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   The World Uighur Network News 2003

China Designates Four Muslim Groups "Terrorist"

China came under fire from international human rights watchdogs over its oppression of Uighur Muslims

BEIJING, December 15 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - China on Monday, December 15, issued its first ever list of Muslim groups and individuals, allegedly accused of involvement in "terrorist" activities.

The groups are the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Eastern Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO), the World Uighur Youth Congress (WUYC) and the East Turkistan Information Center (ETIC), reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The Chinese Ministry of Public Security also released a list of 11 alleged "terrorists", most of whom are leaders of the four groups.

Beijing accuses the groups and individuals of seeking to create an independent Islamic state in the northwest region of Xinjiang, the name given by the Chinese government to Eastern Turkistan.

The Chinese Ministry of Public asked world governments to prosecute and extradite them.

It stopped short of naming the countries Beijing wants to target for assistance, but a statement said some of the groups and their leaders have operated out of Germany and Turkey.

It further claimed that some of the groups have established bases outside China, including in Chechnya and Afghanistan "to train terrorists" and have allegedly plotted and guided "sabotage" activities in China.

"East Turkistan forces inside and outside China have long plotted and executed a series of bombings, assassinations, arsons, poisoning attacks and other activities in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China," a ministry official, Zhao Yongshen, told a news briefing.

"With numerous crimes committed, they have seriously endangered the safety of the life and property of the Chinese people, and other ethnic groups and threatened the security and stability of relevant countries in the region," said Zhao, deputy director of the ministry's bureau of anti-terrorism.

He claimed the ETIC as recently as March plotted bomb attacks along the railway line between northern Gansu province and Xinjiang and uses the Internet to instigate "terrorist" activities.

The official also alleged that the ETIM and ETLO had received several millions of dollars in funding from Osama bin Laden to "spread religious extremism" and carry out "terrorist" activities.

ETIC officials could not be reached in Germany Monday, but the group's spokesman told reporters that Uighurs targeted by China were simply those opposed to the government's abuse of their rights, said AFP.

Since the September 11, 2001, China has tightened the grip on the Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang under the guise of fighting terrorism.

Last year, the U.S. announced it would freeze the assets of the ETIM's members -- a move seen as a pay-off for Chinese support of the U.S. war on terror.

In March 2002, Amnesty International issued a report, condemning the Chinese oppression of the Uighurs in the name of countering terrorism.

Islam is one of the leading religions in Xinjiang where some 11 million Uighurs and people of 45 other ethnic minority groups live.

 


© Uygur.Org  15/12/2003 22:47  A.Karakas