Exiled Uygur leader Rebiya Kadeer urges calm after Kunming attack
A prominent exiled Uygur leader has urged China’s government to respond calmly to a knife attack in southwestern China and not “demonise” ethnic Uygurs after Beijing blamed the mass killings on extremists from the far western region of Xinjiang.
Rebiya Kadeer, President of the World Uygur Congress, also said tension could only be reduced in Xinjiang if China acknowledged rights issues the large Uygur minority faces.
At this time of heightened tensions, it is important for China to deal with the incident rationally and not set about demonising the Uygur people as state enemies
China has vowed to crack down on what it says are militants bent on transforming Xinjiang into an independent state called East Turkestan. But it has also emphasised ethnic unity after what it described as a terrorist attack on Saturday in Kunming in which 33 died, including four assailants.
Many Muslim Uygurs object to Chinese curbs on their culture and religion, though authorities say they enjoy broad freedoms.
“At this time of heightened tensions, it is important for China to deal with the incident rationally and not set about demonising the Uygur people as state enemies,” Kadeer said in the English-language statement.
“The fact remains that peaceful dissent against repressive government policies targeting Uygurs is legitimate, so the Chinese government must not conflate this constructive criticism with the events of March 1.
“It is absolutely vital the Chinese government deal with the longstanding and deteriorating human rights issues facing Uygurs if tensions are to be reduced.”
