OIC delegation visits China after Xingjiang rioting

Alexa Olesen

Associated Press

BEIJING, China: A delegation representing Islamic countries around the world is visiting far west China, where ethnic rioting last month involving minority Muslims left nearly 200 people dead, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The Saudi-based Organization of The Islamic Conference, whose membership includes 57 countries, aims to “observe firsthand the conditions of Muslims” in Xinjiang, the conference said in a statement on its website.

China has been worried that the violence in Xinjiang could overshadow its developing ties with the Islamic world.

Although the riots drew a muted response from most Muslim countries, Iran and Turkey did criticize China and the crackdown that followed.

“The delegation will also examine the root causes that gave rise to the recent outbreak of violence and the means to tackle the key causes behind the crisis,” the conference’s statement said.

Beijing says the violence was not triggered by ethnic or religious differences but was instigated by overseas independence groups. However, ethnic tensions between minority Muslim Uighurs and members of the dominant Han Chinese have long simmered in Xinjiang, a sprawling oil-rich territory three times bigger than France.

Last month’s rioting was the worst ethnic violence in China in decades, which left 197 people dead and more than 1,700 injured. Thousands of Uighurs were detained.

Last month, the official IRNA news agency reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had discussed the clashes in a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart and “reflected concerns among Islamic countries.” High-ranking clerics in Iran also condemned the crackdown.

In Turkey, thousands protested outside Chinese diplomatic missions in Istanbul and Ankara, where some burned Chinese flags or China-made goods. Turks share ethnic and cultural bonds with the Turkic-speaking Uighurs (pronounced WEE-gers).

Uighurs, who number 9 million in Xinjiang, allege an influx of Han Chinese is making jobs more scarce and complain about government restrictions on their religion. Han Chinese believe Uighurs should be grateful for the rugged region’s rapid economic development.

The delegation arrived Monday and is expected to leave Friday, the Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement. It said the visit would include meetings with Chinese diplomats and Islamic officials in Beijing and a trip to Yinchuan, another city with a large Muslim population.

Source: Daily Star.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=105449.