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Uyghur Leader: Hotan incident was not a terrorist attack

Rebiya Kadeer, 21 July 2011

“We are unable to say what exactly happened in Hotan on July 18 because no independent media exists in the region” said Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer today in a statement. She added that “If it is true that the police station in Hotan was attacked by a group of Uyghurs, then the attack was undoubtedly born out of despair stemming from years of violent repression by the Chinese government”.

I am, and the World Uyghur Congress is, opposed to all forms of violence. Peaceful opposition to Chinese government brutality is the only productive way forward to solving the East Turkestan issue.

According to Ms. Kadeer, the Chinese police exercises state sanctioned violence to protect the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian regime. In the Uyghur region, the police are a repressive tool against the Uyghur people and do not serve to protect Uyghurs. This was most notably seen during the July 5, 2009 unrest in Urumchi and the crackdown that followed.

In response to a comment by Hou Hanmin, chief of the regional information office, that the incident in Hotan was caused by “terrorists”, Ms. Kadeer said “China has no right to call incidents ‘terrorist’ unless they allow freedom of speech for their citizens. In this way, such accusations can be independently verified.” She continued “At the very least China has to stop arbitrary detentions, unjust executions and beatings to death in its jails.”

China’s state media stated that the attackers in Hotan were armed with knives, and Molotov cocktails, some said they had grenades and explosive devices.  “I urge China and the world to consider the desperation of the Uyghur actions in Hotan. Why did they oppose the actions of the police despite the knowledge that it could all be in vain?” Ms. Kadeer also asked “There is not one human being who could be silent while they were a target. They would try to do something even when they have lost all hope for their future. The Uyghur people don’t have rights, they don’t have jobs, they don’t have money, so they think they have nothing to lose.”

“I have called on China many times after the July 5, 2009 unrest to not force people to resort to violence, and I have asked the U.S. and EU countries to help facilitate a peaceful dialogue between Uyghurs and the Chinese government.  My calls have been ignored.”

Han Houmin also told Reuters “It is certain that it [the Hotan incident] was a terrorist attack,,,But as for which organization is behind this, we are still investigating. The number of people killed and casualties will be announced soon.”

In reply, Ms. Kadeer stated, “I know that today or tomorrow China will say that my hand or the agitation of the western media, or some other unknown underground group was behind the attack. In advance, I want to repeat my call to China to not waste its and the people’s time by searching for the root of the problem overseas or in some fictitious underground organization. I tell them to look at their own discriminatory system and repressive policies.”

Rebiya Kadeer also stated that plundering the resources in the region, stepping up the influx of Han Chinese immigrants, accelerated assimilation of Uyghurs and insistence on continuing harsh state security measurements, such as “strike hard” campaigns, were major factors for continuing unrest in the region.