Mosque Raid Linked to Tian'anmen Crash

Asia Times Online postulates on the credible connection between a police raid on a mosque in Xinjiang and the car crash in Beijing last week.

The driver of the car Usmen Hesen who was killed along with his wife and mother had quite vocally declared his intentions to seek revenge for the raid on his local mosque after police tore down the courtyard that Hesen had contributed a large portion of the funds to.  The police in  Yengi Aymaq village in Xinjiang's Akto county had declared the courtyard an illegal extension and tore it down when they raided the mosque exactly a year before the car attack in Tian'anmen.

Hesen made the speech as he told the mosque community to stand down after they argued with the armed police.
"At that time, Usmen Hesen jumped in and persuaded the community to disperse by saying, 'Today they have won and we have lost because they are carrying guns and we have nothing, but don't worry, one day we will do something ourselves'," Turdi said.

In a masterstroke of obfuscation, the local authorities had said that even though building permits had been successfully applied for and the 200,000rmb mosque, an amount that took three years to raise, the proper paperwork for the extension and courtyard (another 30,000 kuai) hadn't been completed properly and was therefore illegal.  Bloody red tape, eh? 

Hesen made the speech as he told the mosque community to stand down after they argued with the armed police.

"At that time, Usmen Hesen jumped in and persuaded the community to disperse by saying, 'Today they have won and we have lost because they are carrying guns and we have nothing, but don't worry, one day we will do something ourselves'," Turdi said.

"As Usmen Hesen finished his emotional speech, [his mother] Kuwanhan Reyim went to him crying, and hugged and kissed his forehead because of her pride in him. The crowd was also moved to tears and retreated."

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Military Commander of Xinjiang Removed From Post

The terrorist attack in Beijing last week has left egg on the face of the Chinese security, and, predictably, it's time for some heads to roll.  First on the chopping block is General Peng Yong, who was appointed the military chief for Xinjiang, which presumably spearheaded the spate of shootings and executions of ethnic Uighurs in September.  The report in Chinese press didn't go into details, but Peng's dismissal is rather more than coincidental.

Despite waging his own terroristic war on terror, attackers were till able to load up on gallons of petrol and crash an SUV into a major tourist attraction.  Beijing has pointed the finger at Islamic extremists, further demonising Xinjiang Muslims in an effort to paint them not as downtrodden masses who get routinely shat upon by the Han Chinese.

The attack is a blessing when it comes to getting excuses to ramp up the persecution of otherwise innocent Uighurs, since the propaganda offensive that alleged that "terrorist elements" in the region were being fuelled by Syrian rebel Muslims.  The Syrian connection being that China is interested in brokering a oil deal with Assad, and hellbent on making sure that the Americans don't get anywhere near it.

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Uighur Muslims Forced to Pray to the Flag

Some bright spark in Xinjiang has come up with the killer idea of placing a Chinese flag at the head of a mosque, so that Muslims in the restive region bow to it every time they go to prayer.

Uighur rights activist Ilham Tohti said that placing the flag over the mihrab, a niche in the mosque that points the direction of Mecca was an attempt to “dilute the religious environment”.  Misguided efforts to integrate ethnic Muslims in the province have more or less had the opposite effect, with authorities clamping down on what they see as Muslim terrorists.

Clashes between the majority Han Chinese and Uighurs have intensified over recent months, with reports of police squads executing men deemed to be part of a global pro-independence network of terrorist cells.  Little evidence has been found of any such connection, but central government would be keen to play down the idea that Uighurs are just unhappy with the CCP running things.  The terrorist threat masquerade allows the Politburo to placate worries of anti-Islamic sentiment, especially in Pakistan, as Chinese state owned enterprises make more and more investments in Muslim majority countries.

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China Sentences Three Over Xinjiang Attack

More death sentences have been doled out to beleaguered Uighurs caught up in violence in the troubled province of Xinjiang.  Three men where sentenced to death following an attack in June than left 24 police and civilians dead.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday that another man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the June 26 violence, in which 13 militants were also killed. All four were found guilty of murder and being members of a terrorist organization and sentenced Thursday by the intermediate court in the city of Turfan at the end of a one-day trial.

The Chinese central government has repeatedly claimed that Islamic extremists are orchestrating the attacks from overseas, where a number of Xinjiang indepdence terrorist organisations are training and funding terrorist attacks in the region.  Actual evidence supporting these links is shaky at best, which doesn't stop the Party from playing them up as much as possible, trying to create it's own version of the "threat" from Al Qaeda.

Growing resentment over religious and cultural restrictions placed on the ethnic minority has led to a number of bloody clashes in recent months.  The June attack was the most deadly since a 2009 riot in the provincial capital, Urumqi, in which 200 people died.

The state-run Xinhua news agency published bellicose coverage of the trial, saying of the terrorist group that the sentenced men purportedly belonged to   "Their methods were extremely cruel and the nature of the incident was especially evil. Given the grave outcome, the case must be strictly punished by law, and by law the sentence was rendered.".

 

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Chinese Authorities Shoot At Least 15 Uyghurs Dead in Xinjiang

RFA is reporting that Chinese authorities have shot at and killed at least 15 Uyghurs in the restive Chinese province of Xinjiang.  The men were accused by local police of terrorism and illegal religious activity(?).

They were among a group of more than 20 Uyghurs surrounded and fired upon by police in a lightning raid last week in the Yilkiqi township in Kargilik (in Chinese, Yecheng) county in Kashgar prefecture, the sources said.

"We conducted an anti-terror operation on August 20th, successfully and completely destroying the terrorists," Yilkiqi township police chief Batur Osman told RFA's Uyghur Service.

Reports from eyewitnesses say that 26 men were surrounded as shot at as they prayed in the desert.  Their bodes were later dumped in a mass grave by a bulldozer.

As protests by ethnic minorities in the region intensify, the Chinese government has increased it's negative coverage of the plight of the oft persecuted Uyghurs.  Since siding with Assad in Syria's civil war, Beijing has painting the extremist Muslims in Xinjiang as terrorists, trained by the Syrian rebel forces, hellbent on bringing down the government.

Similar accusation of terrorism with brought against five men, with two of them receiving the death penalty for their involvement in rioting in the region in April this year.  State run media was quick to rush out editorials supporting the sentencing, with purported expert of terrorism Lei Wei telling The Global Times

"Upholding laws during our fight against terrorism helps people at home and abroad get a clearer understanding about terrorist threats in Xinjiang,"

The ethnic Uyghurs say that the massive influx of Han Chinese to the region has deprived them of job opportunities and that they suffer from religious oppression.  Escalating levels of violence, including stabbings and riots by knife wielding mobs have plagued the region this year, with the Chinese doing little in the way of addressing the issues raised by the Muslim minority.

 

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Chinese Crackdown on Xinjiang...Christians

In spite of telling the Americans at last month's human rights talks that people in Xinjiang enjoy "unprecedented freedoms", Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that a number of unregistered churches have been closed down by the police in the region.

In March, one such group in Yili was shut down by local police and the religious affairs bureau, and a residence used for church meetings in Kurla was searched by police equipped with guns and electric batons; a woman was later detained. In June, two meetings in Urumqi were disrupted by local police and security officials and two people were detained for short periods. One of the leaders was detained a second time in August when another meeting was disrupted by officials. He has since filed an application for administrative reconsideration. A Bible study leader detained in June after being charged with conducting “illegal” Christian activity is also filing for administrative reconsideration.

The report also goes on the say that the police present didn't show ID, or present any warrants, also they failed tell detainees why they were being arrested and questioned.  Good job, lads.

Read more at CSW