Muslim Uighurs descended into violence in the regional capital

BEIJING — The top legislator from China's riot-hit Xinjiang said authorities will speed up local legislation against separatism in the western region that has a long-running independence movement by minority Uighurs, state media reported Monday.

China faced its worst unrest in decades this month when tensions between the dominant Han Chinese and the Turkic-speaking, Muslim Uighurs descended into violence in the regional capital of Urumqi. Nearly 200 people died in the unrest. The chairman of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Regional People's Congress blamed the July 5 riots on "three forces" — extremism, separatism, and terrorism — both at home and abroad, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Eligen Imibakhi said the public's lack of understanding about laws is an "urgent problem," adding that the government plans to distribute legal booklets in ethnic minority languages to farmers and herdsmen across the region. China already has a national law against secession, though there are no similar regional laws. Xinjiang is working on legislation that would "provide legal assistance to Xinjiang's anti-secession struggle and the cracking down on violence and terrorism," Imibakhi said. The violence began when police in Urumqi intervened at a peaceful protest by Uighurs, who went on a rampage, smashing windows, burning cars and beating Han Chinese. Two days later, vigilante groups of Han took to the streets and attacked Uighurs. The government says 197 died in the unrest, with more than 1,700 hurt. Most of the dead were Han Chinese, though Uighurs say they believe many more of their community were killed in the ensuing government crackdown.



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