(2) UZBEKISTAN TIGHTENS CONTROLS OVER RELIGIOUS GROUPS 4 May 1998, RFE/RL NEWSLINE  Karimov added that "such people (the Wahhabis) must be shot in the head. If necessary, I'll shoot them myself, if you lack the resolve."  The parliament on 1 May passed a law imposing new restrictions on religious groups, Reuters and Interfax reported. The law requires all mosques and all religious groups with more than 100 members to register. Attending the parliamentary session, President Islam Karimov spoke out harshly against one such group, the Wahhabis, whom he accused of seeking to turn Uzbekistan into a second Tajikistan by "killing officials [and destroying] food factories, powers stations, and other strategic installations." Karimov added that "such people must be shot in the head. If necessary, I'll shoot them myself, if you lack the resolve." Wahhabis were blamed for violence that broke out in the city of Namangan last December in which several police officials were killed. BP

(3) WASHINGTON STATE FEELS EFFECTS OF ASIAN DUST STORM 30 April1998, Associated Press  A powerful storm that started April 18 and lasted three days in the Chinese province of Xinjiang whipped up a plume of dust that drifted east on prevailing winds. The cloud moved quickly across the Pacific Ocean, arriving on the West Coast five days ago.  SPOKANE, Washington (AP) -- Air pollution has threatened to become a health hazard in eastern Washington, a situation complicated by a cloud of dust from storms in central Asia that "parked" in stagnant air over the U.S. Northwest, a state Department of Ecology spokesman said Wednesday.  A powerful storm that started April 18 and lasted three days in the Chinese province of Xinjiang whipped up a plume of dust that drifted east on prevailing winds. The cloud moved quickly across the Pacific Ocean, arriving on the West Coast five days ago.  Weather Service forecasters suspect a cloud from these Asian dust storms may have reached Washington, adding to the haze that hung over most of the region Tuesday and Wednesday.   As a result, the Department of Ecology banned outdoor burning in all of eastern Washington until further notice.  Violators are subject to fines up to $1,000 a day.  

(4) A MASSIVE DUST CLOUD WREAKS HAVOC ON XINJIANG 21 April 1998, CNN  XINJIANG, China (CNN) -- At least 12 people were reported missing after a dust storm with gale-force winds hit the Xinjiang region of northwest China last weekend.  The storm swept across 10 cities and districts, cutting power and water supplies and leaving a trace of yellow dust carried by the winds from nearby deserts.

(5) DUST ENSHROUDS NORTHWEST CHINA Aired April 26, 1998 - 2:03 p.m., CNN  A sandstorm struck some 10 cities and towns in eastern and southern parts of Xingjiang.  In western Xingjiang, 11 people have been confirmed missing in the disaster.  RALPH WENGE, CNN ANCHOR: China's northwest is digging itself out from a blanket of yellow dust and rock. Gale-force winds pelted China's Xinjiang region last week with sand and stone, shattering windows and cutting electricity and water lines.  At least 11 people were reported missing. The winds also reportedly caused numerous fires both in residential areas and nearby forests.  WANG FEIZHOU, CCTV REPORTER (voice-over): A sandstorm struck some 10 cities and towns in eastern and southern parts of Xingjiang. And the inference of strong cold air currents from Western Siberia and warm air from the Caspian Sea, the winds gained a gale-force speed in a very short time.  Along State Highway 312 in northwest Xinjiang's Datun (ph) District, large trees were blown down or pulled up from their roots. In downtown Wulumuqi, the capital of the autonomous region, many huge advertisement billboards were blown down, as the hour's long storm covered the city with yellow dust.  In western Xingjiang, 11 people have been confirmed missing in the disaster. Large animal herds were scattered by the fierce winds in the northern tip of the region. And some vehicles were hurled from the roads. The wind also blew up forest fires in nearby areas.  Meteorologists describe the storm as rare in recent years. North China was also shrouded by dust winds. Beijing residents woke up to see the city covered by yellow dirt and dust on house roofs, streets, cars, bicycles everywhere.  Vehicles were unrecognizable to their owners. Intervals of light rainfall continued well into the afternoon, covering morning moisture cars with dirt again at noon. Drivers were frustrated.  If this kind of windy and dusty weather used to become on in early spring of Beijing, it is not usual for people in Shang Dong Province. The next day, strong winds carried the dust further south to Shang Dong Province. Jinan residents found the morning sky even a grayish yellow, and their city covered in dust.  Outdoor visibility was low. A 62-year-old resident said she had never seen such weather before. Weather experts attribute the storm to a widespread and rapid cyclone, blowing dust and dirt from Mongolia and Loes Plateau (ph) where the vegetation is poor.  The recent abnormal high temperature and low humidity also provided optimum conditions for the movement of dust.  This is Wang Feizhou of CCTV for the CNN WORLD REPORT. 

(6) BEIJING NO. 1 THREAT, SAYS INDIA OFFICIAL 4 May 1998, South China Morning Post  Defence Minister George Fernandes said yesterday China was a bigger threat to India than Pakistan. "The potential threat from China is greater than that from Pakistan and any person who is concerned about India's security must agree with that."  AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in New Delhi. Defence Minister George Fernandes said yesterday China was a bigger threat to India than Pakistan. "China is potential threat number one," he said. "The potential threat from China is greater than that from Pakistan and any person who is concerned about India's security must agree with that." Mr Fernandes' comments followed the first visit to India by a Chinese army chief, General Fu Quanyou.  India and China fought a brief but a bitter border war in 1962 which led to a 14-year diplomatic freeze.   Replying to questions about a supposed build-up of the Chinese military around India, Mr Fernandes claimed that Beijing had deployed nuclear missiles in Tibet.  He said: "China has its nuclear weapons stockpiled in Tibet along India's borders. I'm sure they are directed elsewhere also."  Mr Fernandes claimed airfields in Tibet were extended in the past six months.  There was "a lot of naval activity" off Burma, including harbours being built on islands owned by Burma where Chinese ships could be berthed, said Mr Fernandes.  "China's senior officials have said the Indian Ocean is not India's ocean," he said. "There is no doubt in my mind China's fast-expanding Navy will be getting into the Indian Ocean fairly soon."   Mr Fernandes, a firebrand socialist in India's new Hindu nationalist-led coalition Government, claimed China was training Burma's Army. He said:  "The Burmese Army was 170,000 strong six years ago. Today it is 450,000 strong and by the turn of the century it will be half-a-million strong."  He claimed China had set up a "massive electronic surveillance establishment" on Burma's Coco Islands, 40 kilometres from India's Andaman and Nicobar islands.  Sino-Indian tensions have eased after a series of visits which began in 1988, but disputes over their border persist.   On India's policy toward China, Mr Fernandes said: "I think there is a reluctance to face the reality that China's intentions need to be questioned." "We made those mistakes in the early 1950s. We paid the price in the 1960s.  And I think things haven't changed." 

(7) INDIA PLANS TO REVIVE MISSILE TESTS 4 May 1998, South China Morning Post  Indian scientists plan to revive testing of a missile that could hit targets deep inside China  Indian scientists plan to revive testing of a missile that could hit targets deep inside China, it was reported yesterday.   The Press Trust of India news agency quoted unnamed official sources as saying scientists were planning to increase the range of the Agni ballistic missile, which was tested three times before the trials stopped two years ago.  At that time, the Indian Defence Ministry said it would keep its option open to resume the Agni development programme if national security was threatened.  It was not immediately clear what prompted the Government to revive the programme. Agni, or Fire, has a range of 2,480 kilometres - enough to reach Shanghai or Beijing. 

(8) BOLD PROJECT TRANSFORMS DEADLY DESERT INTO OASIS 27 December 1997, Xinhua  " ... tunnels will be dug through the Kunlun and Altun mountains on the Xinjiang-Qinghai border to divert water from the Yarlung Zangbo and Yangtze rivers to the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang."  URUMQI (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have put forth a bold project to turn a desert zone into an oasis with water from the Qinghai and Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of the world."  If the project is carried out early next century as scholars expect, Lop Nur, a large desert in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, will restore its ancient appearance of a large oasis with an abundance of vegetation and trees.   The critical part of this project is an ambitious water diversion programme initiated in 1972 by He Zuoxiu, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.   According to his plan, tunnels will be dug through the Kunlun and Altun mountains on the Xinjiang-Qinghai border to divert water from the Yarlung Zangbo and Yangtze rivers to the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang.  The long ditch would cross Lop Nur, which is in the eastern part of Tarim, and bring back fresh water that has been absent from this region for 2,000 years.  Other scholars have put forth ideas about how to restore Lop Nur's ancient glory and prosperity as a key city on the Silk Road, the legendary ancient trade route linking Asia and Europe.  One suggestion is to build a 1,000-kilometre road linking Dunhuang in western Gansu Province, and Turpan and Korla in eastern and southern Xinjiang to the hinterland of Lop Nur.  Another plan is to construct a railway connecting Xinjiang and its neighbouring province of Qinghai with several stations built in the western part of Lop Nur.  Although the Chinese Government has kept quiet about the project, its supporters say they firmly believe it will become a reality in the near future.  Their most powerful argument is that China in recent years has invested billions of dollars into petroleum exploration in Tarim, and is now looking for new oil reserves in Lop Nur.  Moreover, they said, geologists recently discovered a sylvite mine near Lop Nur with an estimated reserve of 250 million tons. China is now spending about US$600 million each year on potassium chloride imports.  "A road that crosses Lop Nur is indispensable for exploiting oil and sylvite here," said Wang Mili, a 56-year-old geologist who is an expert on Lop Nur.  Historical records indicate that the Lop Nur region used to have China's second largest inland lake.   The region was desertified after a course shift of the Tarim River more than 2,000 years ago. 

Prepared by:

Abdulrakhim Aitbayev (rakhim@lochbrandy.mines.edu)

WUNN newsletter index

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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.

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