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BEIJING — The Chinese authorities tightened their grip on the far western region of Xinjiang on Tuesday by confiscating knives and offering rewards for information about possible separatist attacks, according to the state media. The police also issued arrest warrants for 11 people said to be wanted for murder, bombings and other acts of violence. Two clashes in the region last week left dozens dead.
BEIJING — The Chinese authorities tightened their grip on Tuesday on the far western region of Xinjiang, where two clashes left dozens dead last week, by confiscating knives and offering rewards for information about possible separatist attacks, according to the state news media. The police also issued arrest warrants for 11 people said to be wanted for murder, bombings and other acts of violence.
The security drive, described by one senior official as a “people’s war,” has been accompanied by accusations in official media that shadowy extremist groups have orchestrated unrest among Uighurs, a Turkic ethnic group who live in the Xinjiang regiion. One state-run newspaper sought to link an increase in violence in Xinjiang to Uighurs who were said to have trained in war-ravaged Syria.
The security drive, described by one senior official as a “people’s war,” has been accompanied by accusations in official media that shadowy extremist groups have orchestrated unrest among Uighurs, a Turkic ethnic group. One state-run newspaper sought to link an increase in violence in Xinjiang to Uighurs who were said to have trained in war-ravaged Syria.
On Monday, the newspaper — The Global Times, a populist tabloid owned by the People’s Daily, the main newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party — claimed that about 100 Uighurs had gone to Syria to join rebel forces there who are fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The newspaper quoted an unnamed Chinese security official as saying that the Uighurs went to Syria to “overcome their fears, improve their fighting skills and gain experience in carrying out terror attacks.” Uighur exile groups and experts on the region have rejected government claims that the unrest in Xinjiang was the work of foreign-trained militants.
On Monday, the newspaper — The Global Times, a populist tabloid owned by The People’s Daily, the main newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party — claimed that about 100 Uighurs had gone to Syria to join rebel forces there who are fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
The intense security comes days before the fourth anniversary of ethnic rioting in the regional capital, Urumqi, that killed nearly 200 people. The attacks last week included an assault last Wednesday on a local police station and government offices in Turpan Prefecture that left 35 dead, including 11 rioters shot by the police. Two days later, the state media reported a violent confrontation in Hotan Prefecture; details remain murky. The Xinjiang regional news service merely said no members of the public were killed or injured when security forces responded.
The newspaper quoted an unidentified Chinese security official as saying that the Uighurs went to Syria to “improve their fighting skills and gain experience in carrying out terror attacks.” Uighur exile groups and experts on the region have rejected government claims that the unrest in Xinjiang was the work of foreign-trained militants.
The intense security comes days before the fourth anniversary of ethnic rioting in the regional capital, Urumqi, that killed nearly 200 people. The attacks last week included an assault Wednesday on a local police station and government offices in Turpan Prefecture that left 35 dead, including 11 rioters shot by the police. Two days later, the state media reported a violent confrontation in Hotan Prefecture; details remain murky.
In a speech published Tuesday, the Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang, Zhang Chunxian, said officials must “fully grasp that violent terrorist activities have become a real and major threat to stability in Xinjiang,” according to Tianshan Net, the official Internet news site for Xinjiang.
In a speech published Tuesday, the Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang, Zhang Chunxian, said officials must “fully grasp that violent terrorist activities have become a real and major threat to stability in Xinjiang,” according to Tianshan Net, the official Internet news site for Xinjiang.
“Fight a people’s war against terror and for stability,” said Mr. Zhang. “Land a heavy blow.”
State media have reported that in the recent bloodshed, rioters were armed with primitive weapons, mostly knives, and many foreign experts have said much of the ethnic violence in Xinjiang is spontaneous discontent that does not show the hallmarks of international planning and support.
State media have reported that in the recent bloodshed, rioters were armed with primitive weapons, mostly knives, and many foreign experts have said much of the ethnic violence in Xinjiang is spontaneous discontent that does not show the hallmarks of international planning and support.
But The Global Times suggested that Xinjiang was also under broader threat from skilled separatist fighters hardened by combat in Syria. The report said a Uighur man who had fought in Syria returned to Xinjiang, where he was captured. On Tuesday, the paper quoted Syria’s ambassador to Beijing as saying that at least 30 Uighur militants had traveled to Syria from the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands via Turkey.
But The Global Times suggested that Xinjiang was also under broader threat from skilled separatist fighters hardened by combat in Syria. The report said a Uighur man who had fought in Syria returned to Xinjiang, where he was captured. On Tuesday, the paper quoted Syria’s ambassador to Beijing as saying that at least 30 Uighur militants had traveled to Syria from the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands via Turkey.
The accusations have exposed a murky international dimension of the Chinese government’s claims that bloodshed in Xinjiang has been orchestrated by Uighur militants seeking an independent homeland, which they call East Turkestan, sometimes spelled East Turkistan.
The accusations have exposed a murky international dimension to Beijing’s claims that bloodshed in Xinjiang has been orchestrated by Uighur militants seeking an independent homeland, which they call East Turkistan.
But it is unclear whether the Chinese government endorses the allegations of a link to Syria. No other Chinese news outlet has independently confirmed the allegations in The Global Times, and a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, did not directly respond to the report. Still, when asked on Tuesday whether China believed that separatist organizations were behind the violence, Ms. Hua said, “Please don’t harbor any doubt about the nature of the recent violent terrorist acts in Xinjiang.”
But it is unclear whether the Chinese government endorses the allegations of a link to Syria. No other Chinese news outlet has independently confirmed the allegations in The Global Times, and a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, did not directly respond to the report. Still, when asked Tuesday whether China believed that separatist organizations were behind the violence, Ms. Hua said, “Please don’t harbor any doubt about the nature of the recent violent terrorist acts in Xinjiang.”
“In recent years, East Turkestan terrorist forces have constantly strengthened collusion with international terrorist organizations,” she said, “and this is a grave danger to China’s national security, and also threatens the peace and stability of other countries.”
The East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association, a Uighur exile group based in Turkey, denied the Global Times’s accusations that it had helped Uighurs travel to Syria. In a telephone interview from Istanbul, Abdulehed Er, the association’s vice president, said the report was part of a Chinese government effort to smear opponents as terrorists.
The East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association, a Uighur exile group based in Turkey, adamantly denied the Global Times’s accusations that it had helped Uighurs travel to Syria. In a telephone interview from Istanbul, Abdulehed Er, the association’s vice president, said the report was part of a Chinese government effort to smear opponents as terrorists.
Rohan Gunaratna, a professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said some Uighurs appeared to have gone to Syria to fight with opposition groups, but not in the numbers cited by The Global Times. He estimated that a dozen had tried to enter Syria but was unsure how many had succeeded.
The Turkic-speaking Uighurs have cultural ties to Central Asia and have traditionally had less affinity with Arabs despite a shared Muslim faith.
“Everyone knows that the Chinese government is lying about the Uighur situation,” said Mr. Er. He added that the association’s main work was to help Uighurs from Xinjiang gain admission to Turkish universities. A few found places in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, he said.
“Our association is recognized by the Turkish government, and we are working legally,” he said. “We are not sending any Uighur young or any people to Syria. It is not right. Only the Chinese government has tried to show our association as a terrorist organization.”
Exiled Uighur groups and international human rights advocates have said the Chinese government exaggerates the extent to which Uighur discontent is inspired by extremist groups. They also say the government ignores the sources of Uighur grievances, including poor job opportunities and heavy-handed policing.
“Any kind of request from Uighur people is not accepted by the Chinese government,” said Mr. Er, who grew up in southern Xinjiang and left for Turkey 17 years ago. “Therefore, young people make violence without any organization.”
Rohan Gunaratna, a professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore who studies violent extremism in South and Central Asia, including Xinjiang, said some Uighurs appeared to have gone to Syria to fight alongside opposition groups, but not in the numbers cited by The Global Times. He estimated that a dozen had tried to enter Syria after traveling through Turkey from their increasingly vulnerable bases in Pakistan’s frontier with Afghanistan. But he was unsure of how many had succeeded in entering Syria. At least one Han Chinese man has apparently joined rebels fighting there.
“There are spontaneous uprisings and attacks, but there are also organized ones,” said Professor Gunaratna. “At this point, I’m not able to distinguish who was behind the most recent incidents.”
He said China risked kindling greater conflict in Xinjiang unless it accompanied harsh security measures with policy changes that address Uighur grievances.
But for now, the Chinese government is pursuing a blitz of police checks, armed patrols and tough warnings. On Monday, the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau issued a statement calling on people to turn in guns, bullets, explosives, knives over 15 centimeters long or cutting tools over 22 centimeters. It also issued a prohibition against the manufacture, dissemination, reproduction or possession of materials related to terrorism or violence. And it said people who inform on would-be extremists will be eligible for rewards of up to 100,000 renminbi, or $16,000.
“Most Uighurs who are participating in these protests and activities are not driven by EhTIM propaganda,” said Mr. Gunaratna, using an acronym for the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which the United States and China consider a terrorist group. “They don't subscribe to violence; they subscribe to cultural and linguistic autonomy.”
Andrew Jacobs reported from Beijing, and Chris Buckley from Hong Kong. Patrick Zuo contributed research from Beijing.
Andrew Jacobs reported from Beijing, and Chris Buckley from Hong Kong. Patrick Zuo contributed research from Beijing.
