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| After Deadly Clash, China and Uighurs Disagree on Events That Led to Violence | After Deadly Clash, China and Uighurs Disagree on Events That Led to Violence |
| (30 days later) | |
| BEIJING — More details emerged Wednesday about a bloody clash between Chinese security forces and ethnic Uighurs in the country’s far west two days ago, suggesting that dozens of people died when a protest against government policies turned violent. | |
| The official news agency Xinhua described the confrontation, in the Xinjiang region, as a “violent terrorist attack that was organized, premeditated and carefully planned.” But Uighur exile groups, citing sources in the region, said that the police had used excessive force on a crowd of protesters outside government offices in Yarkand County and that rioting had later broken out across several rural townships. | The official news agency Xinhua described the confrontation, in the Xinjiang region, as a “violent terrorist attack that was organized, premeditated and carefully planned.” But Uighur exile groups, citing sources in the region, said that the police had used excessive force on a crowd of protesters outside government offices in Yarkand County and that rioting had later broken out across several rural townships. |
| A government-run website on Wednesday blamed Islamic fundamentalists for the unrest but provided no evidence for the claim. Xinjiang is home to most of China’s 10 million Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who populate the string of ancient oasis towns and cities that were once way stations on the Silk Road. | A government-run website on Wednesday blamed Islamic fundamentalists for the unrest but provided no evidence for the claim. Xinjiang is home to most of China’s 10 million Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who populate the string of ancient oasis towns and cities that were once way stations on the Silk Road. |
| Among the dead were at least 13 police officers and 20 Uighurs, according to the World Uyghur Congress, which is based in Germany. Xinhua said only that “dozens of Uighur and Han civilians were killed or injured,” adding that rioters, armed with knives and axes, had assaulted passers-by and vandalized more than 30 cars, some of which were set on fire. A majority of Chinese belong to the Han ethnic group. | Among the dead were at least 13 police officers and 20 Uighurs, according to the World Uyghur Congress, which is based in Germany. Xinhua said only that “dozens of Uighur and Han civilians were killed or injured,” adding that rioters, armed with knives and axes, had assaulted passers-by and vandalized more than 30 cars, some of which were set on fire. A majority of Chinese belong to the Han ethnic group. |
| Still, details about the violence remained sparse, and most Chinese news outlets carried the same brief bulletin by Xinhua. Local officials declined to comment Wednesday, and the government severed Internet links to much of the region, including the city of Kashgar, more than 120 miles from the reported clashes. | Still, details about the violence remained sparse, and most Chinese news outlets carried the same brief bulletin by Xinhua. Local officials declined to comment Wednesday, and the government severed Internet links to much of the region, including the city of Kashgar, more than 120 miles from the reported clashes. |
| The authorities also canceled the Kashgar Commodity Fair, an annual convention that draws hundreds of businesspeople from across Central Asia. Residents reached by telephone said text messaging had also been disabled. | The authorities also canceled the Kashgar Commodity Fair, an annual convention that draws hundreds of businesspeople from across Central Asia. Residents reached by telephone said text messaging had also been disabled. |
| “We’re afraid,” said an ethnic Han woman who works for a courier company in Elishku, the township where the rioting began. “We’re just trying to stay inside and not venture out.” | “We’re afraid,” said an ethnic Han woman who works for a courier company in Elishku, the township where the rioting began. “We’re just trying to stay inside and not venture out.” |
| According to the state-run Global Times, the unrest began after some Uighurs who had been stopped at a checkpoint were found to be carrying explosives; the assailants fled and later held passengers on a bus hostage. The account, citing “knowledgeable sources,” said police officers from other cities in the region had been sent to Yarkand to contain the rioting that followed. | According to the state-run Global Times, the unrest began after some Uighurs who had been stopped at a checkpoint were found to be carrying explosives; the assailants fled and later held passengers on a bus hostage. The account, citing “knowledgeable sources,” said police officers from other cities in the region had been sent to Yarkand to contain the rioting that followed. |
| But overseas Uighur advocacy groups, citing sources in the region, provided a different account. They said the clash had been prompted in part by an “antiterrorism” campaign, begun in May, that has intensified many of the existing constraints on Uighurs living in the fertile crescent of southern Xinjiang, an area that has been increasingly resistant to Beijing’s rule. | But overseas Uighur advocacy groups, citing sources in the region, provided a different account. They said the clash had been prompted in part by an “antiterrorism” campaign, begun in May, that has intensified many of the existing constraints on Uighurs living in the fertile crescent of southern Xinjiang, an area that has been increasingly resistant to Beijing’s rule. |
| In addition to anger over measures discouraging women from wearing veils in public, many residents were upset by restrictions on the observance of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which ended Monday. | In addition to anger over measures discouraging women from wearing veils in public, many residents were upset by restrictions on the observance of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which ended Monday. |
| “There has been a lot of pent-up frustration over house-to-house searches and checking on head scarves,” a local security official, Alim Adurshit, told Radio Free Asia. | “There has been a lot of pent-up frustration over house-to-house searches and checking on head scarves,” a local security official, Alim Adurshit, told Radio Free Asia. |
| An additional factor might have been the killing of a Uighur family this month in the county by Chinese security forces after a dispute over head scarf checks ended in gunfire. The dead, in the township of Beshkent, included five members of one household, among them a 7-year-old boy and his 72-year-old grandfather, Radio Free Asia said, citing a village chief. | An additional factor might have been the killing of a Uighur family this month in the county by Chinese security forces after a dispute over head scarf checks ended in gunfire. The dead, in the township of Beshkent, included five members of one household, among them a 7-year-old boy and his 72-year-old grandfather, Radio Free Asia said, citing a village chief. |
| “From what I know, they took to the streets to express their anger over the incident,” the chief, Aytullah Tursun, told the news service. | “From what I know, they took to the streets to express their anger over the incident,” the chief, Aytullah Tursun, told the news service. |
| The Uyghur American Association, a group in Washington, said residents of Beshkent had then gathered outside government offices and a police station in Elishku Township for what the association described as a protest. Xinhua, however, called the crowd “a mob” and said it had been armed with knives. | The Uyghur American Association, a group in Washington, said residents of Beshkent had then gathered outside government offices and a police station in Elishku Township for what the association described as a protest. Xinhua, however, called the crowd “a mob” and said it had been armed with knives. |
| Much like the episode in Yarkand, the escalating violence in the region, which has claimed hundreds of lives this year, is subject to different narratives. Exile groups and human rights advocates attribute many of the deaths to what they say is excessive force used to crush peaceful protests; the government often casts such disturbances as the work of religious fundamentalists. | Much like the episode in Yarkand, the escalating violence in the region, which has claimed hundreds of lives this year, is subject to different narratives. Exile groups and human rights advocates attribute many of the deaths to what they say is excessive force used to crush peaceful protests; the government often casts such disturbances as the work of religious fundamentalists. |
| In an editorial published Wednesday with the headline “Resolutely Smash the Enemy’s Evil Plot,” the Xinjiang government’s news portal, Tianshan, blamed “brainwashed terrorists” for the most recent violence and urged people to embrace a more tolerant form of Islam. “To purge religious extremism is an urgent, long-term and vital task facing us,” the editorial said. | In an editorial published Wednesday with the headline “Resolutely Smash the Enemy’s Evil Plot,” the Xinjiang government’s news portal, Tianshan, blamed “brainwashed terrorists” for the most recent violence and urged people to embrace a more tolerant form of Islam. “To purge religious extremism is an urgent, long-term and vital task facing us,” the editorial said. |
| Discovering the truth about the growing unrest in Xinjiang is challenging. Government restrictions make independent reporting difficult, and Uighurs who provide foreign journalists with information about such politically charged matters can face severe punishment. | Discovering the truth about the growing unrest in Xinjiang is challenging. Government restrictions make independent reporting difficult, and Uighurs who provide foreign journalists with information about such politically charged matters can face severe punishment. |
| Large parts of the region have been under a de facto state of emergency since May, when assailants attacked an outdoor vegetable market in the capital, Urumqi, leaving 43 people dead, including four men who had driven vehicles into a crowd of shoppers while throwing homemade explosives. | Large parts of the region have been under a de facto state of emergency since May, when assailants attacked an outdoor vegetable market in the capital, Urumqi, leaving 43 people dead, including four men who had driven vehicles into a crowd of shoppers while throwing homemade explosives. |
| The authorities later described the assailants as Islamic separatists. | The authorities later described the assailants as Islamic separatists. |
| Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, said on Wednesday that such violence was likely to escalate unless the government addressed some of the underlying grievances that feed popular discontent, especially what he described as the excessive and lethal use of force by security forces. | Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, said on Wednesday that such violence was likely to escalate unless the government addressed some of the underlying grievances that feed popular discontent, especially what he described as the excessive and lethal use of force by security forces. |
| “Beijing’s desire to maintain so-called stability through repression and extreme policies is actually a self-illusion,” he said. “The Chinese government must rethink its current policy, or else such violence will continue.” | “Beijing’s desire to maintain so-called stability through repression and extreme policies is actually a self-illusion,” he said. “The Chinese government must rethink its current policy, or else such violence will continue.” |