BEIJING: The US is encouraging “terrorism” in Xinjiang, Chinese state media said yesterday, also claiming that separatists in the region — which has a large Uighur minority — had fought alongside Syrian rebels.
Beijing denies that the unrest in the vast region bordering Central Asia — which last week left at least 35 people dead — is due to ethnic tensions between Uighurs and China’s majority Han.
But rights groups for the mostly Muslim Uighurs blame unrest on economic inequality and religious repression, and Washington has raised concerns about discrimination.
The People’s Daily, a mouthpiece for the ruling Communist Party, slammed the US government and media for what it said was its role in the violence. “The violent terrorist incidents in Xinjiang are not an ethnic issue or a religious issue,” it said, calling the “massacres” of officials and bystanders “inhumane”.
Last Friday a US State Department spokesman said it was “deeply concerned about ongoing reports of discrimination against and restrictions” on Uighurs in China.
He said the US urged a “transparent investigation” but did not want to “draw broader conclusions” about the incidents. AFP
