Armed police protect Uygur community against revenge

• Source: Global Times
• [07:43 July 08 2009]
• Comments

The burned-out shell of a bus attacked during unrest in Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sunday. The riot left 156 people dead and more than 1,000 injured. Photo: Xinhua

By Cheng Gang in Urumqi and Qiu Wei in Beijing

Regional authorities ordered an overnight curfew yesterday in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in an effort to quell the violence in the wake of deadly riots.

As of last night, the official death toll was 156, and more than 1,000 injuries had been reported.

The curfew ran from 9 pm yesterday to 8 am today, Wang Lequan, Communist Party chief of Xinjiang, said in a televised speech.

A fresh outburst of protest erupted in the early evening yesterday as thousands of demonstrators, mostly Han people, marched toward Erdaoqiao, an area mainly inhabited by Uygurs, in downtown Urumqi, seeking retribution for Sunday’s violence against the Han.

The protesters were seen holding makeshift weapons, including clubs, knives, axes and hammers, while chanting “protect our home, protect our family members.”

Their attempts to access the Uygur community were denied by armed police. No clashes were reported.

“There hasn’t been any gunfire by police, as we are not mandated to open fire,” an anonymous armed police officer said. “But since Sunday, we’ve seen some Uygur rioters in the city who were equipped with grenades and guns.”

Security forces in Urumqi are sufficiently staffed to restore order, and no extra forces were needed from other provinces, the officer said.

“Everyone should keep a clear head,” Wang said. “We should target the hostile forces at home and abroad instead of the brothers and sisters of different ethnic groups.”

The government will comfort and compensate bereaved families, and try hard to help restore business for those who suffered losses in the violence, Wang said.

Li Zhi, Communist Party chief in Urumqi, rushed to the area, appealing to the protesters to leave.

“Uygur and Han people are brothers and sisters; we are a family,” the official said through a loudspeaker. Earlier in the day, Li called at a press conference to avoid confrontation between ethnic groups in the region.

Many of the protesters began to persuade others to refrain from extreme action, “otherwise those who instigated the violence would be very happy to see more unrest,” a man said while listening to Li’s speech.

But some people asked for punishment for the killers and stronger government action following Sunday night’s riot. The crowds sang the country’s national anthem and gradually dispersed about 40 minutes later, leaving just a few hundred people.