Asia Times: Beijing's harsher Uighur policy a shot in two feet


	April 24, 2002	atimes.com

China

Beijing's harsher Uighur policy a shot in two feet
By Hooman Peimani

For about three decades, China's Xinjiang province has been the scene of ethnic conflict and anti-government activities. Being ethnically non-Chinese, the Uighurs, who form its dominant ethnic group, have resorted to a variety of political activities to achieve their objectives, ie, independence from China. The Chinese government has resorted to a zero-tolerance policy toward them and has harshly suppressed any form of Uighur political dissent.

Such a policy has provoked worldwide condemnation, damaging the Chinese government's international reputation. Against this background, the American "war on terrorism" has provided an excuse for the Chinese to continue and expand their harsh treatment of Uighur anti-government groups and individuals under the more convincing pretext of "fighting terrorism". This opportunistic use of the global support for anti-terrorist campaigns will not only lead to further radicalization of the Uighurs and the expansion of instability in their province, it will also damage the legitimacy of the anti-terrorist campaigns in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The original inhabitants of Xinjiang province are different Turkic ethnic groups. The Uighurs account for the majority of the province's population, while the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz form large communities. Being dissatisfied with their treatment by the ethnic Chinese for a long time, the Uighurs have expressed their dissatisfaction in a variety of ways, including efforts toward independence from China and the creation of an Uighur state called Uighuristan. Concerned about its impact on China's political stability and territorial integrity, the Chinese government has resorted to different means to eliminate the separatist threat. Thus, it has encouraged the migration of ethnic Chinese from other Chinese provinces to Xinjiang in a bid to change the latter's ethnic balance in favor of ethnic Chinese. As well, it has resorted to the forcible assimilation of the Uighurs into ethnic Chinese. These policies have created resentment among the Uighurs, who feel threatened culturally and ethnically.

Contrary to the intention of the Chinese government over the past two decades, its policies toward Uighurs have worsened the situation in their province. Instead of removing the threat of instability and separatism, they have actually provoked the reverse. There has been a surge in anti-government activities among the Uighurs, which have taken both peaceful and violent forms. The disintegration of the Soviet Union, which led to the emergence the of independent states of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan along the Xinjiang border, has further encouraged such activities.

Having large Uighur communities, the rise of these "Turkic" states dominated by Turkic ethnic groups (the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz, respectively), has increased the feasibility of independence as a political objective among the Uighurs. The result has been the growth of their independence movement since 1991.

The Chinese government has implemented a zero-tolerance policy toward any forms of dissent in Xinjiang province since the 1970s. Its harsh suppression of any type of political activity, regardless of its aim or form, has included the arrest and imprisonment of thousands of dissidents and activists as well as the execution of many others accused of armed struggle and/or advocating independence from China. Despite its systematic suppression of dissent, the Chinese government has failed to uproot opposition in Xinjiang province. The indiscriminate suppression of all forms of unauthorized political activities, peaceful and violent alike, has increased the popularity and the legitimacy of the pro-independence movement among the alienated and dissatisfied Uighurs.

The American "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan, and the efforts by many governments in different parts of the world to deal with terrorist organizations, have granted China a "golden" opportunity. Since September 11, the Chinese government has actually expanded its suppressive policy toward the Uighurs this time under a more acceptable pretext: suppressing terrorists. China now claims that the Uighur activists have been inspired, encouraged and supplied by terrorist organizations, particularly by al-Qaeda and the Taliban stationed in neighboring Afghanistan. This is notwithstanding the fact that the Afghan territory along the Chinese border was under the Northern Alliance's control in the Taliban era, a restricting factor for any type of relationship between the Uighurs and the Afghanistan-based terrorists.

The pro-independence movement in Xinjiang is neither homogenous nor cohesive. It consists of various large and small groups as well as many political activists subscribing to different ideologies and methods of struggle against the Chinese government. Thus, it is possible that some of them have had some sort of contact with radical or terrorist organizations in their proximity, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban. However, it is quite certain that the pro-independence movement in Xinjiang is not a creation of such organizations. Certain social realities gave birth to the movement decades before the rise of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Therefore, it cannot be branded as a terrorist creature, although foreign actors (eg, governments, radical groups or terrorist organizations) may have tried to use it for their own ends.

The Uighur independence movement has its roots in the social and historical realities of Xinjiang province. The persistence of such realities, including the dissatisfaction of the Uighurs with the status quo, has kept the movement alive despite three decades of systematic suppression. Undoubtedly, it will continue in one form or another so long as those realities remain in place.

Like any other government, the Chinese government has the right to defend the territorial integrity of its country and to deal with those who resort to violent activities, including terrorists. Yet, its policy towards the Uighur independence movement has gone far beyond those legitimate objectives to take the form of suppression of any type of dissent. Over the past three decades, that approach has failed to achieve the desired goal of ending anti-government and pro-independence sentiment and activities.

There is no ground to suggest that it will have a different result in the future. Unless the Chinese government addresses the root causes of instability in Xinjiang, the continuation of its harsh policy under the pretext of "fighting terrorism" will only worsen the situation there, while damaging the legitimacy of worldwide efforts to uproot terrorism.

Dr Hooman Peimani works as an independent consultant with international organizations in Geneva and does research in international relations.

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