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Xinjiang Unrest: Dalai voices concern; Friday Prayers banned
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Dalai Lama
In the wake of ethnic unrest, Chinese authorities banned Friday prayer gatherings at mosques at Urumqi and other places across the Xinjiang region. Foreign journalists and other visitors in Kashgar are also asked to leave. Kashgar is a major town after Urumqi and its importance dates back to the ancient Silk Route days. At least 156 people were killed in three days of rioting and unrest that began Sunday. More than 1,000 were reported injured.
“Preserving and maintaining the overall stability of Xinjiang is currently the most urgent task,” President Hu Jintao was quoted as saying in the People’s Daily, which has editorially called on the authorities to ‘crack down’ on the trouble makers.
Urumqi party chief Li Zhi has warned ‘those who have committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them’.
Trouble broke out in Urumqi after Uighur workers were targeted at a southern Chinese shoe factory on July 25.
Turkic-speaking Muslims, Uighurs, form a minority in Urumqi, a city of 2.3 million that has been heavily settled by ethnic Han Chinese from other parts of China. Both Uighur and Han claim to be victims of the violence, but the government has not given the details of causalities.
DALAI LAMA CONCERN
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has expressed concern over race riots between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese in Xinjiang province. ‘I am deeply saddened and concerned with the worsening situation in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), especially with tragic loss of lives’, he said in a statement. He urged the Chinese leadership to exercise restraint and bring the situation quickly to normal. ‘I earnestly urge the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation in a spirit of understanding and farsightedness’, the Dalai Lama said in his statement.
He offered prayers for those who had lost their lives by the ‘sad turn of events’.
“Preserving and maintaining the overall stability of Xinjiang is currently the most urgent task,” President Hu Jintao was quoted as saying in the People’s Daily, which has editorially called on the authorities to ‘crack down’ on the trouble makers.
Urumqi party chief Li Zhi has warned ‘those who have committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them’.
Trouble broke out in Urumqi after Uighur workers were targeted at a southern Chinese shoe factory on July 25.
Turkic-speaking Muslims, Uighurs, form a minority in Urumqi, a city of 2.3 million that has been heavily settled by ethnic Han Chinese from other parts of China. Both Uighur and Han claim to be victims of the violence, but the government has not given the details of causalities.
DALAI LAMA CONCERN
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has expressed concern over race riots between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese in Xinjiang province. ‘I am deeply saddened and concerned with the worsening situation in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), especially with tragic loss of lives’, he said in a statement. He urged the Chinese leadership to exercise restraint and bring the situation quickly to normal. ‘I earnestly urge the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation in a spirit of understanding and farsightedness’, the Dalai Lama said in his statement.
He offered prayers for those who had lost their lives by the ‘sad turn of events’.
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