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By Roni Rui 11/07/2010
On the anniversary of the July 5, 2009 violence in Xinjiang, the World
Uyghur Congress (WUC) launched a worldwide protest in over 20
countries. It strongly condemned the Chinese communist regime for its
military suppression of Uyghurs one year ago, and for oppressive
security measures leading up to the anniversary.
Dilshat Rishit, spokesperson for the WUC, told The Epoch Times that on
July 5, Xinjiang authorities have placed Uyghurs under house arrest.
Personnel who carried out operations to maintain “social stability”
used the excuse of “appeasement” to enter Uyghurs’ homes and monitor
and restrain them from mourning the victims of last year’s violence.
They also want to prevent victims’ families from exposing their true
situation to the outside world. Telephone networks and the Internet
inside Xinjiang have been subjected to various interference.
Rishit said that large-scale protests were held on July 5 in over 20
countries, including Europe, Australia, the U.S. and Canada. The
protests were in various formats. Besides mourning the victims, there
were various large forums, photo exhibits, and documentary screenings
to expose the misinformation of the 2009 events propagated by the
Chinese communist authorities.
On July 4, Uyghurs in Paris and Tokyo held activities on the day prior
to the anniversary. In Tokyo they held a rally and march in a park in
Chiyoda-ku. Meanwhile in Paris, over 100 Uyghurs in exile gathered near
the Eiffel Tower. They held protest signs and waved flags, then marched
to the Chinese Embassy, demanding international pressure be put on
Beijing authorities to hold a dialogue with Uyghur leaders.
During a July 5 protest held in Sweden, Ms. Dilala Reheman, who
witnessed the 2009 violence in Xinjian, said Uyghurs will never forget
this bloody day. Ms. Reheman subsequently fled from China. She said the
Chinese communist party (CCP) is continuing its systematic persecution
of Uyghurs.
Elyar Abduwali also fled to Sweden at the same time. He said they were
disappointed by the international community’s failure to stop the
Chinese regime’s violence.
Conflict Deepening
Ms. Mukerrem Kurban, the spokesperson for the protest in Calgary, Canada.
In
Canada members of the Uyghur community held a protest in front of the
Chinese Consulate in Calgary. According to Mukerrem Kurban,
spokesperson of the event, the conflict between Uyghurs and Han Chinese
has deepened since last year’s violence in Urumqi, and this conflict
was created by the CCP. Since July 1 this year, authorities have used
the excuse of maintaining stability to send in a large number of
military police. They are all over Urumqi. Authorities have also
installed 40,000 surveillance cameras across Urumqi.
The Uyghur people are afraid to go on streets now. All phone calls
entering Xinjiang from overseas have been interfered with. On July 5,
all phone lines were cut off.
Rishit said that the basic dignity of Uyghur people has been
seriously infringed upon. Uyghurs living in different villages cannot
communicate with each other normally. When going from one village to
another, they are been interrogated. If a Uyghur needs to go to
somewhere far, he or she has to get a criminal record clearing from
their village cadres. “Uyghurs are now living in an open-air prison,”
Rishit said.
Missing People
Rishit also said that since the July 5,
2009 incident, families of the large number of missing people have not
been informed of the whereabouts of their family members. They don’t
know where their children have been detained or when they will be
released.
“Everything is based on Beijing’s political need rather than going
through the normal judicial process. People don’t have any right to
defend themselves,” Rishit said.
Rishit issued a brief statement regarding the anniversary of the July 5
incident: “I would like to urge all people inside Mainland China, who
love democracy, human rights and respect people of different beliefs,
to come forward to expose the Chinese communist regime’s longtime lies
that demonize Uyghurs. Because democracy and human rights should not be
selective to race and religion, all Chinese people with conscience
should step forward to strongly condemn the Chinese communist regime’s
armed suppression of the Uyghurs.”
Chinese authorities claimed that 197 people were killed and 1,600
injured during the July 5, 2009 protest, but an Amnesty International
report released on July 2 challenges those numbers and the official
Chinese coverage of the events based on testimonies by Uyghurs who fled
China during the unrest.
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