China: No more kitchen knives in Xinjiang – but more tanks, raids and denunciations

"Helpless" and "absurd" is what the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls a decision of the Chinese authorities to confiscate all large kitchen knives in Xinjiang (East Turkestan). "Following the recent escalation of violence, all kitchen knives with a blade longer than 15 centimeters are to be confiscated – and East Turkestan now also faces mass arrests, because the security forces are planning to seize any 'separatist propaganda' in ten days time," reported Ulrich Delius, the STP's Asia-consultant, in Göttingen on Wednesday. "This is a free ticket for arbitrary arrests of thousands of Uyghurs, for any publication about human rights violations and about the culture and history of the Muslim ethnic group can be considered to be 'separatist propaganda'."

"We are following with great concern that the riot police forces in numerous cities of the region were reinforced and that armored vehicles have sealed off the Uyghur-inhabited city centers and residential areas," said Delius. "But this will not help to calm down the local Uyghur population. Instead, this underlines the impression of a Chinese occupation rule – which is especially dangerous because of the upcoming fourth anniversary of the serious unrests between Uyghurs and Han Chinese on July 5. "More than 1,000 riot police were deployed to the provincial capital of Urumqi. In the most popular city districts, police posts were set up at a distance of only a hundred meters.

According to the STP, Beijing is stirring up the violence in Lukqun instead of trying to reduce the tensions to allow independent investigations on the real reasons behind the escalation of violence in late June. Also, the promised rewards of up to 12,300 Euros for the denunciation of 'separatists' are a wrong signal that does not contribute to the much-needed building of trust.

35 people were killed in Lukqun when enraged Uyghurs attacked a police station and an office of the Communist Party on June 26. Two days later, near the city of Hotan, Uyghurs had protested against the closure of a mosque and the arrest of a religious leader. When more than 200 protesters started to beset a police station, the police opened fire – killing at least two people.

On July 5, 2009, at least 200 people had been killed during serious clashes in Urumqi. Until today, the fate of most of the more than 4,000 Uyghur who were arrested back then is uncertain. As this increases the tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese immigrants, the STP demands a clarification of the whereabouts of the detainees.