Uighur Minority Rights - Joint Press Statement

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT


CHINA MUST RECOGNIZE AND PROTECT

UIGHUR MINORITY RIGHTS

DEAL UNREST EVEN-HANDEDLY THROUGH INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION

12 TH JULY 2009

We are deeply concerned over the escalating violence in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Reports suggest that the unrest has now spread from Urumqi to the cities of Kashgar, Yarkand, Aksu, Khotan and Karamay.

There are conflicting reports from various sources regarding the number of dead in Urumqi, and the cause of these deaths. Official reports say at least 156 have been killed, while other sources put the figure above 1,000. Uighur sources within Xinjiang say that 400 Uighurs have been killed by police. So far, there have been 1,000 injured and 1,434 arrested in relation to the unrest in Xinjiang.

Official reports link the unrest to the death of two Uighur factory workers in June in an ethnic clash at a toy factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong province. However, other reports suggest that more than 100 Uighurs were killed during the incident at the factory. While the Chinese authorities imposed an information black-out on the incident, it was allegedly the rumours of this incident, and the government’s inaction, that sparked an estimated 10,000 Uighur protestors to take to the streets in Urumqi.

Reports suggest police knew in advance protestors would be demonstrating in large numbers and blocked the roads to prevent them from assembling. This, and heavy-handed policing toward Uighurs, is thought to have played a role in turning the initially peaceful protests in Urumqi into violent riots.

It is probable that the substantial influx of Han Chinese to the region has played a role in the current unrest. A drastic ‘in-transfer’ of ethnic Han Chinese has coincided with the government policy of transferring Uighur women from Xinjiang to the urban areas of China’s eastern seaboard for forced labour, significantly changing the region’s demographics.

According to reports in the media China’s Uighurs are undoubtedly amongst the most repressed peoples of the world. Some of the human rights abuses Uighurs face are forced labour, forced abortion, human trafficking, arbitrary arrest and detention, and severe racial and religious persecution and discrimination.


We call on the Chinese government:

1. To carry out an open and independent investigation into the ethnic clash and deaths that took place in Guangdong in late June.

2. To deal with the protestors in a proportionate and even-handed manner and those arrested must receive fair trials in accordance with international standards. Adequate investigations on the circumstances surrounding all deaths should be carried out.

3. To respect, and provide opportunities for Uighurs to enjoy, their human rights including their religious and cultural rights.

4. To abandon the policy of changing the demography of the region through Han migration and trying to assimilate them into the Han community.

5. To recognize and give effect to the right of self-determination of the Uighurs in accordance with international law.

6. To establish inter-ethnic goodwill councils to address inter-ethnic problems and promote unity.

1. Abdul Ghani Samsudin
Chairman ,SHURA

2. S.M. Mohamed Idris
Chairman , Citizens International

3. Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid
President , TERAS

China bans Friday prayers in Xinjiang region

Source : The Malaysian Insider

URUMQI, July 10 — Chinese authorities banned prayer gatherings at mosques here today, the principal day of prayer for Muslims, as security officials tried to prevent further ethnic violence in the Xinjiang region.

In another principal Xinjiang city, the ancient Silk Road oasis town of Kashgar, foreign journalists and other visitors were instructed to leave.

Chinese soldiers in riot gear guard the entrance of Dong Kuruk Bridge mosque in the centre of Urumqi today. — Reuters pic

Strictly enforced security was clearly high on the government’s agenda, and the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, said in an editorial today that “to maintain social stability, we need to isolate and crack down hard on a handful of people.” The paper said those who “masterminded, organised and committed serious violence during the riot” should be targeted.

At least 156 people were killed in three days of rioting and unrest that began Sunday in Urumqi, the region’s capital. More than 1,000 were reported injured.

The People’s Daily editorial echoed the remarks of President Hu Jintao, who cut short a visit to the Group of 8 summit meeting in Italy. In a statement issued along with the Communist Party’s senior leaders, Hu called on the authorities to “isolate and deal a blow to the small group” who had a hand in the bloodshed.

“Preserving and maintaining the overall stability of Xinjiang is currently the most urgent task,” said Hu, according to a statement published by the official Chinese news agency.

The party chief of Urumqi, Li Zhi, offered even tougher words: “To those who have committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them.”

The turmoil began at a southern Chinese shoe factory last month after Chinese workers, spurred by false accusations of rape, attacked Uighur co-workers, killing at least two. The government’s failure to aggressively prosecute those involved in the brawl became a rallying cry for Uighur students in Urumqi, who organised the protest last Sunday that turned violent.

Uighurs, who are Turkic-speaking Muslims, form a minority in Urumqi, a city of 2.3 million that has been heavily settled by ethnic Han Chinese from other parts of China. The influx of so many outsiders, and what many describe as Beijing’s heavy-handed rule, have helped foment resentment among Uighurs.

Urumqi appeared to be settling into an uneasy calm, and the ban on Friday prayers apparently was aimed at preventing large gatherings of Uighurs at the city’s mosques.

It was not clear if similar prayer bans were in force elsewhere in Xinjiang today.

As many as 20,000 troops from nearby regions had poured into Urumqi after the rioting began, forming cordons between ethnic Uighur neighborhoods and those dominated by Han Chinese, who had earlier gone on a revenge spree against Uighur residents.

Both Uighur and Han claim to be the predominant victims of the violence, but the government has declined to release a breakdown of the dead.

A nighttime curfew was in place in Urumqi, but shops began to reopen for the first time yesterday as thousands of anxious residents clogged the city’s bus and train stations seeking to escape the city. As helicopters hovered overhead, military vans roamed the streets with loudspeakers blaring slogans like “Maintain stability” and “Protect the people.”

Since the turmoil began on Sunday, China has accused Rebiya Kadeer, an exiled Uighur leader, of fomenting the strife. Kadeer, who lives in Washington DC, has denied the charge.

But on Wednesday, the government for the first time shifted some of the blame to the United States, which it accused of financing Ms. Kadeer’s organisation, the World Uygur Congress, and other groups that advocate human rights and democracy for ethnic Uighurs in China. The accusation appeared in an article in the People’s Daily.

In recent days Turkey, which has cultural and linguistic ties to China’s Uighurs, has stepped into the fray. Yesterday the minister for trade and industry called for a boycott of Chinese goods to protest the crackdown in Xinjiang. “If the country where we consume the goods does not respect human values, we should reconsider our values,” said the minister, Nihat Ergun, according to the Anatolia news agency. — NYT

Rusuhan di Xinjiang Meragut 140 Nyawa dan 828 Orang Cedera

Seramai 140 orang maut dalam rusuhan yang berlaku di bandar Urumqi, Wilayah Autonomi Xinjiang dan sekurang-kurangnya 828 orang lagi cedera.

Siasatan awal mendapati, rusuhan tersebut menyebabkan lebih 260 buah kereta musnah dibakar di samping 203 buah kedai dan 14 rumah penduduk awam dirosakkan.

Polis telah menangkap lebih seratus orang yang terlibat dalam kejadian ini serta meningkatkan perlindungan terhadap jalan utama di bandar, stesen TV dan syarikat gas asli.


Bilangan kematian itu dianggap sebagai yang teramai sejak berdekad-dekad lalu di China.

Keganasan di bandar raya Urumqi itu berlaku pada Ahad lalu dengan melibatkan ribuan penduduk sehingga menyebabkan operasi memerangi perusuh dilakukan oleh pihak berkuasa di seluruh Xinjiang.

Sebelum ini ketegangan berlaku sejak sekian lama berhubung isu penindasan pemerintah China terhadap penduduk etnik Uighur yang beragama Islam.

"Penduduk berada di dalam rumah. Perkara terbaik yang perlu anda lakukan ialah kembali ke hotel. Itu akan menyebabkan anda berasa selamat," kata seorang ahli perniagaan.

Agensi berita Xinhua yang memetik beberapa pegawai kerajaan menyatakan ratusan orang ditangkap kerana terlibat dalam rusuhan itu.

Namun, kumpulan-kumpulan entik Uighur yang beroperasi di luar China mendakwa pasukan keselamatan negara tersebut sebagai punca rusuhan.

Menurut kumpulan itu, pasukan keselamatan China bertindak keterlaluan dan melepaskan tembakan ke aras penunjuk perasaan.

Jurucakap kerajaan China, Wu Nong berkata, sebanyak 140 orang terbunuh dan 828 lagi cedera dalam rusuhan itu.

Menurutnya, angka kematian dijangka meningkat.

"Keganasan serius dan insiden jenayah itu menyebabkan kecederaan dan kematian lebih 1,000 orang yang tidak bersalah," kata Pengerusi Wilayah Xinjiang, Nur Bekri.

"Ketika ini, situasi masih rumit," katanya.

Imej di stesen televisyen CCTV menunjukkan beberapa lelaki menterbalikkan sebuah kereta polis dan memecahkan tingkapnya.

Terdapat imej yang menunjukkan seorang wanita ditendang ketika dia baring di tanah manakala beberapa buah bas dan kenderaan lain terbakar.

Menurut beberapa ahli perniagaan China berketurunan Han, terdapat 3,000 penunjuk perasaan etnik Uighur yang melakukan protes.

Kebanyakan penduduk di Uighur menyatakan mereka mengalami penindasan politik, kebudayaan dan agama.

Bagaimanapun, Setiausaha Agung Persatuan Uighur Amerika Syarikat (AS), Alim Seytoff memberitahu di Washington bahawa penduduk melakukan protes selepas dua etnik Uighur meninggal dunia di sebuah kilang di selatan China.

Insiden itu mencetuskan kebimbangan di luar negara apabila Setiausaha Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB), Ban Ki-moon meminta semua kerajaan menghormati kebebasan bersuara. - AFP