China's Far West provinces (inc. Tibet)

[bourbon]

What is more interesting is the attack on a restaurant and the murders in the street. Extreme violence face to face and I expect in the knowledge there is no escape is not a good sign. My knowledge of the region is poor, could this be the first suicide terrorist attack? So breaking "the mould" and local, Muslim traditions?

Much of the violence in Xinjiang in recent years - and many of the attacks ascribed to East Turkestan groups there, have been with edged weapons, blunt instruments, or crude incendiary devices. Contrast this with ETIM in Pakistan (and Afghanistan?) who appear to be supplied with small arms and explosives, and “ETIM” in Xinjiang looks like the junior-varsity B-squad.

[davidbfpo]

A backgrounder on the BBC by an academic on the troubles in Kashgar and Xinjiang Province; which ends with:

The dire situation of the Uighurs in Xinjiang is at the root of the conflict. Only when the real culprits - poverty, marginalisation and discrimination - are defeated can the conflict be satisfactorily resolved.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14384605

Alas political power rests far beyond the Uighurs. "Draining the swamp" is laudable, sadly too much weighs against anything happening.

[davidbfpo]

This thread was called 'China's Far West' and is a better home for recent posts on insurgency / terrorism/ public disorder in China's western provinces than the thread on China's emergence as a super power.

I've re-named this thread as 'China's Far West provinces: a Small War'. On reflection I've also left in the Central Asia forum, not Asia-Pacific where most threads on China appear.

[davidbfpo]

A commentary on the issues in Xinjiang and their effect on Sino-Pakistani relations:http://raffaellopantucci.com/2011/08...ani-relations/

Taster:

The fact that we have seen similar instances of serious violence in Xinjiang on a relatively regular basis over the last few years suggests some deep-seated anger is bubbling just below the surface. Whether this is directed by external parties is unclear, however.

[davidbfpo]

From the NYT:

The American organization, the SITE Intelligence Group, posted the video, by the Turkistan Islamic Party, on its Web site on Wednesday, reporting that it had been issued in late August. In the video, according to SITE, the group’s leader, Abdul Shakoor Damla, claimed that attacks in July in Hotan and Kashgar, two southern Xinjiang cities, were acts of revenge for the Chinese government’s repression of the region’s ethnic Uighur population.

Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/wo..._r=1&ref=world

[davidbfpo]

Not unexpected, although I do wonder if this will be seen by those aspiring to join the violent Jihad as inspirational.

Four members of the Uighur minority have been sentenced to death over attacks in China's restive Xinjiang province, which left 32 people dead.

The men were found guilty of murder, arson and running a terrorist organisation, state media reported.

Two others were jailed for 19 years for their roles in separate incidents in Kashgar and Hotan in July.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14926413

[Ray]

Chinese Muslims banned from fasting in Ramadan

Amid fresh arrests, restrictions on fasting and prayers at mosques, Uighur Muslims are suffering under the latest episode of Chinese government crackdown on their ethnic minority in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

“If any religious figure discusses Ramadan during the course of religious activities, or encourages people to take part, then they will lose their license to practice,” Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uighur Congress, told Eurasia Review on Friday, August 5.

No Fasting

Beijing slapped severe restrictions on Chinese Muslims as the holy fasting month of Ramadan started.

As for Muslim members of the government throughout Xinjiang, the government forced them to sign “letters of responsibility” promising to avoid fasting, evening prayers, or other religious activities.

“Fasting during Ramadan is a traditional ethnic custom, and they are allowed to do that,” an employee who answered the phone at a local government neighborhood committee office in the regional capital Urumqi said confirming the restrictions.

“But they aren’t allowed to hold any religious activities during Ramadan,” she added.

“Party members are not allowed to fast for Ramadan, and neither are civil servants.”

As for private companies, Uighur Muslim employees were offered lunches during fasting hours.

Anyone who refuses to eat could lose their annual bonus, or even their job, Raxit added.

Officials have also targeted Muslim schoolchildren, providing them with free lunches during the fasting period.

A Uighur resident of Beijing said students under 18 are forbidden from fasting during Ramadan. Moreover, government campaigns forced restaurants in the Muslim majority region to stay open all day.

More restrictions were also imposed on people trying to attend prayers at mosques.

http://muslimvillage.com/2011/08/06/...ng-in-ramadan/

People can still carry on with deprivations and social injustice.

However, it is a different matter when religion is trifled with, more so with the Muslims, who are, amongst all religions, more zealous in observing the rites and rules of their Faith.

While other religions have changed with the times, but not so Islam since from the 10th Century, Ijtihad has been discontinued.

Ramadan or Ramazan is a Islamic religious event which has great importance for all Muslim.

But then the Chinese are also correct in their own way since they do not allow religion to upset stability or tranquillity as it is a departure from their concept of egalitarianism.

And they are very sensitive about 'foreign' religions like Christianity and Islam.