Xinjiang Continues Crackdown on Separatism, Terrorism, and Religious Extremism

February 28, 2006

Ismail Tiliwaldi, Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) government, told a session of the XUAR People's Congress on January 17 that the government would continue to crack down against the "three forces" of separatism, terrorism, and religious extremism in 2006, according to the text of the chairman’s work report posted January 25 on Tianshan Net.

Ismail Tiliwaldi, Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) government, told a session of the XUAR People's Congress on January 17 that the government would continue to crack down against the "three forces" of separatism, terrorism, and religious extremism in 2006, according to the text of the chairman’s work report posted January 25 on Tianshan Net. He said the XUAR government would "resolutely implement" the central government's strategic policies on maintaining stability in the XUAR and would "strike hard" and stay on guard against ethnic separatist forces inside and outside the borders that use non-governmental organizations, rights protection activities, the Internet, ethnic minority religions, and other strategies to carry out sabotage.

Tiliwaldi also referred to the government's fight against the "three forces" during 2005 and during the period of the 10th Five-Year Plan. He included the battle against the "three forces" in the agenda for the 11th Five-Year Program as well.

The government has equated some non-violent activities by members of the Uighur ethnic group with separatist acts in its crackdown on perceived state security threats. As part of this campaign, the government also tightly controls religious practice in the XUAR. For more information, see the sections on Rights Violations in Xinjiang and Religious Freedom for China's Muslims in the 2005 CECC Annual Report.