China intensifies measures against human rights activists

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses China's government of ignoring the rule of law and of systematically criminalizing human rights activists. "The Chinese government's measures against human rights activists are a serious setback for efforts to strengthen the rule of law in the People's Republic," said Ulrich Delius, the STP's Asia-consultant, in Göttingen on Sunday. Anti-corruption activist Xu Zhiyong was sentenced to four years in prison on Sunday. His fellow campaigner Liu Yuandong from the "New Citizens' Movement" is on trial in Guangzhou since Friday. He might be facing a long prison sentence too. Further, the Uyghur human rights activist Ilham Tohti is accused of "separatism" – a charge that is often punished with long prison terms. At least 65 human rights activists were arrested or abducted by Chinese security forces since March 2013.

The Chinese authorities' accusations against the economist Ilham Tohti are especially troubling because the professors is well known in China and abroad for his attempts to mediate between the Uyghur and the Han Chinese. On his website "Uyghur online", he explains the backgrounds of the unrests in the northwest of the country, where most Muslim Uyghurs live, in Chinese language. "The recent escalation of violence in Xinjiang in the north-west of China shows the importance of his information work in order to try and build up trust between the Uyghurs and the Han Chinese," said Delius. "In Xinjang, at least 239 people were killed in politically motivated violence since January 2013."

During the last three days, 24 people were killed in firefights with security forces or border police in Xinjiang and the adjacent Uyghur regions. On Thursday, Kyrgyz border troops killed twelve Uyghurs at the border crossing to Kyrgyzstan. While the Kyrgyz border troops – who cooperate with the Chinese security authorities – claim to have liquidated a group of "terrorists", several Uyghur organizations report that the victims were unarmed refugees. According to official reports from China, twelve Uyghurs died last Friday in bomb attacks against a supermarket and a beauty salon – and in a targeted detonation of a vehicle that was surrounded by police forces. Every month, there are about 20-30 victims of politically motivated violence in East Turkestan, which is what the Uyghur call their homeland. Most of the victims belong to the discriminated population group of the Uyghurs.

"It is especially worrying that the ´Public Safety Òffice´ in Urumqi accuses Ilham Tohti of trying to recruit activists for an armed struggle against China and of spreading hatred between the Uyghurs and the Han Chinese," said Delius. "Although the allegations are ridiculous, they clearly show that the Chinese government will rather cause the situation to escalate instead of trying to mediate or settle the conflict in Xinjiang. Keeping up the tensions in East Turkestan is irresponsible and a threat to stability and peace in Central Asia."