Page 124 - Conflict, Terrorism, and the Media In Asia

Uyghur separatism and nationalism in Xinjiang 113
contradictory. They claimed that he had been arrested in Xinjiang in 1993 and
spent three years in a labour camp but that he was linked with a series of bombings
in China in 1995.

Terrorist activities and sabotage in Xinjiang
Although overt and public resistance to Chinese rule has effectively been
suppressed since the 1997 demonstrations in Yining/Ghulja, the activities of small
militant groups continue, and these activities are likely to become more wide-
spread and more daring as long as there are no alternative means of expressing
separatist sentiments. During the late 1990s émigré sources reported that militant
groups within Xinjiang were trying to set up urban guerrilla units to bring their
struggle to the cities, which apart from Urumqi and on one occasion Beijing, had
not been affected by separatist violence. To date, this has not happened, but it
remains a possibility for the next decade as it would be one way of dramatically
bringing home to the population of China the seriousness with which separatists
in Xinjiang regard their struggle for independence. There could therefore be fur-
ther bomb attacks in cities in Xinjiang other than Urumqi and in major cities
throughout the rest of China. Large and relatively cosmopolitan cities like
Shanghai and Guangzhou where there is already a small but significant Uyghur
population are potential targets for this kind of attack. The public security forces
are already on the alert for this kind of attack and from time to time groups of
Uyghurs in cities in China proper have been rounded up and arrested and some-
times sent back to Xinjiang or at least sent out of the cities in which they have
been working, usually as traders. The reporting of these attacks, or danger of these
attacks, became more open in the period after 11 September 2001 and was rein-
forced by word of mouth and the informal system of communication that the CCP
has maintained in its network of organisations since 1949.
Sabotage has also been one of the tactics of the more militant groups of
separatists, although it is extremely difficult to assess the effect that this sabotage
has had because the authorities are very reluctant to attribute damage to separatist
activities. From time to time there have been disruptions to rail and road com-
munications and it has been suggested by émigré organisations that these were as
a result of bombs or other kinds of damage to the track or rolling stock but the
government has frequently attributed these to natural conditions such as excessive
rainfall, snow or landslips. The prevention and detection of sabotage is clearly one
of the priorities for the public security forces in Xinjiang as this is where it is most
likely to occur. This would tie up the resources of the police and the security units
of the XPCC.

Xinjiang separatism and the media
Media coverage of the conflict in Xinjiang has been patchy, to say the least. The
Western media have largely ignored the issue, with the exception of a few articles
in the quality press, a documentary on Channel 4 and an occasional mention in