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.
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.