Tension Remains High in Xinjiang

Security was tight in Urumqi on Tuesday. The atmosphere was tense. Thousands of protesters from China’s predominant Han ethnic group took to the streets with chains, steel bars and other weapons, calling for revenge against the Muslim Uighurs -- claiming they incited violence against them in the weekend protests. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and the authorities imposed a curfew until Wednesday morning.

Henrik Bork, a journalist from the German Süddeutsche Zeitung daily was among a group of foreign journalists invited by the government to visit the city on Tuesday.

He described the situation: “The city is in chaos. We just saw a big group of Han Chinese trying to enter a mosque. They threw stones but the police stopped them.”

Earlier on in the day, hundreds of Uighur women had also gone out onto the streets. They demanded the release of family members who have gone missing since Sunday. More than 1,400 people are believed to have been arrested.

Bork said: “When they saw us, some Uighur women came running and screaming towards us. They had children with them. They said their family members had been arrested in the night but they hadn’t done anything. Suddenly the police arrived. The women started demonstrating again. This went on for about 1.5 hours. It was very tense. But because there were over 100 of us foreign journalists the police did not use force.”

Ethnic tensions run high

The region has been simmering since a factory brawl in the southern Chinese city Shaoguan. last month that killed two Uighurs. Activists say that on Sunday, peaceful Uighur demonstrators went out onto People’s Square in Urumqi to demand an investigation into the deaths. They accuse the authorities of clamping down on them with violence.

The authorities say that the protesters themselves were violent, attacking people on the streets, destroying shops and setting fire to cars.

Xinjiang is ethnically divided between Han Chinese and Muslim Uighurs. The latter claim they are discriminated against. “In Urumqi and other places, you have Uighurs living in a quarter of the towns and these have been completely sealed by the police,” said Rudolf Wagner from the University of Heidelberg. “So you get into a situation where the original population is ghettoised.”

Internet and phone lines down

Some parts of Urumqi have been totally cut off from the rest of the world since Sunday. The authorities have blocked access to the internet and cut telephone lines. They have justified these measures by saying they will prevent the spread of violence.

The Chinese authorities have accused exiled Uighurs of using electronic means to incite violence. The spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry Qin Gang addressed reporters in Beijing on Tuesday: “The truth will come to light. The authorities will soon reveal the figures and provide evidence. We hope that other countries will see the true face of the separatists and will stop supporting them.”

International community expresses concern

World Uyghur Congress leader Rebiya Kadeer has denied these claims and has demanded an international investigation into the deaths.

The international community has expressed its concerns about the unrest. On Tuesday, Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the Chinese authorities and on ethnic groups in Xinjiang to refrain from using further violence. She also urged the authorities to treat those arrested in line with international law.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said she would raise the matter during her meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the G8 summit in Italy later this week.

Author: Disha Uppal
Editor: Anne Thomas