World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.20 Published: 21 March 2012 Newsletter No. 20 March 2012 Official Website of the WUC | Unsubscribe | Subscribe | Older Editions | PDF Version TOP STORY Four Uyghurs Killed in Korla FEATURED ARTICLES Ethnic Tension Erupt into Violence in Kargilik Joint WUC-UNPO Conference on Nuclear Testing in East Turkestan MEDIA WORK WUC Denounces Chinese Ideological Campaign in East Turkestan Rebiya Kadeer Speaks at UN Forum on Minorities WUC Rejects Beijing´s Accusations regarding Kargilik Incident Uyghur Youth Union in Kazakhstan Launched a New Website UAA Concerned about Chinese Authorities’ “Three Evil” Rhetoric PAST EVENTS WUC and ETCSA Meet with Members of the Turkish Parliament “The Uyghur Turks” Published in Turkey Uyghurs at Tibetan Film Festival in Paris Uyghur Protests during Xi Jinping´s Visit to Turkey Uyghur Activities During China Cultural Year 2012 in Turkey Lecture on East Turkestan in Ankara Conference by Uyghur Japan Association in Tokyo 19th Session UN Human Rights Council UPCOMING EVENTS Uyghur Nowruz Celebrations WUC General Assembly and Leadership Training Seminar, Tokyo HIGHLIGHTED MEDIA ARTICLES AND REPORTS ON UYGHUR RELATED ISSUES EU-China Summit: a Failed Opportunity to Raise Human Rights Issues Uyghur Woman Arrested For Petitioning Research: Uyghur Diaspora and Diasporic Identity China Again Among the Worst “Enemies of Internet” 8th Year in Prison for Uyghur Writer Nurmuhemmet Yasin 1 / 9 http://www.uyghurcongress.org World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.20 Published: 21 March 2012 TOP STORY Four Uyghurs Killed in Korla According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), on 8 March 2012 four Uyghur men were shot dead during a pre-dawn raid staged by Chinese police at a farmhouse in Towurchi village near Korla city, Bayin'gholin prefecture, East Turkestan. The four men identified as Nesrullah, 21, Nurmemet, 25, Abdurehim, and Abdulla both over 30 years old, were gunned down in a raid at a farmhouse near Korla city, as part of the Chinese government's "strike hard" campaign in the region, after police had detained Tohti Ibrahim, a bomb-making suspect in the city. Police first reported that there was a connection between the five men. However, some days later a police officer stated that the killed men were not linked to the alleged bomb-maker, but considered the shooting still necessary, “because the four disobeyed police during the raid operation.” Police accused them of “terrorist intentions” and considered “axes and boxing gloves enough evidence of a terror plan.” Local residents disputed police claims, saying that “police, especially state security police, always fabricate evidence to justify their killing.” Ghulamidin Yasin, the police officer who led the raid on the Towurchi farmhouse, said one of the four men was from Akto (Aketao) county in Kizilsu prefecture, and two others were from Peyziwat (Gashi) and Kargilik (Yecheng) counties in Kashgar prefecture. It was not known where the fourth person came from. According to local sources, Ibrahim’s wife had been detained by city police, along with his brother Memet Ibrahim’s wife, for holding an “illegal religious gathering” with a dozen other women on 28 February 2012. The raid on the gathering, in which police confiscated books and CDs, was part of a regional campaign against "illegal religious activity." Sources suggest that Ibrahim may have been motivated to fabricate a bomb in revenge against his wife’s detention. On 16 March, WUC President Rebiya Kadeer called on Chinese authorities to reveal more information about the fatal shooting of the four Uyghur men. On 19 March, RFA reported that police are searching for Erkin Emet, a former fruit-seller from Hejing county, in connection with the bomb explosion in Korla city. As in the aftermath of the deadly unrest in Kargilik county, Kashgar prefecture, on 28 February 2012, Chinese authorities declared that violence stemmed from Islamic separatists who want East Turkestan to gain independence from China. Officials labelled these events as actions of Muslim militants trained in Pakistan. Yet, human rights activists stated that China is overstating the threat of Islamic terrorists in the region, and that the root causes of such incidents lie in the economic and cultural discrimination of the Uyghur population in East Turkestan. The Chinese government consistently refuses to acknowledge its responsibilities for social discontent in the region. See also: Four Killed in Xinjiang Raid Radio Free Asia (RFA), 9 March 2012 'Prepared To Fight And Die' Radio Free Asia (RFA), 11 March 2012 Slain Uyghurs Not Linked to Bomb Radio Free Asia (RFA), 13 March 2012 China Silent Over Slain Uyghurs Radio Free Asia (RFA), 16 March 2012 New Suspect in Xinjiang Explosion Radio Free Asia (RFA), 19 March 2012 back to top FEATURED ARTICLES Ethnic Tension Erupt into Violence in Kargilik On 28 February 2012, Chinese state media reported that an 2 / 9 http://www.uyghurcongress.org World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.20 Published: 21 March 2012 unknown number of “attackers” armed with knives killed at least 10 people in Kargilik, and that “police shot two of the assailants dead, while also chasing other attackers”, injuring other individuals. According to a statement released by the state-run website www.tianshannet.com on 29 February, “a group of Uyghurs stabbed to death 13 people before police shot seven of the attackers dead,” increasing the total number of victims to 20. According to local sources the WUC spoke with, 12 people were killed in the incident, seven of whom were members of the security forces, and the police shot and killed 10 Uyghurs, injuring a further 11. Some of the injured were passers-by, where at least one was left in a life-threatening condition. Since the incident, Chinese security forces are detaining Uyghurs in Kargilik, and as of 1 March, approximately 100 people had been detained. Immediately following the incident, the Chinese security forces mobilized a large number of armed personnel to enforce the imposition of martial law in the city. The authorities prohibited inhabitants to leave the city as traffic to and from Kargilik was blocked. In addition, information on the incident is being reportedly censored in Chinese media and internet. Several residents of Kargilik County interviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA) on 29 February stated that the violence was an outbreak of Uyghur discontent towards the massive influx of Han Chinese into East Turkestan, which has led to increased economic discrimination of the Uyghur population. Both the WUC and the Uyghur American Association (UAA) urged the international community to assess official Chinese accounts with extreme caution until independent observers are allowed to investigate the incident. “China’s demonstrated lack of transparency when it comes to unrest in East Turkestan necessitates deep speculation of official Chinese claims,” said UAA president Alim Seytoff. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expressed its concern with regard to the secrecy surrounding the Kargilik incident. IFJ called upon the Central Government of China to respect the articles 6, 9 (1) and 10 of China’s Disclosure of Government Information Regulations, which order administrative departments to release information promptly after incidents of public great concern. The root causes of the latest unrest have to be sought in the frustration of Uyghur people who have long suffered religious restrictions and job discrimination. Indeed, the encouragement of Han Chinese mass migration to the northwestern Uyghur majority region, as a part of central government´s assimilation program, has left the natives both economically and culturally marginalized in their own homeland. WUC spokesman Dilxat Raxit said the violence started because Uyghurs "could no longer bear China's systematic repression and are using primitive fighting methods to resist. Uyghurs have been completely stripped of any peaceful ways of resisting." The incident comes only a few weeks after seven Uyghurs were extra judicially killed in Guma (Chinese: Pishan) County in an alleged attempt to flee the country in December 2011. A six-year-old boy is still missing since the incidents. One month later, in January 2012, the Chinese authorities announced that 8,000 police officers were recruited to “beef up security in the vast countryside” and “crack down on illegal religious activities.” One month after the Hotan and Kashgar incidents in July 2011, the Chinese government implemented a two-month “Strike Hard” campaign in East Turkestan “in order to strengthen anti-terrorism efforts.” See also: Dozen Killed in Xinjiang Violence Radio Free Asia (RFA), 28 February 2012 Deaths reported in Kargilik, as tensions mount in the region Uyghur American Association (UAA) Press Release, 28 February 2012 Immigration Tensions Led to Attack Radio Free Asia (RFA), 29 February 2012 Ethnic violence renews information clampdown in China Committee to Protect Journalists, 29 February 2012 IFJ Urges Government Disclosure Regarding Attacks in China’s Xinjiang Province International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 5 March 2012 Joint WUC-UNPO Conference on Nuclear Testing in East Turkestan WUC/UNPO , 2 March 2012 On 29 February, László Tökés MEP, Kristiina Ojuland MEP and Vytautas Landsbergis MEP in collaboration with the WUC and UNPO convened a conference, “50 Years After Test 596: China’s Nuclear Programme In 3 / 9 http://www.uyghurcongress.org World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.20 Published: 21 March 2012 East Turkestan And Its Impacts Today”, at the European Parliament in Brussels to raise the issue of China´s nuclear testing conducted in East Turkestan during three decades. For the first time the EU addressed the appalling consequences of Lop Nor nuclear tests, carried out from 1964 to 1996 and their heritage of cancer, birth defects and radiation-related illnesses in the area affected. László Tökés MEP, committed himself to argue the plight of East Turkestan and Tibet on the occasion of MEPs official visit to China scheduled for the next months.