Saudi Crown Prince Defends China's Right to Put Uighur Muslims in Concentration Camps

THE TELEGRAPH: Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’’s crown prince, on Friday defended China’s use of concentration camps for Muslims, saying it was Beijing’s “right”.

"China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremisation work for its national security,” Prince Mohammed, who has been in China signing multi-million trade deals much to the annoyance of his Western allies, was quoted as saying on Chinese state television.

Xi Jinping, China’s leader, told the crown prince the two countries must strengthen international cooperation on de-radicalisation to “prevent the infiltration and spread of extremist thinking”. » | Telegraph Reporters | Friday, February 22, 2019

Muslims Forced Into Internment Camps

China's Ruthless Crackdown On Its Muslim Population

Crackdown: Muslims make up the majority of China's province of Xinjiang. Following Uyghur protests, China has cracked down on its native Muslim population, with no consideration for Human Rights in its campaign of oppression.

No Beards, No Veils': Uighur Life in China's Xinjiang

BBC: China says Islamist separatists in Xinjiang are the greatest threat to national security. The far western region is home to a community of some 10 million Uighurs, who are mostly Muslim.

Beijing is concerned that young Uighurs are vulnerable to radicalisation. Widespread intimidation makes reporting from the region extremely difficult, but the BBC gained exclusive access to the area. (+ BBC video) » | Saturday, March 18, 2017

Filmed and edited by Matthew Goddard; Produced by Ashley Semler

The Former Guantánamo Detainees Trapped in Paradise and Wanted by the Chinese

Uighurs in Paradise (2009): Meet the Uighur Muslims who were wrongly imprisoned in Guantanamo and are now caught between the rival superpowers of China and the USA.

WIKI: Palau »

China Bans Muslims from Fasting during Ramadan, Say Uighur Community

Shops and restaurants are being ordered to stay open during
daylight hours - or risk being shut down

THE INDEPENDENT: China has, once again, banned Ramadan in parts of the far western Xinjiang district for Muslim party members, civil servants, students and teachers.

Muslims throughout the district – which is known to have a minority population of Uighurs – have been told not to fast during the Holy Month.

The Uighur leader, Dilxat Raxit, sees the move as China’s attempt to control their Islamic faith and warned that the restrictions would force the Uighur people to resist the rule of the Chinese government even more. » | Aftab Ali | Wednesday, June 17, 2015

China Says Uighurs Bring Islamic State Terror Back From Jihad, Plot Attacks

A key Chinese official claimed Tuesday that ethnic Uighurs who once fought with the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq have returned with plots to attack China, an assertion that quickly drew scrutiny in Washington but underscored the increasingly global reach of the extremist outfit that has drawn more foreign fighters than any other jihadi movement…

Beijing Forced Relatives to Blame Me: Uighur Activist
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: SYDNEY -- The exiled Uighur activist Beijing blames for inciting recent ethnic violence in China accused the Chinese government on Tuesday of forcing her imprisoned children to say she was responsible for the unrest.

China released a letter Monday it says was penned by close relatives of Rebiya Kadeer -- including two of her children -- blaming her for last month's deadly riots by minority Uighur Muslims in her native Xinjiang, which the government says left 197 people dead and more than 1,700 injured.

But the 62-year-old U.S.-based activist, who arrived in Australia on Tuesday, told reporters in Sydney that the Chinese government forced two of her children to speak against her. They are both in prison in China, where one was convicted of tax evasion and the other of subversion.

"If they .. refused to cooperate with the Chinese government, then their lives would be jeopardized," she said through an interpreter. "In order to live in China, you have to lie."

Ms. Kadeer, who lives in the U.S. state of Virginia, is in Australia to attend the Melbourne International Film Festival, which will feature a documentary about her life. >>> Associated Press | Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Queen Bypasses Bermuda’s Celebration of Four Centuries of Colonial History
TIMES ONLINE: The Queen is skipping today’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Britain’s oldest colony after a row with the island’s pro-independence leader.

Bermuda is commemorating the shipwreck on July 28, 1609, of the Sea Venture, the flagship of a fleet sent to resupply the Jamestown colony in America.

Sailors, including the crew of the visiting Royal Navy destroyer HMS Manchester, will re-enact the 150 settlers rowing ashore on what is now St Catherine’s Beach to start four centuries of continuous settlement of the mid-Atlantic island.

Neither Queen Elizabeth II, the island’s sovereign, nor Ewart Brown, the elected pro-independence Premier, however, will be present for the celebrations.

The Queen was invited and had been considering a visit but decided to skip the festivities after Britain clashed with the island’s elected Government in June over its decision to resettle four former Guantánamo Bay prisoners without asking Britain’s permission.

The four Muslim ethnic Uighurs from China have been transferred to guest-worker housing and are learning English with a tutor. They are trying to get jobs but are all currently recovering from a bout of flu.

A Palace source said that the Queen had no immediate plans to visit Bermuda. >>> James Bone in New York | Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Guantanamo Row May Halt Queen’s Visit to Bermuda
Photo: The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE Foreign Office is threatening to cancel a state visit by the Queen to Bermuda after a row with the island over its “unacceptable” decision to give sanctuary to four former inmates of Guantanamo Bay.

The boycott is being considered after Bermuda infuriated David Miliband, the foreign secretary, by allowing the four men, all Chinese Muslim Uighurs, to stay on what is an overseas British territory.

The move followed a secret deal struck between Washington and the Bermudans. It was carried out without consulting Britain or the island’s governor.

Miliband protested to Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, about the pact. He told her the move was “invalid” because it breached Bermuda’s constitution, under which the UK has control over the island’s foreign and security policy.

The Uighurs are Muslim separatists from Xinjiang province. They had fled to Afghanistan in 2001 to escape Chinese oppression and were detained after they went to Pakistan.

Their arrival in Bermuda last month sparked an angry response from Sir Richard Gozney, the island’s governor. He summoned Ewart Brown, the Bermudan prime minister, for a dressing down. >>> David Leppard | Sunday, July 19, 2009

China and Islam: This Could Get Ugly
THE TELEGRAPH: The internal ructions in Xinjiang, where Han Chinese and Muslim Uighurs have been at each others’ throats, have attracted the attention of the brave boys of Al-Qaeda. For their crimes against Muslims, the cavemen say, China can expect direct retaliation.

A few years ago this wouldn’t have mattered, as China could be pretty confident of keeping its local Muslims under control. No Abu Hamzas there – they wouldn’t last five minutes. But now there are groups of Chinese officials, specialists and workers all over Africa on the aid trail, and Al-Qaeda’s presence in the north of the continent is palpable.

Al-Qaeda, of course, are a bunch of obnoxious blowhards. But there are plenty of dangerous people who might have been given ideas by this new call to arms. And Chinese in Africa are a high-visibility target. This could get ugly. And the people for whom it will get ugliest are the poor old Uighurs of Xinjiang, who will get the blame simply for being the nearest Muslims the PRC can get its hands on. [Source: The Telegraph] Comment here >>> Time Collard | Friday, July 17, 2009

Al-Qaeda Vows Revenge on China after Riots
TIMES ONLINE: Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network has taken up the cause of China’s Muslim Uighur minority with a pledge to attack Chinese workers in northwestern Africa in retaliation for mistreatment by Beijing of its largest Muslim minority.

Al-Qaeda's Algerian-based offshoot, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has issued the call for vengeance, according to the South China Morning Post, which quoted an intelligence report from the London-based risk analysis firm Stirling Assynt.

It would be the first time that bin Laden’s organisation has threatened China or its interests — underlying the risks Beijing faces as it expands its economic investments overseas.

The assessment by Sterling Assynt warned that the threat should be taken seriously and said: “Although AQIM appear to be the first arm of al-Qaeda to officially state they will target Chinese interests, others are likely to follow."

The unrest in China’s westernmost Xinjiang region last week in which 184 people died — most of them Han Chinese killed by Uighurs — has elicited sympathy in much of the Muslim world for the minority Uighurs who face tight controls on their religious practices and discrimination in the workplace.

The report said: “The general situation of China's Muslims has resonated amongst the global jihadist community. There is an increasing amount of chatter . . . among jihadists who claim they want to see action against China. Some of these individuals have been actively seeking information on China's interests in the Muslim world, which they could use for targeting purposes."

The report is based on information from people who have seen the instruction from AQIM, the agency said. >>> Jane Macartney in Beijing | Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Chinese Police Kill Two Uighur Men as Ethnic Unrest Flares
TIMES ONLINE: Chinese police today shot dead two Uighur men and wounded a third in the first official report of the use of firearms to quell unrest in the western, mainly Muslim region where a riot last week left 184 people dead.

Frightened residents of Urumqi ran into their homes and shops, slamming the doors, as police waved their guns and shouted. Reinforcements were rushed into the city, backed by armoured personnel carriers.

Officials said that officers opened fire after they were attacked as they tried to prevent three men from assaulting another with knives and rods.

"Police shot and killed two suspected lawbreakers and injured one suspected lawbreaker using legal means," said a statement released by the government of the capital of China’s westernmost region of Xinjiang.

State radio said that the two men who died were members of the ethnic Uighur minority. A third Uighur was wounded. >>> Jane Macartney in Beijing | Monday, July 13, 2009

China Tightens Security in Xinjiang

China Riots: 140 Killed and 816 Injured
THE TELEGRAPH: At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in the capital of China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Riots erupt in Muslim area of China
The government has blamed exiled Muslim separatists for the area's worst case of ethnic unrest in years.

Hundreds of rioters have been arrested, the official Xinhua news agency reported, after rock-throwing Uighurs took to the streets of the regional capital on Sunday, some burning and smashing vehicles and confronting ranks of anti-riot police.

Urumqi residents were unable to access the internet on Monday, several said. "The city is basically under martial law," accordinding to Yang Jin, a dried fruit merchant.

The unrest underscores the volatile ethnic tensions that have accompanied China's growing economic and political stake in its western frontiers. >>> | Monday, July 06, 2009

Muslim Uighurs Riot as Ethnic Tensions Rise in Western China
THE GUARDIAN: Protests over deaths of workers turn violent as mobs burn buses and attack residents from minorities in western province

Three people were killed during rioting in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, as thousands of Muslim Uighurs took to the streets during the biggest display of ethnic unrest in recent memory.

The protesters smashed up buses, threw stones through shop windows and assaulted Han Chinese passers-by, according to a witness, who said the spark was the recent killing of Uighur migrant workers in Guangdong, southern China.

Xinhua, the state news agency, said those killed were "three ordinary people of the Han ethnic group." It did not say how they died.

Vehicles were set on fire and traffic guard rails overturned. Bloodied victims were rushed to hospital in the regional capital, Urumqi, as armed riot police moved in to restore order with tear gas, armoured vehicles and road blocks, according to a foreign student in Xinjiang.

A large section of Urumqi was shut off to vehicles tonight , with police manning roadblocks at the perimeter. Witnesses reported large numbers of armed officers inside the cordon. Mobile phone networks appeared to get cut off sporadically.

"There were big ethnic riots - there was a lot of fighting," said one Han resident. "It's not safe – you can't go anywhere near there. They've blocked it all off. You have to be careful." >>> Tania Branigan in Urumqi and Jonathan Watts in Beijing | Sunday, July 05, 2009

David Miliband Calls Hillary Clinton to Voice Anger over Guantánamo Inmates' Transfer to Bermuda
THE TELEGRAPH: A high-level transatlantic row has broken out over the Obama administration's failure to consult Britain over the transfer of four Guantánamo Bay inmates to Bermuda.

Bermuda has agreed to take in four Guantanamo Bay detainees. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
David Miliband has telephoned Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, to express the government's disappointment at the deal.

British officials were informed the four Chinese Uighurs were heading to the United Kingdom's oldest dependency only as they boarded their plane for Bermuda on Wednesday night.

A British diplomat said: "The Foreign Secretary registered his surprise. It was a regrettable mistake. Bermuda, the UK and the US now need to work together to fix it and make sure it doesn't happen again."

A senior State Department official said this diplomatic understatement masked a real anger over the Obama administration's oversight among British officials, telling ABC News: "They're pissed". >>> By Toby Harnden in Washington | Friday, June 12, 2009

Chinese Muslims Trigger Public Backlash in Palau
THE INDEPENDENT: The tiny Pacific nation of Palau's decision to allow 13 Chinese Muslims from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to resettle there has sparked anger among islanders who fear for the safety of the tranquil tourist haven.

The US government determined last year that the Chinese Muslims, or Uighurs, were not enemy combatants and should be released from the US military prison in Cuba. China has objected to their resettlement, calling the men "terrorist suspects" and demanding they be sent home.

The US has said it fears the men would be executed if they were returned to China.

Palau President Johnson Toribiong explained his decision to grant the Uighurs entry as traditional hospitality, but public opinion has appeared overwhelmingly negative. Some complained Friday that the government failed to consult the people.

"I totally disagree" with allowing the Uighurs onto Palau, Natalia Baulis, a 30-year-old mother of two, told The Associated Press by telephone.

"It's good to be humanitarian and all, but still these people ... to me are scary," she said.

The Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurs) have been in custody since they were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001.

Fermin Nariang, editor of the Palau newspaper Island Times, said he had been stopped in the streets of the capital, Koror, by residents venting their anger. >>> Associated Press | Friday, June 12, 2009

Foreign Office Fury Over Settlement of Guantánamo Uighurs in Bermuda
The tropical island of Bermuda is Britain's oldest remaining dependency. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMES ONLINE: The British Government responded with ill-disguised fury tonight to the news that four Chinese Uighurs freed from Guantanamo Bay had been flown for resettlement on the Atlantic tourist paradise of Bermuda.

The four arrived on Bermuda in the early hours, celebrating the end of seven years of detention after learning that they were to be accepted as guest workers.

But it appears that the Government of Bermuda failed to consult with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the decision to take in the Uighurs – whose return is demanded by Beijing – and it could now be forced to send them back to Cuba or risk a grave diplomatic crisis.

Bermuda, Britain's oldest remaining dependency, is one of 14 overseas territories that come under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, which retains direct responsibility for such matters as foreign policy and security.

"We've underlined to the Bermuda Government that they should have consulted with the United Kingdom as to whether this falls within their competence or is a security issue, for which the Bermuda Government do not have delegated responsibility," an FCO spokesman said. >>> Philippe Naughton | Thursday, June 11, 2009

Wary of Islam. China Tightens a Vise of Rules
THE NEW YORK TIMES: KHOTAN, China — The grand mosque that draws thousands of Muslims each week in this oasis town has all the usual trappings of piety: dusty wool carpets on which to kneel in prayer, a row of turbans and skullcaps for men without headwear, a wall niche facing the holy city of Mecca in the Arabian desert.

But large signs posted by the front door list edicts that are more Communist Party decrees than Koranic doctrines.

The imam’s sermon at Friday Prayer must run no longer than a half-hour, the rules say. Prayer in public areas outside the mosque is forbidden. Residents of Khotan are not allowed to worship at mosques outside of town.

One rule on the wall says that government workers and nonreligious people may not be “forced” to attend services at the mosque — a generous wording of a law that prohibits government workers and Communist Party members from going at all.

“Of course this makes people angry,” said a teacher in the mosque courtyard, who would give only a partial name, Muhammad, for fear of government retribution. “Excitable people think the government is wrong in what it does. They say that government officials who are Muslims should also be allowed to pray.”

To be a practicing Muslim in the vast autonomous region of northwestern China called Xinjiang is to live under an intricate series of laws and regulations intended to control the spread and practice of Islam, the predominant religion among the Uighurs, a Turkic people uneasy with Chinese rule.

The edicts touch on every facet of a Muslim’s way of life. Official versions of the Koran are the only legal ones. Imams may not teach the Koran in private, and studying Arabic is allowed only at special government schools.

Two of Islam’s five pillars — the sacred fasting month of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca called the hajj — are also carefully controlled. Students and government workers are compelled to eat during Ramadan, and the passports of Uighurs have been confiscated across Xinjiang to force them to join government-run hajj tours rather than travel illegally to Mecca on their own.

Government workers are not permitted to practice Islam, which means the slightest sign of devotion, a head scarf on a woman, for example, could lead to a firing.

The Chinese government, which is officially atheist, recognizes five religions — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Taoism and Buddhism — and tightly regulates their administration and practice. Its oversight in Xinjiang, though, is especially vigilant because it worries about separatist activity in the region.

Some officials contend that insurgent groups in Xinjiang pose one of the biggest security threats to China, and the government says the “three forces” of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism threaten to destabilize the region. But outside scholars of Xinjiang and terrorism experts argue that heavy-handed tactics like the restrictions on Islam will only radicalize more Uighurs. >>> By Edward Wong | October 18, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback & Hardcover (Hong Kong) >>>