An electronic newsletter Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 25 4 March 1997 In this issue: (1) BEIJING'S NEW PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN CALLS U.S. A CONSTITUTION RACIST DOCUMENT
(2) CHINA / HUMAN RIGHTS
(3) ACADEMIC WARNS AGAINST `POSSIBLE ATTACKS' ON BEIJING
(4) XINJIANG STEPS UP SECURITY, SEARCH FOR BOMB-PLANTERS
(5) "TENSIONS" REMAIN "HIGH" AFTER BOMB ATTACKS IN XINJIANG
(6) THREE ARMED SERVICES, ARMED POLICE EXTEND COMBAT READINESS
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In its first official response to the U.S. State Department report on human rights record in China released more than a month ago, China's Xinhua News Agency Tuesday published a 20-page long riposte entitled "A Look at the U.S. Human Rights Record," firing back at the United States for its ignorance of problems in its own back yard, UPI reported. The social problems, according to Xinhua, include underfed children, private firearm proliferation, terrorist attack, world's largest police forces relative to its population, and ever increasing population of prisoners, Reuters reported. The seven-chapter article by Xinhua also attacked the U.S. Constitution as a racist document and condemned the pervasive racial discrimination for blacks and other ethnic minorities in the United States. Democracy in the U.S., according to Xinhua, is only "a game of the rich," that elections "reflect neither the will of the people as a whole nor the majority." Xinhua advised the U.S. government "to put its own house in order before pointing its finger at other countries." According to UPI, this report is to be published on the front pages of China's state-run newspapers and featured on television broadcasts for the next few days. (WU Fang, YIN De An) (2) CHINA / HUMAN RIGHTS
The international red cross in Geneva says China has agreed to begin talks that could lead eventually to red cross access to Chinese prisons. But as VOA's Gil Butler reports from Beijing, a Chinese spokesman was not Conciliatory when asked about such prison visits. A red cross official on Monday said negotiations, broken off nearly three years ago, are expected to resume with a meeting in Beijing in April or may. The move was seen as signaling a change in Chinese thinking about the issue of red cross access to prisoners. At a regular Chinese foreign ministry briefing, spokesman Tang Guoqiang told reporters China's position on the issue remains the same. "We have not changed our opinion, we go against attempts to turn the human rights issue into politics or having a double standard on human rights. China has conducted dialogues with dozens of countries about human rights and that has increased understanding and respect. But it will not accept political confrontation." On the broader question of human rights, the official spokesman said every country has a right to protect human rights according to its own conditions. He said every country has a different level of culture, history, background and a different opinion on human rights. As the March-April united nations meeting on human rights in Geneva nears -- with its possible debate on Chinese human rights abuses -- Beijing has again published a harshly worded attack on the united state' human rights record. The official Xinhua news agency printed a 20 part criticism, saying the United States has a very poor human rights record in the world. It points to terrorist bomb explosions in the world trade center, the Oklahoma city Federal office building and the Olympic park in Atlanta. Xinhua says, it is not accidental that terrorist bomb attacks continuously occur in the United States. The Xinhua attack came on the same day Muslim separatists from China's western province of Xinjiang claimed they had set off more bus bombs. (3) ACADEMIC WARNS AGAINST `POSSIBLE ATTACKS' ON BEIJING
"Xinjiang Separatists Suspected of Involvement in Explosion Cases Arrested, Analyst Warns Against Possible Attacks on Beijing". Two days after the four bus explosion cases occurred in Urumqi, the Xinjiang police yesterday arrested a number of separatists suspected of involvement in the cases. It also launched a massive search and arrest operation against a major base of the separatists in Hotan. An academic has even warned that the separatists may even attack Beijing later. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang said that the departments concerned were very concerned about the bus explosion cases and were investigating the matter. He said: "I have heard and read about the reports and the departments concerned are investigating the matter." ( Provided by Gil Butler) (4) XINJIANG STEPS UP SECURITY, SEARCH FOR BOMB-PLANTERS
The toll from the bus bomb blasts in Urumqi, Xinjiang, the day before yesterday has risen to seven dead and more than 70 injured. To prevent the separatists from creating more chaos in the wake of Deng Xiaoping's death, the local authorities have taken strict security precautions and launched massive operations to hunt for the perpetrators. It is learned that the blasts were caused by time bombs planted on buses by the "United Revolutionary National Front." Most of the casualties have been sent to the Xinjiang Military District General Hospital. News has it that China secretly executed more than 20 active separatists last year and the explosions were a concrete expression of their retaliatory actions. An Urumqi official said: "The bombs were planted by the local separatists with the aim of creating chaos while people were mourning Deng Xiaoping's death. More than 70 people were reportedly injured." However, he declined to reveal the specific casualty figures. According to some local residents, to prevent the separatists from creating more chaos in the wake of Deng's death, the local authorities have taken strict security measures and launched massive operations to hunt for the perpetrators. Most suburban areas have been sealed off, and large numbers of police and antiriot police, as well as armed soldiers, have been deployed to patrol the streets. Almost every bus stop is now guarded by two patrolling policemen. A city resident said: "The situation is so chaotic that we dare not venture out." According to a passenger arriving in Beijing from Urumqi by plane, the authorities have set up checkpoints in many localities to intercept passing automobiles and buses for inspection. On the streets, there is an obvious increase in the number of patrolling police cars and policemen, who inspect the knapsacks and handbags of pedestrians from time to time. The situation is very tense. ( Provided by Gil Butler) (5) `TENSIONS' REMAIN `HIGH' AFTER BOMB ATTACKS IN XINJIANG
Beijing -- China has tightened controls on explosives after a series of bomb attacks in the northwest region of Xinjiang blamed on Muslim separatists left seven dead and 67 wounded. Tensions remained high Thursday in the regional capital, Urumqi, and security was tight after the blasts on three public buses only hours after Tuesday's state funeral of late patriarch Deng Xiaoping. A fourth bomb was defused. They were all small devices, but it is still not known what they were made of. No group has come forward to claim the attack, but residents in the city blame Uighur separatists from the south of the province, mainly the towns of Kahgar and Korla. They warned more unrest could follow as the majority Muslin Uighur step up their campaign to win independence from Beijing, in the remote area which has long been the scene of clashes between the Uighur and ethnic Han Chinese. Some experts even warned the Uighurs could even try to strike in the heart of Beijing. "Most of the residents are convinced that there will be more attacks or new clashes in Xinjiang between the Han and the Uighur," said one traveler returning from the region. Without waiting for the results of an inquiry the Chinese Government has already moved to clamp down on explosives, announcing stiffer controls on their manufacture and use, particularly for mines and quarries. A circular has been issued by the public security ministry ordering all police departments to shut down illegal, underground dynamite producers. "The situation of the Uighur, who are getting poorer as the Chinese get richer, is similar to that of the Palestinians in the (Israeli) occupied territories," said an expert on strategic issues. "An increase in terrorist acts is therefore not to be ruled out including in the hear of the Chinese capital." So far the Uighur have mainly targeted police and army vehicles, symbols of the Han Chinese presence. "Today the separatists want to terrorize the Chinese and profit from the return of Hong Kong to China after more than 150 years of British colonialism to demand independence for eastern Turkestan," said an informed source in Urumqi. The vast semi-desert area, three times the size of France, was hit three weeks ago by a wave of unrest which officially left 10 people dead in the town of Yining on the border of Kazakhstan. Other estimates have put the death toll closer to 70. Uighur groups, most of which are exiled abroad in Kazakhstan, said that several thousand people, including children, were arrested in a security sweep during the arrest, and some said that 100 were executed. More than 20 days after the violence erupted, Yining is still under a state of siege, according to businessmen returning from the town. The paramilitary People's Armed Police patrols the airport in lorries and roadblocks have been thrown up in the town. Patrols of up to 10 men are constantly moving through the town, but do not go into the Uighur areas, travelers said. A curfew was officially lifted on February 15, but the Han population has been advised not to venture out after dusk. Banners call for a "fight against illegal religious activities" and sources in the town said the authorities were preparing to shut down about 1,000 mosques in the Yili area, of which Yining is a part. ( Provided by Gil Butler) (6) THREE ARMED SERVICES, ARMED POLICE EXTEND COMBAT READINESS
"Due to Post-Deng Political Uncertainties and the Xinjiang Blasts, Three Armed Services and Armed Police Extend Combat Readiness". An authoritative source has noted that in light of the post-Deng political uncertainties, particularly the recent bombings in Xinjiang, the Central Military Commission ordered a few days ago that the armed police and all armed services extend their combat readiness to 15 March. Television and other media will prolong the suspension of entertainment programs in mourning for Deng Xiaoping. The armed police and all armed services have been in combat readiness since the passing of CPC elder Deng Xiaoping on 19 February. The source added that since Deng Xiaoping's death on 19 February, the overall social situation in China has been stable. However, the connivance and support of foreign hostile forces have made it very difficult to maintain stability in the minority nationality regions, particularly in Tibet and the mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang. For this reason, the Chinese top echelon still holds a very cautious attitude towards the development of the situation. It is of the view that although Deng Xiaoping's mourning activities have been basically completed, destabilizing factors still exist, making it necessary to extend the combat readiness. The armed police units have been on top alert since Deng Xiaoping's passing. Its main targets of precaution are the minority nationality regions, hubs of communications, major cities, prisons, and other important areas. All services of the People's Liberation Army [PLA] have been on first-degree combat readiness for any contingency. According to the original plan, combat readiness should have ended after Deng Xiaoping's funeral service. Beijing analysts indicate that not only social stability but a power struggle at the highest levels have been taken into consideration in the decision to extend combat readiness. In addition, after watching the live broadcast of Deng Xiaoping's memorial meeting yesterday, the three PLA general departments and all armed services have repeatedly committed themselves to further rallying around the CPC Central Committee with Jiang Zemin as the core. Chief of General Staff Fu Quanyou stressed that the army should maintain political discipline and, above all, safeguard the authority of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission with Jiang Zemin as the core. ( Provided by Gil Butler) 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 |