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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Chinese Govt.: Riots "Instigated from Abroad"--Sound Familiar?

Chris Buckley writes:

China has called a riot that shook the capital of western Xinjiang region on Sunday a plot against its power, after at least three people died in the eruption of ethnic unrest and authorities launched a crackdown.

Hundreds of locals took to the streets of the regional capital, Urumqi, some burning and smashing vehicles and confronting police and anti-riot troops, following a protest there against government handling of a clash between Han Chinese and Uighur factory workers in far southern China in late June, when two Uighurs died.

On Monday morning "the situation was under control," the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. There were no immediate reports of violence in other parts of Xinjiang.

Officials ordered traffic off the streets in parts of the city of 2.3 million residents -- 3,270 km (2,050 miles) west of Beijing -- to ensure there was no fresh unrest, Xinhua added.

"The city is basically under martial law," said Yang Jin, a dried fruit merchant in Urumqi contacted by telephone. "It would be wrong for anyone to say he wasn't afraid, but the situation looks calm for now."

The Chinese government blamed the riot on exiled Uighur groups demanding independence from Beijing, which they say is stifling their culture and exploiting their homeland's resources.

"The facts demonstrate this was controlled and instigated from abroad," an unnamed official said of the riot, according to Xinhua, which also said the "unrest was masterminded by the World Uyghur (also spelt Uighur) Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer."

link: China calls Xinjiang riot a plot against rule | International | Reuters


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