Authorities Block Uighur Protest in Xinjiang, Detain Protesters

Authorities suppressed demonstrations by ethnic Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) who gathered on March 23 and 24 to protest human rights abuses, according to reports from U.S. media. The protests, which took place in Hoten city and nearby Qaraqash county, appear to have stemmed from a prominent businessman's death while in official custody and from general grievances over government policy in the region. Of the 1,000-plus protesters, most of whom were women, authorities reportedly detained 600 and, according to unconfirmed reports, have since released more than half.

According to a series of reports from Radio Free Asia (RFA), 600 women gathered on March 23 at a bus stop in Hoten and marched to a marketplace in the city center, by which time their numbers had grown to over 1,000. (See an April 1 RFA report in English, and March 29 reports (1, 2) and March 31 reports (1, 2) from RFA's Uighur service for more information.) According to sources cited in the March 29 articles, participants called for the release of political prisoners, an end to physical abuse of prisoners, respect for Uighur customs, and religious freedom. Women also wore headscarves during the protest in defiance of admonishments against such apparel issued during a government campaign to promote stability, according to the first March 31 article.

Sources also connected the demonstrations to the death of Mutellip Hajim, according to multiple RFA reports. Authorities detained Mutellip Hajim, a jade merchant and father of eight, in January 2008 in apparent retribution for his activities supporting the families of prisoners and helping underground religious schools, as well as for violating population planning requirements, according to a source cited in a March 28 RFA article. Mutellip Hajim reportedly died in detention after being subjected to torture, and his corpse was returned to his family on March 3, with orders not to publicize his death. He had previously served a four-year sentence starting in 2003 for slander, a charge stemming from a dispute with authorities over jade prices, according to a source cited in the March 28 article.

As clashes broke out with police, authorities detained 400 protesters on the first day and 200 on the second, according to sources cited in the RFA articles. The first March 31 RFA article also reported that more than half of those detained have been released and six people died in the protests, but that it had not been able to verify either figure.

Also on March 23, a group gathered to demonstrate at a market in Qaraqash county, in Hoten district. Sources indicated to RFA that police blocked the demonstration and detained protesters, leading to clashes between the groups, according to a March 30 RFA article. The April 1 RFA article reported that a police officer said the demonstration had been "peacefully dispersed."

The Hoten government posted a statement on its Web site on April 1 describing the Hoten city demonstrations as an attempt to incite a disturbance by people carrying separatist flags who were connected to the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism. In the brief statement, the government also said it stopped the protestors and "dealt with them according to law." The government said no injuries or deaths occurred. An April 4 report from Tianshan Net said that Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic political movement active internationally, had instigated demonstrations in Hoten after disseminating leaflets in cities throughout the XUAR. According to the first March 29 RFA article, Hoten police earlier told local hotel workers that the demonstration was provoked by protests in Tibetan areas of China. The government elsewhere has claimed a link between alleged Uighur and Tibetan separatist organizations. (See, e.g., a March 22 People's Daily article.) In addition, a Hoten government spokesperson claimed a link to Tibetan protests in comments to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), according to an April 2 BBC report. The spokesperson also said that "most of the protesters" had been detained and some "sent for 're-education,'" according to a BBC paraphrasing of the remarks.

The demonstrations followed March announcements that authorities would crackdown against the "three forces." The government has waged a longstanding campaign against the "three forces" and has used its anti-crime campaigns as a pretext for severe rights abuses in the XUAR. Authorities made the call while providing limited details on alleged terrorist activity in January and March and as local governments reported on various efforts to promote stability. As news of the demonstrations was released, Chinese media also reported that an all-women's division of the people's armed police had been established in the XUAR, though it is unclear if the timing of the announcement of the unit's establishment is connected to the Hoten women's demonstration. According to an April 3 article from the Metropolitan Consumers Morning Report (via the China Xinjiang Web), the women's unit, which is the third of its kind in China, will focus on fighting terrorism and separatism particularly in cases where it is not "convenient" for men to be involved in the situation, according to one of the unit's instructors.

For more information on conditions in the XUAR, see Section II--Ethnic Minority Rights, subsection on Rights Abuses in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, in the 2007 CECC Annual Report (via the Government Printing Office Web site).