|
Human rights leader criticizes paper's portrayal of
Uighurs - Kyrgyz paper
BBC Monitoring
Service - United Kingdom; Dec 7, 2001
The head of a Kyrgyz human rights organization,
Democracy, Tursun Islam, has accused the Kyrgyz
law-enforcement agencies of trying to "ascribe to the
Uighurs 'terrorism and religious extremism'". The
Uighurs counted on the assistance of the Kyrgyz,
Kazakh, Uzbek and Turkmen in their political fight to
restore their state, but the heads of the Central
Asian states showed indifference to the violations of
the human rights of the Uighurs and followed the lead
of China's "anti-Uighur, antidemocratic and
antiwestern politics", Islam said. The following is
the text of a report entitled "Human rights and
terrorism" by Kyrgyz newspaper Res Publika web site on
4 December
By Tursun Islam, a lawyer, chairman of the Democracy
human rights organization in Bishkek
Following the tragic events which occurred in the USA
on 11 September 2001, publications have appeared in
many media outlets, in which authors express their
thoughts on international terrorism, and again
exaggerate the subject of the rights of the Uighur
people.
The Democracy human rights organization in Bishkek
[Kyrgyzstan's capital] and the Uighur public express
their anxiety and indignation following the
publication of an article entitled "The issue of the `Uighur
problem'" in the Slovo Kyrgyzstana government
newspaper on 1 November 2001. A certain K. Imatov is
the author.
Imatov's assertion that the "Uighurs settled in
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region" [China] caused
great anxiety and indignation among the Uighur
diaspora in Kyrgyzstan.
[Passage omitted: the Uighurs have lived on the
territory for 5,000 years and are the true masters of
the land; the Chinese settled here in 1949]
As for the Uighur terrorists, court proceedings were
recently held against detained international
gangsters, including R. Sharipov [Tajik national].
They were sentenced to death and none has said that
there were Uighurs in their gangs. The fact that two
Uighurs - Kyrgyz nationals - Captain R. Samsakov and
junior Sergeant A. Mukhammedov - were killed during
the battle against terrorists while protecting
Kyrgyzstan's sovereignty and were awarded posthumous
medals is not taken into account. This is not absorbed
in the ideas of Imatov and those of the people who
back him.
Mr Imatov cites as an example the fact that some
members of the Sunni population in Pakistan, who have
bases in Afghanistan, are recruiting Uighurs to be
trained in basic weapons handling etc. According to
the Chinese embassy in Islamabad [Pakistan], this is
just one story of a series of what the people call
rubbish, or, as is accepted in the newspapers, the
more blatant lie, the faster it is believed! We do not
understand what the Uighurs have to do with the
explosions in Tashkent [Uzbekistan], which occurred
within minutes of each other, and the Uzbek Akhadov.
[Passage omitted: a British newspaper said that the
Uighurs' fight for independence is peaceful and
political; Chinese security agents are undermining the
Uighur organization]
As for four or the "terrorists", they were sentenced
to capital punishment, and a fifth to 25 years in
prison by the Osh Regional court in May 2001. Lawyers
and human-rights activists believe that the case was
completely framed.
[Passage omitted: details of the frame-up]
Kyrgyzstan's law-enforcement agencies are actively
playing the "Uighur card". In close cooperation with
China's special services, they are trying to ascribe
to the Uighurs "terrorism and religious extremism".
Through their agents-journalists, the special
services, they organize special publications and news
in the media which allegedly back their theories.
[Passage omitted: the subject of "Uighur terrorism" is
invented; China is persecuting and killing Uighurs]
The Eastern Turkestan (Uighurstan) national congress,
whose headquarters are located in Munich, planned to
hold a world congress of Uighurs in Brussels between
17-19 October 2001 in line with a preliminary
agreement with the European Parliament in Belgium.
Despite the fact that seven delegates from Kyrgyzstan,
15 from Kazakhstan and 12 from Turkey received
official invitations to attend the congress as early
as August, and all the pertinent documents were issued
and handed over in time for a visa for the conference
venue - Belgium - to be granted, not a single Kazakh
was able to attend the conference, whilst only four
people from Kyrgyzstan and five from Turkey were able
to get visas.
[Passage omitted: China's special services may have
worked well; why are those who seek freedom and
justice called terrorists and separatists?]
It is quite natural that the Uighurs counted on the
assistance of their neighbouring kin peoples: Kyrgyz,
Kazakh, Uzbek and Turkmen in their peaceful political
fight for the restoration of their state, but the
heads of the Central Asian republics are not only
showing indifference to mass violations of human
rights in Eastern Turkestan (Uighurstan), but they are
following the lead of China's anti-Uighur,
antidemocratic and anti-western politics.
Source: Res Publika web site, Bishkek, in Russian 4
Dec 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
World Reporter All Material Subject to Copyright
|
ETIC REPORT 2000 
