Repression in China

Home , 2008 Kashgar attack, Dolkun Isa, Grand Bazaar (Ürümqi), Rebiya Kadeer, World Uyghur Congress

Repression in China

Roots and Repercussions of The Urumqi Unrest

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

The Hague

November 2009

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international, nonviolent, and democratic membership organization. Its members are indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognized or occupied territories who have joined together to protect and promote their human and cultural rights, to preserve their environments, and to find nonviolent solutions to conflicts which affect them. Although the aspi- rations of UNPO Members differ greatly, they are all united by one shared condition – they are not adequately represented at major international fora, such as the United Na- tions. As a consequence, their opportunity to participate on the international stage is sig- nificantly limited, as is their ability to access and draw upon the support of the global bodies mandated to defend their rights, protect their environments, and mitigate the effects of conflict.

The Uyghurs of East Turkestan are represented at the UNPO by the World Uyghur Con- gress. PO Box 85878, 2508 CN, The Hague, The Netherlands

Tel: +31 (0)70 36 46 504 Fax: +31 (0)70 36 46 608 E-mail: [email protected]

www.unpo.org

CONTENTS

Timeline 4

Executive Summary 7

The Shaoguan Incident, June 26 2009 9

The Urumqi Unrest 5th July 2009 11

Mass Protests in Urumqi, 7th July 2009 15

The Aftermath, August - September 2009 19

Ongoing Controversies 21 Confidence in Official Statistics 21 Execution without Fair Trial 21 Rebiya Kadeer 22 Freedom of the Press 23 Detention of Journalists 23 Propaganda 24 External Chinese Censorship 25 Dolkun Isa Detention 26 Diplomatic Fallout from Isa Detention 27

UNPO Recommendations 28

Appendix 29 Maps 29 1. Shaoguan 29 2. Urumqi City Centre 29 News Updates Surrounding July 5 unrest and aftermath 30 Biographies of involved persons 34

TIMELINE MAY OF EVENTS 2-31 May As part of the Chinese government’s forced relocation programme, Kashgar authorities move a total of 818 workers from Xinjiang province to Shaoguan in Guangdong province, a predominantly Han Chinese region, to work at the Early Light International toy factory. JUNE 25–26 June Rumours lead to fighting between Uyghur and Han Chinese workers at the factory in Shaoguan. According to official Chinese sources, of the 118 people injured 79 are Uyghur. JULY 05 July 2009 Thousands of Uyghur students take to the streets of Urumqi to protest the Chinese government’s mishandling of the incident in Shaoguan, seeking an audience with Chinese officials. 06 July 2009 Residents of Urumqi describe the city as in “lock-down” as Chinese security forces arrive to ensure there can be no further unrest. Chinese officials blame Rebiya Kadeer for the violence - a claim she publicly and vehemently denies. 07 July 2009 156 people are confirmed to have died and more than 1,000 injured. In later days this rises to 197. 1,434 suspects are believed to have been detained. A 200-strong group of Uyghur women demand that prisoners be released. 08 July 2009 As more troops are deployed to Urumqi, Chinese President Hu Jintao cuts short a visit to Italy to deal with the crisis. Urumqi’s Communist Party chief, Li Zhi, promises the death penalty for those found guilty of committing murder during the riots. A Press Conference in in Urumqi is held with the Urumqi Mayor and the City's Party Chief 09 July 2009 Chinese authorities claim that they have evidence, in the form of inter- cepted internet, telephone and mobile phone messages, that the World Uyghur Congress and its leader Rebiya Kadeer are responsible for the unrest. Ms Kadeer reiterates her public denial of such allegations. 10 July 2009 Mosques in Urumqi are ordered by the Chinese authorities to stay closed on Friday, the main day of prayer for Muslims. Public notices are placed on the gates of mosques telling Uyghur Muslims to mark Friday prayers at home, citing public safety. At least two mosques open their gates after crowds gathered outside demanding to be let in. Tens of thousands of Han Chinese and Uyghur citizens are reported trying to flee the city. 22 July 2009 Indonesian parliament urges the United Nations to act over the conflict in Urumqi. 23 July 2009 Two Uyghurs are shot dead by police in Urumqi. A government statement announces that a third “lawbreaker” had been injured in the incident.

28 July 2009 Rebiya Kadeer arrives in Tokyo, prompting an angry reaction from China.

AUGUST

01 August 2009 Chinese hackers replace Melbourne Film Festival information with the Chinese flag and anti-Kadeer slogans when organisers withstand pressure to withdraw Ten Conditions of Love, a documentary about Rebiya Kadeer. 02 August 2009 China announced that it has detained another 319 people in connection with the riots bringing the total number of people detained over the riots to more than 1,500 (although it is unclear how many were released) 07 August 2009 Rebiya Kadeer calls for a UN investigation into events in Xinjiang. One hundred people demonstrate outside the Chinese consulate in Melbourne.

17 August 2009 Reports of syringe attacks emerge and continue until early September. Panic ensues throughout the region, fuelled by rumours and inadequate reporting. 20 August 2009 The family home of Rebiya Kadeer in Urumqi is scheduled for demolition and her family is presented with an eviction notice. Officials also plan to raze three other buildings owned by Kadeer including the Rebiya Kadeer Trade Center. Kadeer condemns the move as an act of revenge. SEPTEMBER 01 September 2009 Rebiya Kadeer briefs the Subcommittee on Human Rights in the Euro- pean Parliament, Brussels. 01 September 2009 Rebiya Kadeer announced that she was prepared to hold direct talks with the Chinese authorities 03 September 2009 Tens of thousands of people in Urumqi protest their dissatisfaction with government handling of responses to the syringe attacks and responses to violence. Five are killed and fourteen injured as police disperse the crowd. 04 September 2009 Liu Yaohua (Xinjiang's police chief) and Li Zhi (City's Party chief) removed from office for failing to provide adequate public safety against the hypodermic attacks 11 September 2009 China accuses Kadeer once again of inciting riots. 14 September 2009 Uyghur individuals are jailed for hypodermic needle attacks amid Chinese tension. 16 September 2009 Immigration authorities in Seoul prevent the General Secretary of the World Uyghur Congress, Mr. Dolkun Isa from entering South Korea to attend a forum on democracy. He is detained for just over two days. 17 September 2009 The Kaohsiung City Government in Taiwan says it will review a Kaohsi- ung Film Archive plan to screen 10 Conditions of Love and invites Re- biya Kadeer to attend 17 September 2009 Amnesty International calls on the South Korean authorities to immediately release Dolkun Isa, Secretary General of the World Uighur Congress 18 September 2009 After international human rights organizations call for his release, Mr. Dolkun Isa leaves South Korea to return back to Germany.

23 September 2009 Prosecutors in southern China indicted 11 people who they say took part in the factory brawl in Guangdong Province 25 September 2009 UNPO publish a Statement of Concern regarding the suspicious death of a Uyghur being held by state authorities. 27 September 2009 The Chinese government releases a white paper on the country’s ethnic policy in which it claims that all ethnic nationalities enjoy equality in personal freedom, legal rights, religious beliefs and linguistic rights.

27 September 2009 Xinjiang government passes the “Information Promotion Bill" making it a criminal offence to incite separatism or harm social stability via the internet. Internet Service Providers are encouraged to monitor their users and report violations. 28 September 2009 Taiwan blocks Rebiya Kadeer’s forthcoming visit to the Kaohsiung Film Festival. 29 September 2009 Reporters Without Borders published a report that there had been a rein- forcement of online censorship and abusive behaviour towards foreign journalists in China particularly the run up to 1st October marking the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China OCTOBER 01 October 2009 Uyghur journalist Hairat Niyaz taken from his home and detained. Police delivered a notice to his family which said he had been arrested for "endangering state security." Amnesty International expressed concern about risk of torture or other ill-treatment. His family believe he has been detained because of his comments in interviews about the cause of unrest in the Xinjiang

12 October 2009 Six Uyghurs are sentenced to death for their alleged role in violence in Urumqi. Tayirjan Ablimit was sentenced to life in prison on charges of murder and robbery 13 October 2009 The World Uyghur Congress releases a statement condemning the Death Sentences and strongly appeal the international community to protect the Uyghur people 14 October 2009 14 Uyghurs go on trial for their alleged role in violence in Urumqi. 15 October 2009 China sentences two Uyghurs and one Han Chinese man to death. They also sentences three Uyghurs to suspended death sentences (with a two year reprieve), three Uyghurs to life imprisonment and four Uyghur men and one Han Chinese man to shorter prison sentences. 16 October 2009 UNPO issues statement condemning the death sentences without fair trial . 20 October 2009 Human Rights Watch publish a 44 page report into the enforced disap- pearances of men and boys following the Urumqi riots. 21 October 2009 19 Uyghur men undergo an eight-hour trial in connection with the unrest and receive convictions and prison sentences ranging between life imprisonment, 14 and 15 years on charges of “endangering state security”

27 October 2009 An official Chinese report stated that three of the men sentenced to death had decided not to appeal their verdicts 29 October 2009 Four months after the riots, a communications blackout remains in effect, Reporters without Borders reveals. NOVEMBER 02 November 2009 Amnesty International releases urgent action for appeals on behalf of the eight Uyghurs and one Han Chinese facing the immediate death penalty

03 November 2009 Chinese authorities launched a 'strike hard' security campaign in the north-west region of Xinjiang. A report in the Communist party newspa- per People's Daily said security forces would "root out places where criminals breed, and change the face of the public security situation in these areas" 05 November 2009 A report by the Apple Daily alleges that Uyghur prosecutors initially se- lected to preside over the cases related to July 5 unrest were removed from their duties because of alleged ethnic bias.

Executive Summary EXECUTIVE Friction between the Han Chinese and Uyghur populations in East Turke- stan, officially known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, has been SUMMARY longstanding. For years Beijing’s so-called ‘Go West’ policy has shifted several million Han Chinese into traditional Uyghur homelands either by coerced relocation or through the provision of highly incentivised con- tracts. As a result, the composition of East Turkestan’s, capital city, Urumqi - which was predominantly Uyghur 50 years ago - is now said to be over 75 per cent Han. The region has seen its GDP soar from $20 billion in 2000 to $44.5 billion in 2006. Despite this, the average Uyghur wage is just a quarter that of the average Han Chinese and almost 80 per cent of the Uyghur population live below the poverty line.

Furthermore, in order to safeguard and promote the One China policy, Bei- jing has implemented draconian measures to suppress Uyghur culture. Uy- ghur is no longer the language of instruction in schools, public servants are prohibited from worshipping at mosques and practicing religion is restricted to those over the age of 18. Special permits to go on the Hajj pil- grimage provide further bureaucratic obstacles to fulfilling one’s religious obligations as a Muslim. Each additional restriction augments resentment towards Beijing and bitterness towards the privileged Han migrants.

The intolerance of the state towards the Uyghur population and the persis- tent state-sponsored transfer of migrants into the region have been the root causes of tension between Hans and Uyghurs and led to clashes in the past.

In recent years, the coerced relocation of Uyghurs out of the region to work as manual workers in factories across China has been paralleled by the in-migration of Han Chinese. It is for this reason that the initial out- burst of ethnically charged violence in the summer of 2009 occurred in Shaoguan, a city 3,000 kilometres from Urumqi. Fatal skirmishes between Uyghur and Han toy factory labourers on June 26 2009 came after the in- sertion of more than 800 Uyghur labourers into a Shaoguan toy factory over the course of less than four weeks.

Alleged underreporting of Uyghur deaths at the toy factory triggered protests in Urumqi calling for an official government investigation. This protest turned sour when government security branches turned out in force, and in the ensuing chaos, both Uyghurs and Han Chinese were killed.

Many hundreds of Uyghurs were detained without trace on the night that followed those protests. Further underreporting or misreporting of the numbers of those killed and detained in Urumqi only fanned the flames of discontent further. Many Uyghurs felt the state-controlled media presented just one story to the domestic and international community. A climate of

fear descended upon Urumqi and surrounding cities, exacerbated by a lockdown on media and telecommunication. Rumours about syringe attacks in the wake of the quashed protest only accentuated panic and smaller violent outbursts have occurred. Claims have been made that mass graves can be located in the mountains nearby.

Fluctuations in state issued statistics generated a lack of confidence in the transparency of the reporting and in the judicial process. Death sentences issued to both Han and Uyghur citizens were conducted in an opaque manner, with access to legal representation denied. Journalists have been denied entry, had their equipment confiscated, and in some cases detained and beaten.

UNPO publishes this report not only to shed light on the events of the summer of 2009 by providing a comprehensive overview of events but also to issue a set of recommendations for future action to diffuse the fomenting tension in the region. These recommendations include an immediate cease to the ongoing telecommunications blackout and the granting of free and unfettered access to the region for international observers to improve transparency and confidence in the authorities. It calls for the provisions to protect ethnic minorities from discrimination within the Constitution of the People's Republic of China to be respected. It also calls for a release of all those detained without charge, for access to legal representation for those facing trial, and a moratorium on the use of the death penalty for those found guilty.

This report also highlights the negative impact that coercive population transfer policies have had on the ethnic relations in communities across China, and demands an end to such practices. Greater political participa- tion of the Uyghurs provides a legal and democratic channel through which to voice discontent and bring about positive change.

It is feared that without such measures, all nonviolent means of expression and opposition will continue to be stifled, and tension will continue to increase until it can be contained no more.

Xinjiang Autonomous Uyghur Region (hereon Xinjiang, meaning “New Dominion”) is the official Chinese term given to East Turkestan, the Uy- ghur governed nation annexed into the territory of the Manchu empire in 1884. In 1911, the Nationalist Chinese, overthrew Manchu rule in China and established a republic, into which East Turkestan was forcibly incor- porated. Uyghurs prefer the term East Turkestan because of its more accurate reflection of the region’s history and identity.

The Shaoguan Incident THE

Shaoguan, is a city located in Guandong, a predominantly Han Chinese SHAOGUAN region of China, 3,000 kilometres from Urumqi, to which over 800 Uyghur workers had been forcibly relocated by the Xinjiang government through- INCIDENT out May 2009. Whilst the new Uyghur arrivals felt disorientated and were unable to speak the local language, animosity between workers of the two ethnic groups did not immediately surface. During the first week of relocation, just 40 Uyghurs had been transferred. Gu Yunku, a Han assembly June 26 2009 line worker, who was himself relocated from northern China, said of his Uyghur colleagues, “we exchanged cigarettes and smiled at one another, but we couldn’t really communicate… they seemed shy and kind. There was something romantic about them [1]”.

However, increasing numbers of Uyghurs in the factory from 40 to 818 led to fear and distrust of the newcomers amongst the 16,000 Han workers. A divide grew and rumours began to circulate. “The Uyghurs are like wild men. They carry knives and steal things…” said Li Xiaoming, another Han factory worker and concluded in a telling fashion: “They made people nervous. They didn’t speak Chinese [2]”. Due to the language barrier, Uy- ghurs found it difficult to defend themselves against increasingly outland- ish allegations. Eventually, ru-

mours emerged about Uyghurs acting in a sexually aggressive way towards Han women.

A few minutes before midnight

on 25 June 2009, an anonymous internet posting made an allegation claiming that “six Xinjiang boys raped two innocent girls”

at the factory. This post was later proved to be a fabrication

of a disgruntled former factory worker surnamed Zhu Gan- gyuan who, having failed to Taken during the early morning hours of 26 June. Still find work upon quitting the fac- visible are the fire extinguishers and refuse bins tossed between the two dormitories. tory, is said to have “faked the information to express his discontent” [3]. After a subsequent police investigation, authorities determined that rape had not occurred.

[1] Quoted from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/world/asia/16china.html? pagewanted=2&_r=1 [2] Quoted from Far Eastern Economic Review: http://www.feer.com/politics/2009/july58/Fear-Grips- Shaoguans-Uighurs [3] Quoted from (Reuters) China police hold man over ethnic brawl-report June 28, 2009

Nevertheless, not soon after, Han workers stormed the Uyghur dormitories and with metal pipes instigated a brawl that lasted four hours. Outnum- bered, most Uyghurs fled from their dormitories into the neighbouring streets where images from cell phones show them being pursued down alleys by Han Chinese workers.

Police and paramedics arrived on the scene around four hours later but the violence continued. “We saw that ambulances were blocked. The injured inside were also pulled out and stepped on, beaten,” said one Uyghur man who escaped [4].

Official sources claim that two people were killed and 118 were injured but both Han and Uyghur witnesses assert the total to be higher. One Han man interviewed by The Guardian claims that he himself “helped kill seven or eight Uyghurs” [5]. The actual number is believed to be around 30.

Government spokesman Wang Qinxin downplayed the violence, calling the events “a very ordinary incident” that had been blown out of proportion [6]. Stories that Uy- ghurs were voluntarily returning to work circulated at the same time as international reporters were prohibited from entering the factory. A Guardian report found that the

Uyghur labourers had been relocated to a separate factory thirty kilometres away where they are being kept under surveil- lance [7]. Several Han Chinese workers beating a Uyghur in the alley between the dormitories Despite immediate restrictions on the internet and warnings not to report on the events in Shaoguan, it is believed mobile phones and emails transmitted news of the riots to family members and friends back in Xinjiang province.

[4] Quoted from Radio Free Asia: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/armedchinese- 07042009104353.html [5] Quoted from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/10/china-riots-uighurs-han- urumqi [6] Quoted from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/10/china-riots-uighurs-han- urumqi [7] Sourced from South China Morning Post: "Out of Harm's Way, but Far from Normality". p. A6(13 September 2009)

The Urumqi Unrest THE One week later on 5 July, Uyghurs gathered in Urumqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, to denounce the government’s URUMQI handling of the Shaoguan incident. UNREST th On the morning of July 5 a message was cross posted on several websites and Tencent QQ Groups, which are highly popular amongst young Uyghurs. The message read “if you are Uyghurs, come to the People’s Square for a legal, permitted protest at 5pm[8]”. While this drew many Uyghurs to the 5 July 2009 demonstration others feared it to be a trap laid by Chinese authorities and thought it best to remain at home.

At 5.00pm, a contingent of Uyghurs assembled to protest the government’s inaction after the Shaoguan incident the previous week. The demonstrators demanded a full investigation and sought an audience with the governor of Xinjiang. They also demanded an end to ongoing racial discrimination against Uyghurs all across China. They were joined by a sizeable contingent of Han Chinese who also sought an investigation into the events of 26 June .

The crowds, a majority of which were

composed of young Uyghur students, gathered at locations throughout Urumqi with the intention of march- ing to the People’s Square. A large number of those involved carried

Chinese flags to repudiate Beijing’s accusations of Uyghur separatist am- bition or ‘splittism’.

Near the People’s Square approxi-

mately 300 people held a silent, sit-in Uyghur demonstrators carrying Chinese flags protest, which, in the words of [boxum.com] Gulinisa Maimaiti, a 32-year old Uy- ghur who was present, was to “mourn our compatriots who were beaten to death in Guangdong” [9]. Several You- Tube videos [10], which were subsequently removed by Chinese authorities, reflect the early peaceful nature of the protests.

Violent Reaction of Chinese Authorities

Within an hour their numbers had swelled to nearly 2,000. As the protesters approached the People’s Square, Chinese security forces were already in position to intercept them. Regular police, anti-riot police, Special Police and

[8] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report IV [9]Quoted from the Associated Press: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/661194 [10] Sourced from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list? p=548CC1C3908F9A0D&search_query=urumqi+5+july

the People’s Armed Police were employed to monitor the peaceful protest, armed with automatic assault rifles and machine guns. After several requests by the police for the protesters to disband despite the peaceful, nature of the protest, the authorities turned to force using batons and tear gas. As one Uyghur eyewitness noted, the police “scattered” protestors; “they beat them. Beat them, including girls, very, very viciously [11]”. One eyewitness in an account obtained by the UNPO said; “[I saw] a pregnant woman who tried to break away from the crowd beaten down to [the] ground by the Chinese police and she wasn’t able to open up her eyes because of the gas [12]”.

It has been attested that police used electroshock weapons such as cattle prods on protestors, and fired their weapons into the crowd indiscrimi- nately. Gunshots can be heard on several videos taken of the incident and, according to several eyewitnesses, paramilitary forces shot Uyghurs on site. Reuters confirmed this, later reporting that “a spray of bullet holes could be seen on the glass front of a Bank of China office” [13]. No reports have surfaced that any Uyghur protestor was armed.

Sakine Zulang, a visiting Canadian Uyghur high school student, hid inside a nearby telephone store and described the scene: “in front of us there was an endless amount of people dead on the streets. The Chinese soldiers were multiplying even more and they even came with tanks [14].

One Uyghur patient who was being treated at the Dosluk No. 3 Hospital recalled the moment when police started to use force. “There were Uyghurs and Chinese, but mostly Uyghurs. They were both badly injured and lightly injured. Blood was everywhere [15]”. At this time riot police began seeking out protest leaders, pinning them to the ground and taking them away in cars. Approximately 70 were detained over the course of the day.

As evening drew in and the realization that their request for a government investigation into the Shaoguan incident was falling on deaf ears, clashes between Hans and Uyghur became steadily more violent. One Uyghur eyewitness said that he observed clashes between Hans and Uyghurs by the Baojian Hospital. “I went over to the Rebiya Trade Building. The Uyghurs were fighting the paramilitary police. I came back to Eryuan [the No.2 Hospital], and I saw more than 20 young Uyghur men. They attacked any Han Chinese they saw and injured them [16]”.

According to Mayor Jirla Isamuddin, violence escalated near South Jiefang Road and Longquan Street at around 8:30pm. Rioters torched police cars

[11] Quoted from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/riots-07052009153209.html [12] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report II [13] Quoted from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56907020090711 [14] Quoted from CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/news/citizenbytes/2009/10/ my_own_personal_holocaust_a_yo.html [15] Quoted from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/riots-07052009153209.html [16] Quoted from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/witnesses-07172009121028.html

and overturned roadblocks. A curfew was enforced at 9.00pm and patrols combed the streets. One Uyghur eyewitness claimed that after 9.00pm he

The People's Liberation Army in force as night falls. heard gunshots near the Grand Bazaar [17]. By 10.00pm police and paramilitary forces gained control of the main throughways of Urumqi although rioting continued in side-streets and alleys for several hours.

Mass detention

Chinese paramilitary and police forces scoured the streets in the hours following the riots. Instructions came from Zhou Yongkang, the, 6th Secretary of Chinese Communist Party Central Political and Legislative Committee , to “punish heavily and quickly” ( cong zhong cong kuai) [18]. One Uyghur suburb known as Caimachang was surrounded and all males detained. “They [gathered] them in the field, strip-searching them, and pushing them to lie down in the field naked,” said one Uyghur eyewitness under the condition of anonymity. “This morning they also took away many youths from that area whether they participated [in the protest] or not. They just took away many Uyghur youths[19]”.

In the districts of Kashgar, Hotan, Ghulja and Karamay as well as 96 other counties, authorities arrested hundreds of Uyghurs without due process. Ac- cording to a testimony given to the UNPO by an anonymous Uyghur witness, “the prisons were so full, now they are detaining Uyghurs into military warehouses [20]”. Several families reported their children as missing.

[17] ibid [18] Quoted from “7·5” ”, , 2009-7-13 [“Zhou Yongkang: Of- fenders from the July 5 Incident Will Be Punished Heavily and Quickly,” Xinhua News Agency, July 13, 2009 [19] ibid [20] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report I

In a government press conference on July 7, Urumqi Communist Party Secretary, Li Zhi stated that authorities had detained 1,434 people during the unrest [21] but this figure omits a significant number of illegally detained protesters. The Financial Times reported that 4,000 Uyghurs may actually have been arrested [22].

Disposal of Uyghur bodies

The bodies of those who were killed on 5 July by the police and army have been allegedly disposed of in a hasty and clandestine fashion. “The Chinese police took all the dead Uyghurs from 5 th of July shooting… and buried them at the graveyard located [at the] upper side of TV station and ce- mented the top… since the day the Chinese police are guarding the place,” said one eyewitness who works at a local TV station [23].

Many of those incarcerated still remain in prison where, according to UNPO-obtained testimonies, hundreds have been killed either by torture or starvation. Uyghurs were taken to “cold jails in the Mountain, designed [to] lock up 8 people in one cell, but now [hold] 30-40 people” Many have been transferred to Changji and Shihezi military hospitals in Urumqi where one unnamed doctor reported that “Chinese police have taken two trucks of dead Uyghur bodies [to an undisclosed location] [24] ”.

Police officer stands, gun-drawn, over a Uyghur accused of burning cars. The suspect has been strip-searched.

[21]Xinhua News Agency: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/07/ content_11666945.htm [22] Sourced from the Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5aa932ee-747c-11de-8ad5- 00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=0a8cf74c-6d6d-11da-a4df-0000779e2340.html?nclick_check=1 [23] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report III [24] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report IV

Mass Protests in Urumqi

Residents of Urumqi have been quoted in media sources as describing the MASS city on 6 July as in “lock-down” as more security personnel joined Urumqi PROTESTS IN forces. Wang Lequan, Regional Secretary of the Communist Party of China for the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region made the first accusa- URUMQI tion that the unrest had been masterminded by Rebiya Kadeer of the World Uyghur Congress. He likened the protests to “jihad”, and described her actions as those of “true terrorism” [25]. Lequan, known for having called for a “life or death” struggle against the Uyghurs in 2008, is a hardliner 7 July 2009 that had initiated several “Strike Hard” campaigns over the last 15 years.

Uyghur Women Protest

As day broke on July 7, a convoy of international journalists were escorted by Chinese officials

around Urumqi. It was intended to show them that the tension was under control.

At 10.00am, however, a group of around 200 Uy- ghur women confronted riot police and demanded

the release of family members who had been arbi- trarily arrested over the past two days. One woman was reported pleading with police, saying, “My husband was taken away yesterday by police. They did- n’t say why. They just took him away [26]”.

A 15-year old girl named Guli Nazar who was protesting said that her Tursun Gul’s defiance has younger brother was seized by the Chinese police: “We were still asleep in drawn several comparisons to our beds when suddenly the police charged through and started banging on the iconic image of the Tianan- men Square uprising of 1989 the door. They took my younger brother away and now we are afraid we will never see him again [27]”.

Some women berated the police officers and others threw shoes at them; a grave insult in the Muslim world [28]. At one point, Tursun Gul, a migrant worker and mother of two was photographed standing defiantly in front of advancing riot police and army troops, shaking her fist and eventually forcing them to withdraw [29]. "My husband, younger brother, and older brothers, five in all, were arrested,” Gul is quoted as having said. “We were eating when it happened. The police came and took them away and they never returned ”.

[25] Sourced from Xinhua News Agency: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/07/ content_11663786.htm [26] Quoted from the Times Online: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6655225.ece [27] Quoted from the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5764906/China- riots-300-Uighurs-stage-fresh-protest-in-Urumqi.html [28] ibid [29] Quoted from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/women/uyghur-women-08202009140517.html

Eventually several hundred police armed with shotguns, tear gas and wa- ter cannons drove back the women and broke up the protest. Much of the crowd did not disperse however and gathered on Dawen South Road to stage a sit-in between lines of advancing riot and paramilitary police in a scene that several journalists said conjured images of Tiananmen Square [30]. The protest concluded without violence or arrests as the women dispersed and the journalists were escorted away at around 11:45am.

Sit-in protest on Dawen South Road

Han Protest

Several hours later, at approximately 1.00pm, large groups of Hans armed with clubs, bars, knives and machetes began forming around Urumqi and began to make their way towards the Uyghur suburb of Cai- machang. As the crowd grew larger and more hostile, at one point Li Zhi, Urumqi Communist Party Secretary stood on the roof of a police car with a loudspeaker imploring the throngs of Han citizens to “calm down” and “let the police do their job [31]”.

His call went unheeded and armed Han groups, which according to two separate estimates by foreign journalists [32] had reached about 10,000 people, converged in Shanxi Alley in downtown Urumqi and heavily damaged both Nanziguo and Hantengri mosques. In another part of the city, nearly one thousand Hans assembled on South Xinhua Road and headed towards Nationalities Street where they destroyed a Uyghur bazaar. According to UNPO sources, corroborated by the Daily Telegraph, they were chanting “Kill all Uyghurs” while Chinese police stood by [33]. [30] Sourced from the Times Online: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/ article6666787.ece [31] Quoted from the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5766327/ Han-Chinese-mob-takes-to-the-streets-in-Urumqi-in-hunt-for-Uighur-Muslims.html [32]Sourced from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/xinjiang-07072009054344.html [33] Quoted from the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5769839/ Eyewtiness-tensions-high-on-the-streets-of-Urumqi.html 16

An eye witness report made available to UNPO said that the Han protestors were supported by the Chinese military. “Some of them wore white hel- mets… exactly [the] same as police special force[s]… it is not difficult to see that there is Chinese army among the ‘Chinese demonstrators [34]”.

Chinese forces stand by while Han protestors prepare to attack a Uy- ghur neighbourhood

Han citizens equipped with protective gear, supporting eyewitness testimonies that they were being aided by Chinese armed forces

Police eventually dispersed the protestors using tear gas but sporadic violence continued. The World Uyghur Congress received reports of many more deaths throughout the city including those of women and children. The police are said to have done very little to intervene.

[34] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report III

According to a nurse working in Urumqi, more than 100 wounded Uyghur men were admitted on 7 and 8 July. She said 97 of them died within one day and their bodies put in a cellar [35].

Uyghur bazaar destroyed on 7 July

[35] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report III

The Aftermath THE AFTERMATH The riot had been the largest clash along ethnic lines in China since the Tibetan uprising of March 2008 and one of the largest protests ever seen in Xinjiang. In the weeks that have followed, Uyghurs lived in an environ- ment of fear. Said one Uyghur, “the Chinese have become so confident, August - we can’t even look at their eyes; even if you have a little argument or a loud voice conversation, the Chinese are able to lock you up immedi- September ately… if a Chinese soldier wishes to do something to you, they just dial ‘110’ and if they just say ‘I saw this Uyghur on 5 th July, then this Uyghur 2009 will be destroyed”. There have been widespread reports of secret arrests. “On Urumqi streets, almost every day you witness groups of soldiers come with black [unmarked] cars and get [out] of the car and put a black bag on top of a Uyghur head…and tak[e] them away”, said another resident [36].

In the district of Tianshan, there was a heavy military presence. Army trucks loaded with soldiers lumbered down the streets, each carrying 30 fully- armed soldiers.

Syringe Attacks

Urumqi experienced a new period of unrest in mid August. This time the catalyst was a series of stabbings with hypodermic syringes that occurred from August 17 th until early September. According to a Chinese state-run media outlet, of the 531 reported stabbing cases, 106 displayed obvious signs that they had been attacked [37]. Victims included members of nine ethnic groups, including Han Chinese, Uyghur, Kazakh and Mongolian [38].

Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu laid blame upon those he claimed to have instigated the 5 July riots stating that “their purpose is to damage ethnic unity [39]”.

A subsequent medical review carried out by the People’s Liberation Army however stated that “in the patients we have seen in the last couple of days, there are many which we believe were not actually punctured with needles. Some could have been bitten by insects such as mosquitoes, and in other cases there were moles, or skin pigmentation, and we couldn’t find a needle puncture wound [40]”.

[36] Quoted from UNPO Eyewitness Report IV [37] Sourced from CCTV: http://english.cctv.com/program/chinatoday/20090907/101680.shtml [38] Quoted from the Epoch Times: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/22040/ [39] Quoted from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/fivedead-09042009123104.html [40] Quoted from CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/05/china.urumqi.unrest/ index.html

The doctors claimed that the false reports circulated as a result of fo- mented fear and lack of medical knowledge.

Reports of syringe attacks have been made across China in the past, although they have often been unsubstantiated and more a product of scare- mongering and rumour than substantial threat.

September 3 Protests

Around three thousand, mostly Han Chinese protestors, convened in Urumqi on September 3 rd to condemn the ineffectiveness of authorities in maintaining stability. Protesters gathered in the People’s Square in Urumqi in the same location the Uyghur protesters had attempted to reach on 5 July.

Han Chinese protests at the People's Square in Urumqi

Sporadic incidents of ethnic-based violence were reported during the protest and protestors were eventually dispersed by tear gas. Five people were killed and 14 injured. “Unlicensed marches, demonstrations and mass protests [41]” were subsequently outlawed.

[41] Quoted from Xinhua: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/04/content_11996758.htm

Ongoing Controversies ONGOING CONTROVERSIES Confidence in Official Statistics

Official statistics released by the Chinese government reported that 197 people had been killed and 1,721 injured. Many sources however contra- dict these figures. Xinjiang University estimated that “nearly 400 [42]” people had been killed whilst the World Uyghur Congress puts the death toll at approximately 800.

Figures released by the Chinese government regarding the number of prisoners are also inconsistent. Within 24 hours of the original protest, authorities announced that 1,434 individuals were being held [43] but shortly thereafter reduced the figure to 718 [44]. Nevertheless there were no indi- cations of any releases having been made. Uyghur testimonials, substanti- ated by reporting conducted by the Financial Times suggest the number of arrests is much higher.

These fluctuations are an indication that at best, confidence in official statistics is misguided and at best that government authorities are downplay- ing the number of people they have arrested.

Execution without fair trial

On 8 July, Urumqi Communist Party Secretary, Li Zhi, publicly stated that those responsible for the riots would be “sentenced to death [45]”. Against the backdrop of clamorous public opinion, this fuelled public calls for ret- ribution and, as in previous cases, severely undermined the limited inde- pendence of the Chinese courts. The result has been a compromised trial process in which political expediency has come at the cost the rule of law, culminating in death sentences for a dozen individuals.

The process began when Chinese Communist Party first announced that it would begin prosecuting the detainees on 28 September. Twenty-one people were officially charged with “murder, arson, robbery and damaging property”, the majority of whom were Uyghur [46]. Chinese authorities dispatched 14,000 armed forces to Urumqi on 11 October just before the announcement [47]. The next day, six men, all Uyghurs, were sentenced to death for their roles in the 5 July riots. Many international observers have denounced the trials as a sham. Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the World Uy-

[42] Quoted from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/security_in_xinjiang- 07062009174105.html [43] Sourced from Xinhua News: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/07/content_11664739.htm [44] Sourced from Xinhua News: “Police Detain 718 Suspects in Connection with Urumqi Riot,” Xinhua News Agency, August 4, 2009, citing Chen Zhuangwei, head of the Public Security Department of Urumqi. [45] Quoted from China Daily: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/video/2009-07/09/content_8403301.htm [46] Quoted from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE58P0HR20090926 [47]Sourced from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/12/china-uighur-riot- sentencing

ghur Congress remarked that they were “motivated by politics, not the desire to see justice served [48]”.

Further legal concerns were raised by UNPO and Human Rights Watch, the latter of which declared that there were “serious violations of due process” and that they “did not meet minimum international standards of due process and fair trials [49]”. The trials were over-politicised, lacking in transparency and the accused were denied the right to an attorney.

Twelve men in total have been sentenced to death of whom one is Han Chinese and 11 are Uyghur. The accused were not permitted legal aid and were hastily sentenced in what Dolkun Isa, Secretary General of the World Uyghur Congress called “a violation of both international law and the Chinese constitution [50]”.

Rebiya Kadeer

Chinese government officials quickly accused Rebiya Kadeer, president of the World Uyghur Congress and who lives in the United States, of or- chestrating the unrest. Similar unsubstantiated accusations were made of the Dalai Lama’s role in the 2008 incidents in Lhasa, Tibet [51]. Kadeer vehemently denied the allegation, categorically denouncing the riots and saying “I feel pained by the loss of so many lives, Han Chinese and Uy- ghur, and condemn the violence which took place in Urumchi [52]”. A few weeks later, on 3 August, state-run Xinhua news reported that 12 of Kadeer’s relatives had made a joint statement accusing her of organis- ing the riots. The alleged statement read: “Because of you, many innocent people of all ethnic groups lost their lives in Urumqi on 5 July… we want a stable and safe life… please think about the happiness of us and your grandchildren”. In a second letter to the victims of the riots, Kadeer’s family members were purported to have said “evidence proved the riot was organized by the WUC [World Uyghur Congress], led by Rebiya Kadeer, and implemented by a group of separatists within the Chinese borders [53]”.

Phelim Kine, a researcher from Human Rights Watch examined the letters and remarked that their style was “suspiciously close” to the official

[48] Quoted from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/12/china-uighur-riot- sentencing [49] Quoted from Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/15/china-xinjiang- trials-deny-justice [50] Quoted from UNPO: http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10191/81/ [51]Sourced from Xinhua: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/18/content_7813012.htm [52] Quoted from the European Parliament: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/ story_page/008-60188-257-09-38-901-20090904STO60187-2009-14-09-2009/default_en.htm [53] Quoted from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/03/xinjiang-kadeer- uighur-urumqi

story that Chinese authorities had put forth. “The wording and the way the letters are dispersed might suggest the government has had a hand in the formulation…” He also commented that it was “highly irregular” for Kadeer’s family to be “placed on the platform of a government mouth- piece such as Xinhua for wide dispersion [54]”.

Freedom of the Press

The crackdown on July 5 was followed by a massive telecommunications blackout initiated by the Chinese authorities. Mobile phone services and internet access were restricted in Urumqi by government decree, ostensibly “to prevent the incident from spreading further [55]”. Images and video footage of the demonstrations were nevertheless posted on the Twitter, YouTube and Flickr websites. One eyewitness report made available to UNPO speculated that the blackout may have been put in place to hide atrocities being carried out by Chinese authorities [56].

Chinese authorities warned Uyghurs that if they were to communicate information to foreign media they would be “punished severely” under established Chinese laws regarding the protection of state secrets [57].

The media blackout remains in place and has been confirmed by a Report- ers without Borders report issued on 29 October [58]. Almost 85 per cent of websites pertaining to the Uyghur community remain blocked. “Four months after the violence in Urumqi, the Chinese authorities continue to keep the province cut off from the rest of the world,” said Reporters With- out Borders. “Most Uyghurs still cannot go online, send SMS messages or even make phone calls.” On average, one to two sites have been shut down every day. Reporters Without Borders commented that “The Chinese government seems more interested in preventing Xinjiang’s inhabitants from circulating information about the real situation in the province, especially about the crackdown after the July riots. [59]

Detention of Journalists

Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur economist who has criticized the Chinese government was swept up in the arrests that followed the unrest. He was illegally detained without charge. His website, Uyghur Online, was accused of in- [54] Quoted from the MSN News: http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3507887 [55] Quoted from the Indian Express: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/minority-riots-erupt-in-chinas- west-media-reports-140-deaths/485614/0 [56] Sourced from UNPO Eyewitness Report I [57] A 1989 legislation entitled the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets de- fines state secrets as “all other matters classified as state secrets by the national State Secrets Bureau.” China has used this as a carte blanche to hide large amounts of information from the public and as a pretext for arresting academics, dissidents and journalists who are trying to raise awareness of the human rights situation. [58] Quoted from Reporters Without Borders: http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=34859 [59] Ibid.

stigating the riots by Nur Bekri, the governor of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), whom he had previously criticized in an interview as being incompetent. Beijing simultaneously accused Rebiya Kadeer of being the riot’s sole architect. Tohti was released two months later following pressure from American President, Barack Obama.

In several cases, journalists were detained by Chinese authorities in Urumqi. Freelance journalist Heidi Siu Chun-yee was photographing plainclothes police officers in black t-shirts going into buildings and arresting scores of Uyghurs. She was soon stopped by one of the officers who removed the memory card from her camera and brought her to a police station where she was detained overnight. Siu reported seeing at least two other foreign journalists at the same station and was released only after signing a “self-criticism” statement [60].

Three Hong Kong journalists were filming a related protest on 4 Septem- ber when Chinese paramilitary forces subjected them to physical attacks, and detained them at gunpoint, face-down with their hands behind their backs for 20 minutes. The paramilitary forces repeatedly ignored pleas from the reporters to check their government-issued press identification cards. “The beating and harassing of journalists must stop. The local authorities in Xinjiang must ensure that journalists are able to do their jobs without fear of attacks,” said Scott McDonald, president of the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of China [61].

On 6 September, Chinese security forces detained five more journalists who were filming another incident. Officers allegedly pulled them from the crowd, forced them into a police vehicle and took them to a station where they were released after half an hour [63]. They included reporters and cameramen from Commercial Radio Hong Kong, RTHK, and Now TV, all Hong-Kong based media outlets. On 13 September over 700 journalists in Hong Kong marched to condemn the police brutality toward their colleagues and demanded Chinese authorities respect press freedom. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, a Beijing-based, media group received several reports that security forces “detained TV crews and other reporters” and that they confiscated or damaged their equipment [63].

Propaganda

In an attempt to win the public relations battle, the Chinese government ran television programmes throughout Xinjiang province extolling ethnic

[60] Sourced from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/reporter-detained-07132009102825.html [61] Quoted from StraitsTimes: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/ STIStory_427024.html [62] Sourced from The Standard: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp? we_cat=11&art_id=87455&sid=25276023&con_type=1&d_str=20090907&fc=1 [63] ibid

harmony and the successes of China’s policies. Images were shown of Hans and Uyghurs in a chorus wearing matching yellow polo shirts and singing “we are all part of the same family”.

Each of the videos ended with a familiar and ominous slogan, warning against the “three forces” of “terrorism, separatism and extremism [64]”. This same slogan had been used during the so-called “Strike Hard” campaigns in which the government carried out mass arrests and executions of Uyghurs.

Observers have noted that media coverage of the incident has been one- sided. “There hasn’t really been an attempt to have any balanced reporting to try to report the Uyghur side of things… they tend to highlight whatever makes the Uyghur side look bad to the Chinese” said Dru Gladney, president of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College [65]. The promulga- tion of rumours by the Chinese media only appears to be worsening ethnic tensions rather than fostering the harmonious society that China has attempted to put forth in its public relations campaign. “There is essentially no sympathy whatsoever in the Chinese media for…the idea that Uyghurs might have legitimate grievances,” said Gardner Bovingdon, a professor of Central Eurasian studies at the University of Indiana [66].

External Chinese Censorship

China has acted contrary to its own stated foreign policy, attempting to suppress discussion of the rights of ethnic groups within its borders and abroad. This has included a coordinated effort by Beijing to block “The 10 Conditions of Love”, a documentary about Rebiya Kadeer from being screened. The Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia, which would eventually show the film on 8 August, received considerable pressure from the Chinese government to drop the film. According to The Guardian, Richard Moore, one of the festival’s directors, received a call from a cultural attaché at the Chinese consulate in Melbourne named Chunmei Chen. “Ms Chen urged me to withdraw the film from the festival and told me I had to justify my actions in programming it”, said Mr. Moore [67]. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang also publi- cally stated that China was “firmly opposed to any foreign country providing her [Kadeer] with a stage for her anti-China separatist activities [68]”.

This diplomatic effort was accompanied by a coordinated strike from Chi- nese hackers to crash the film festival’s website. On 1 August, the website

[64] Quoted from MSN News: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31927269 [65] Quoted from RFA: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/rumors-09052009185410.html [66] ibid [67] Quoted from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jul/15/rebiya-kadeer-melbourne- film-festival [68] Quoted from AFP(Google): http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ ALeqM5hpnee1BELjCcNLjGYtbfm7AuXWIw 25

was shut down by a denial of service attack [69] and festival information was replaced with a Chinese flag and slogans denouncing Rebiya Kadeer.

A similar incident occurred at the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan with a spokesman from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in Beijing warned Taiwan “not to stir up troubles” by screening the film and made an unsubstantiated accusation that Kadeer was a terrorist [70].

Dolkun Isa Detention

It is believed that China may have placed pressure on immigration authorities in Seoul, South Korea, to detain the General Secretary of the World Uyghur Congress Mr. Dolkun Isa from entering South Korea on 15 September 2009 to attend the World Forum for Democratization in Asia where he was scheduled to deliver a lecture on Uyghur human rights issues. Mr. Isa had fled from China in 1997 and sought asylum in Ger- many where he has been a citizen since 2006.

Beijing placed Mr. Isa on a wanted list of terrorists in 2003 due to a wholly unsubstantiated claim that he is the vice chairman of the Al- Qaeda-affiliated East Turkestan Liberation Organization. Isa remarked at the time that “I heard this organization’s name for the first time in Chi- nese media and heard I’m its vice president [71]”.

Isa arrived at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea at 4.00pm on 15 September. While going through passport control, immigration officers removed him from the line and brought him to a detention area within the airport. South Korean police initially told Mr. Isa that he would be sent back that night to Germany via Dubai on an 11.55pm flight but this was rescinded after the officer received a telephone call from a superior.

Mr. Isa’s detention soon became a diplomatic issue as several govern- ments became involved. “They [South Korean police] told me that [the] US government, [and the] German government are paying attention…[to] my case. American senators also interfered but there were some other parts”, Isa said in a correspondence sent to the UNPO shortly following his release [72]. He made it clear that the so-called “other parts” were from the Chinese government but when he sought clarification from the South Korean officers they refused to answer these inquiries.

[69] A denial of service (DoS attack) is an attempt by hackers to render a website unavailable to its intended users. The most common method is to saturate the target server with external communications requests until its resources are overloaded and it crashes. [70] Quoted from Xinhua: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/20/content_12084287.htm [71] Quoted from the Taipei Times: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/ archives/2009/07/22/2003449242 [72] Quoted from Dolkun Isa correspondence with UNPO

The UNPO was in constant contact with South Korean officials and dis- seminated press releases to increase diplomatic pressure on Seoul [73]. On September 17, Korean police informed Isa that his case was complicated by the involvement of several external actors and that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had formed a committee with the Immigration Office to deliberate the matter. By 10.00pm, Mr Isa had already been detained for 53 hours and threatened to go on a hunger strike beginning at 11.00pm if he was not released. At 11.15pm, South Korean police informed Mr. Isa that he was to be released and sent home on the next flight to Germany.

Diplomatic Fallout from Isa Detention

The Wall Street Journal noted that South Korea has frequently demon- strated that they wish to remain on good terms with China, its largest trad- ing partner [74]. After a discussion with the German Embassy in Seoul, Mr. Isa was informed that there was a possibility that he could have been handed over to the Chinese authorities and returned to China, where he could be sentenced to death. Mr Isa’s concerns were not groundless. In 2006, Husein Dzhelil, a Canadian citizen originally from Xinjiang was detained in Uzbekistan and then handed over to China where he was held incommunicado , tortured, and sentenced to life in prison under charges of attempting to “split the state [75]”.

[73] The UNPO Press Release can be found at the following URL: http://www.unpo.org/content/ view/10071/81/ [74] Sourced from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125315699135218743.html [75] Sourced from One India: http://news.oneindia.in/2007/07/11/china-rejects-appeal-by-jailed-uighur- canadian-1184163207.html

UNPO UNPO RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS The Chinese authorities must issue definitive data on those killed or injured during the unrest in Xinjiang and to name those who still remain in detention - over three months since the unrest on 5 July 2009;

Those detainees awaiting sentence must be allowed access to full legal representation , and that trials are openly conducted with the participa- tion of neutral international authorities.

The current media blackout must be lifted to allow accurate reporting of the events leading up, and subsequent to, 5 July 2009, illegally detained journalists released, and restrictions on the coverage of events in Xinjiang and Guangdong withdrawn.

Death sentences should be commuted from those found guilty of crimes following the unrest in Xinjiang, and pursuant to United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 62/149 and 63/168, an immediate death penalty moratorium should be implemented.

Implementation of the “Strike Hard” policy must be abandoned if community relations in the XUAR are to be repaired, resentment as- suaged, and the Chinese authorities’ stated desire for peace and harmony in Xinjiang realised.

An independent fact-finding mission led by international observers should be formed , with the Chinese authorities permitting such a mission unfettered access to information, in both Shaoguan and Urumqi.

The Chinese government must observe the Constitution of the Peo- ple's Republic of China whose Articles 35, 36, and 37 respectively provide all citizens with the freedoms of expression, religious belief, and deem the freedom of person as “inviolable”.

The 1984 Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law must be implemented in full , with genuine autonomy granted to the XUAR with a meaningful dia- logue established between Beijing and the recognised and respected leaders of the Uyghur ethnic nationality on an equal basis.

The population transfer of Uyghurs from the XUAR must be ended as a state-sponsored development policy that has been shown to be deeply flawed and which through coercion, is reducing Uyghurs to a minority in their homeland and fostering institutionalized discrimination.

Appendix

Maps: 1. Shaoguan (Guangdong Province) – Location of toy factory APPENDIX

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/10/uighur-urumqi- friday-prayers

2. Urumqi City Centre (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region)

Source: BBC News 29

NEWS UPDATES News Updates surrounding July 5 Protests and aftermath SURROUNDING

JULY 5 UAA condemns killing of Uyghur workers at Guangdong factory PROTESTS AND Uyghur American Association, 29 June 2009 AFTERMATH The Uyghur American Association (UAA) condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing of two Uyghur workers and the injuring of many, mostly female, workers at a toy factory in Guangdong Province in the early morning hours of Friday, June 26 http://www.uyghuramerican.org/articles/3089/1/UAA-condemns-killing-of-Uyghur- workers-at-Guangdong-factory/index.html

Riots engulf Chinese Uyghur city BBC News, 7 July 2009 Groups of ethnic Han Chinese have marched through the city of Urumqi carrying clubs and machetes, as tension grows between ethnic groups and police. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8137824.stm

Dalai Lama Speaks Out Tibet Office, 09 July 2009 The Dalai Lama speaks out on the worsening situation in East Turkestan and expresses concern for tragic loss of lives http://www.tibetoffice.org/en/

China Detains 319 More in Uighur Unrest VOA News 02 August 2009 China says it has detained another 319 people in connection with last month's deadly ethnic violence in the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region of north-western China. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-08/2009-08-02-voa21.cfm? CFID=302155463&CFTOKEN=12827764&jsessionid=8430e0698fc85b3abb445d3f1d 2c2b2a3b58

Uyghurs swept up in mass detentions as Chinese government steps up rhetoric Uyghur American Association, 4 August 2009 The Uyghur American Association (UAA) is concerned over news in the official Chi- nese media that 319 more individuals have been arrested in Urumchi in relation to unrest that occurred on July 5 http://www.uyghuramerican.org//articles/3420/1/Uyghurs-swept-up-in-mass-detentions- as-Chinese-government-steps-up-rhetoric/index.html

Uighur leader Kadeer ready for talks with Beijing AFP, 01 September 2009 Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, accused by Beijing of fomenting violent unrest in Xinjiang province, said she was prepared to hold direct talks with the Chinese authorities. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jAY5Ne6ACYHKu_5tfXJLIH7t- LcA

New protests in western China BBC News, 3 September 2009 There have been fresh protests in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, where almost 200 people were killed in ethnic violence in July. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8235305.stm

Ensure public safety: Kadeer The Straits Times, 4 September 2009 The exiled leader of north-western China's Uighur minority called for Beijing's regional chief to ensure public safety and to step down as fresh protests broke out in the area. http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_425345.html

Tensions high after Urumqi unrest Al Jazeera, 05 September 2009 Security remains tight while signs of normalcy return to the Chinese city of Urumqi in Xin- jiang region after days of protests that have left five people dead. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/09/2009954184928330.html

Chinese doctors say some claims of needle-stabbings are mistaken CNN, 06 September 2009 Reports of alleged syringe stabbings in a restive western Chinese city are generating a bit of panic, but doctors say some people have incorrectly concluded they were attacked with needles. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/05/china.urumqi.unrest/index.html

Urumqi erupts again, following needle attacks Tibetan Review, 06 September 2009 Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang (East Turkestan) has been hit by a wave of mysterious syringe (hypodermic needle) attacks, prompting demonstrations on Sep 3 involving pos- sibly thousands of people who demanded a "security guarantee". http://www.tibetanreview.net/news.php?cat=2&&id=4271

Needle attacks and rumours spread in China's Xinjiang Reuters 11 September 2009 Mysterious needle attacks have spread to new cities in China's restive far-western region of Xinjiang, the China Daily said on Friday, although once again the assaults appear to be a mix of real and imagined. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP440905

South Korea Bars Uighur Activist Wall Street Journal, 18 September 2009 South Korean immigration authorities stopped a prominent Uighur activist, Dolkun Isa of Germany, from entering the country for a conference on democracy, the government confirmed Thursday. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125315699135218743.html

China: 11 Indicted in Factory Brawl New York Times 23 September 2009 Prosecutors in southern China have indicted 11 people who they say took part in a factory brawl in Guangdong Province that left two workers dead and set off the ethnic rioting that convulsed Xinjiang Province in July, Xinhua http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/world/asia/24briefs-11INDICTEDIN_BRF.html

Censorship and attacks on journalists in run-up to 1 October anniversary Reporters Without Borders, 29 September 2009 Government security paranoia in the run-up to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October has led to a reinforce- ment of online censorship and abusive behaviour towards foreign journalists http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=34609

Xinjiang: 14 Uyghurs go on trial after six are sentenced to death Asia News, 14 October 2009 The trial of 14 people accused of involvement in ethnic unrest that shook China's far western Xinjiang region in July opened today, authorities said, two days after six Uyghur men were sentenced to death for the same offences. http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=16586&geo=6&size=A

Six more sentenced to death over clashes in Xinjiang Asia News, 15 October 2009 Increases to 12 the number of death sentences imposed. Every year Beijing condemns hundreds of Uyghurs to capital execution. The World Uygur Congress: Stop China’s bloody repression against the Uyghur people. http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=16592&size=A

BIOGRAPHIES Biographies of Involved Persons OF Nur Bekri (Chairman of the Xinjiang Regional Government) attested INVOLVED that the government had acted properly in dealing with the Shaoguan in- PERSONS cident. Stating that he believed the Urumqi riots to be premeditated, he accused external forces of using the incident to " instigate Sunday's unrest and undermine the ethnic unity and social stability in the autonomous region, with an aim to split the country.”

Jerla Isamudin (Urumqi City Mayor) Justified the media blackout by saying that protestors had organised themselves online. Said that he expected the government to spend around 100 million yuan to deal with the aftermath.

Hu Jintao (Chinese President) returned early from the 35th G8 summit to deal with the ongoing situation in Xinjiang. In order to "guid[e] stability-preservation work in Xinjiang", he deployed Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang to Xinjiang.

Wang Lequan (Xinjiang’s Community Party Secretary), a keen sup- porter of hard-line policies against Uyghurs under the pretext of control- ling terrorist activities in the past has been widely criticized by Uyghurs and foreign scholars of Xinjiang. Han Chinese became frustrated with his slow progress in restoring stability to Urumqi and called for his resigna- tion. He retained his position.

Rebiya Kadeer (President of the World Uyghur Congress) Kadeer was blamed for inciting violence through the internet. Kadeer responded to the accusation in the Wall Street Journal by reiterating that the root cause of the riots were "years of Chinese repression". She also condemned the violence of the Uyghurs against the Han Chinese.

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organization that represents the collective interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turk- estan and abroad. The WUC was established on April 16, 2004 in Mu- nich Germany after the East Turkestan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress merged into one united organization. The main objective of WUC is to promote the right of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means to determine the political future of East Turkestan.

Wang Yang (Guangdong's Communist Party Provincial Committee Sec- retary) admitted that the government policies towards ethnic minorities "definitely need adjustments" to avoid problems.

Liu Yaohua (Xinjiang Province Chief of Police) Liu Yaohua also claimed that investigations indicated the involvement of the World Uyghur Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer. He argued that the incidents had been a routine case of public security, and rejected ideas that they had been handled improperly. “The World Uyghur Congress made use of it to stigmatize our ethnic and religious policies, inflame unrest and create trouble. Some people in the country instigated the unrest via the Internet." He was removed from his post on 4 September

Li Zhi (Urumqi City Communist Party Chief) Li Zhi also accused Rebiya Kadeer and the WUC of instigating the riots, and their philosophy of terrorism, separatism and extremism that had blinded young people into committing serious crimes. He denied that the riots were based on ethnic discrimination. During the riots, Li Zhi stood on the roof of a police car with a megaphone appealing to the crowd to go home calling for calm and restraint.

Li Zhi also said that all violent rioters would be subjected to severe punishment including death. "We have arrested most of the criminal suspects involved in the July 5th riot. Some of them are students who took part in protests and stirred up trouble. These young people are unaware of the truth. They were provoked and cheated by separatists. As for those people who didn't commit serious crimes, we will rely mainly on education as a form of punishment."

Li Zhi was removed from office following protest marches on September 4 and 5, 2009, about his inability to provide adequate public safety against the syringe attacks.

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