chinese to facilitate future exchanges and negotiations. Chi is also scheduled to meet with Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev. His visit is expected to accelerate the implementation of the troop reduction treaty that Kazakstan signed with China in late April. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (7) REPORT ON XINJIANG OIL, GAS EXPLORATION Beijing Xinhua, 06/12/97 Beijing, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China is expected to produce 30 million tons of crude oil and 6.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas by the year 2000. To date, a total of 35 oil and gas fields have been developed in the three great basins of Tarim, Junggar and Turpan-Hami in the region, with total annual crude output hitting 12.8 million tons. In addition, Xinjiang has developed a refining capacity of eight million tons. Oil and gas production and petrochemical processing in Xinjiang has generated an annual output value totaling 14.5 billion yuan, according to an official from China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The three hydrocarbon-rich basins of Xinjiang, with total areas of 740,000 sq km, account for one quarter of the country's total oil and gas resources. The region's crude oil resource is 28 percent of the national total, and its gas, 33 percent. According to CNPC, the three great basins of Tarim, Junggar and Turpan-Hami have entered a peak period in oil exploration and production, where a total of 75 large-sized industrial oil-bearing structures have been identified. The Chinese government has invested over 10 billion yuan over the past two years to speed up oil and gas development in the basins, which are expected to produce 15 million tons of crude by the end of the year. The oil experts here said that two oil fields, each with reserves above 100 million tons, have been discovered in the Tarim Basin and Junggar Basin. So far, nine oil fields and 34 oil-bearing structures have been found in Tarim, which has developed an annual crude output of 2.5 million tons. It is estimated that the Tarim Basin has oil and gas resources totaling 10.1 billion tons and 8.3 trillion cubic meters respectively, amounting to one seventh and one quarter of the country's reserves. Fourteen large-sized oil and gas fields have so far been discovered alone in the Junggar Basin, with gas-bearing areas covering over 800 sq km. Presently, the Cainan Oil Field, the country's first desert oil field with reserves in excess of one million tons, has become operative. Output from fields in the Turpan-Hami Basin is expected to double this year to three million tons. The CNPC source noted that notable progress has also been made in oil and gas exploration in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region, the Sichuan Basin and Qinghai province where a gas-bearing area covering more than 2,000 sq km has been found with proven gas reserves totaling 100 billion cubic meters. A senior CNPC official noted that the northwestern parts of China will pay attention to both oil and gas development and oil processing. By the end of the century, the region will be developed into the country's most important bases of both oil production petrochemical processing. China plans to invest 29 billion yuan in the coming five years to develop 39 petrochemical projects, with petrochemical output value expected to hit 16 billion by the year 2000. And by that time, the annual output value is expected to reach a value of 28.8 billion yuan. To speed up large-scale oil and gas development, the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has worked out a series of preferential policies in terms of examination and approval of projects, raw materials supply and use of land. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (8) CHINA DEALS WITH FOREIGN SUPPLIERS TO DOUBLE OIL IMPORTS The Washington Post, 6/9/97 By Steven Mufson Washington Post Foreign Service BEIJING, June 8 -- China is negotiating long-term oil-supply contracts with Middle Eastern countries and is considering the establishment of a strategic reserve to meet its growing thirst for imported petroleum. The official China Daily Business Weekly said today that China will need to import nearly a million barrels a day by 2000, twice the current level. With China's domestic oil industry struggling to maintain production at about 3.1 million barrels a day, imports will have to increase sharply to keep up with the demands of a rapidly expanding economy. The report comes at the end of a week in which China agreed to invest $5.2 billion in foreign oil-exporting countries to secure future supplies. The sum is an important commitment for a developing country such as China, which is trying to lure investment to its own domestic projects. "China needs a stable crude-oil supply, reliable sea transportation lines with oil tanker fleets and sufficient loading, storing and processing facilities," said Zhu Yu, president of the China Petrochemical Consulting Corp., the think tank for China's state oil firm, China Petrochemical Corp. He added that "the reserve is crucial because the gap between domestic production and demand is widening" and "without a reserve, China could be affected by drastic market fluctuations." China was self-sufficient in oil from the mid-1960s, after the discovery of the huge Daqing oil fields, through the mid-1990s. With Daqing having reached maturity, oil exploration offshore and in China's northwest has not produced discoveries big enough to maintain self-sufficiency, which was once a much valued political goal. But today's pragmatic economic planners appear reconciled to growing imports and are moving to strengthen ties with suppliers. Last Wednesday, Iraq and China signed a $1.2 billion contract to develop the billion-barrel Ahdab oil field in southern Iraq. Reports from Iraq said the field is ultimately expected to produce 90,000 barrels a day. China is also interested in the development of the Hlfay field in southern Iraq, which could produce about 250,000 barrels a day, some analysts said. Development of both fields was disrupted by fighting during the Iran-Iraq and Persian Gulf wars. American and European oil companies were among those that conducted initial exploration of those fields in the late 1970s. Also on Wednesday, Kazakstan announced a $4 billion oil deal with the Chinese National Petroleum Corp. that includes an ambitious plan for an oil pipeline that would extend to China's northwestern Xinjiang province. China's state oil firm has promised to invest $4 billion in the Kazak Aktyubinsk oil enterprise over the next 20 years, with $585 million to be invested from 1998 to 2003, in return for a 60-percent share in the company. Aktyubinsk is in western Kazakstan and has substantial reserves. Current crude oil output of 44,000 barrels a day will double by 2000, according to Chinese estimates. An oil pipeline from Xinjiang through Kazakstan could mark a shift in plans for China, which is developing a major oil field in Xinjiang's forbidding Taklimakan desert. China originally planned to build a pipeline from Xinjiang across China to eastern coastal regions.But the expense of the pipeline, combined with technical difficulties, have dimmed prospects for the pipeline across China. China is also exploring oil prospects in Nigeria. Following a visit by Premier Li Peng to the Nigerian military government, China's state oil firm is preparing for oil exploration and production there. The oil deals follow a series of political gestures by China toward those nations. China has signed political and military agreements with Kazakstan, calling for stronger ties and a reduction of troops along their common border. Kazakstan has also agreed to help prevent people from crossing the border to aid separatist ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang. China also came to the defense of Nigeria when the West African nation was criticized for throwing out election results and engaging in human rights abuses. And Beijing also has voiced tentative support for Iraq's efforts to expand its oil production, which is limited by U.N. sanctions to levels that allow it to import food and medicine without rebuilding its military complex. 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 |