Many 'missing' after China riots By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing The riots in July were the worst ethnic unrest in decades Dozens of ethnic Uighurs have disappeared since being detained in the wake of the riots in China's Xinjiang region, a human rights group has said. Human Rights Watch said the 43 men and teenaged boys were taken in police sweeps of Uighur districts of Urumqi, and had since vanished without a trace. The riots and protests in the city in early July left nearly 200 people dead. China's central government declined to answer questions about those detained by the authorities in Xinjiang. It referred questions about the ethnic unrest to the regional government, which also did not respond to enquiries from the BBC. 'Not global leadership' "The cases we documented are likely just the tip of the iceberg," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The rights group is calling for the Chinese government to give details of everyone it is holding in detention. In a report on the disappeared people, HRW said the police had searched two Uighur areas of Urumqi immediately after the riots. At least 43 people were taken away and had not been heard of since, it added. "According to witnesses, the security forces sealed off entire neighbourhoods, searching for young Uighur men," the group said. The cases we documented are likely just the tip of the iceberg Brad Adams Human Rights Watch HRW said most of those taken away were young Uighur men in their 20s, although the youngest are reported to have been 12 and 14. In many cases, families had been unable to find out what had happened to their relatives, said Human Rights Watch, whose report was based on interviews with local people. "China should only use official places of detention so that everyone being held can contact family members and legal counsel," said Mr Adams. "Disappearing people is not the behaviour of countries aspiring to global leadership." Ethnic Uighurs, the original inhabitants of Xinjiang, went on the rampage after reports of Uighur deaths in southern China. They mainly targeted Urumqi's Han Chinese community - a group that has moved into the western region more recently - killing scores of people. Uighurs say their culture has been undermined since the arrival of millions of Han people from other parts of China. Two months after the riots by Uighurs, Hans staged their own protests. Afterwards, a confused pictured emerged about exactly how many people had been arrested, partly due to a reluctance by the authorities to provide detailed figures. At one point the authorities said more than 1,500 people were in detention, but so far only a handful have been prosecuted. The first trials began last week. A total of nine people have been sentenced to death for their involvement in the riots. Critics claim the trials do not meet international standards.

MN_Nepali · Oct 21, 2009 12:27 AM

China willing to help Nepal ‘establish peace’: Dahal Tuesday, 20 October 2009 13:54 Share this Twitter Myspace Digg Del.icio.us Slashdot Furl Yahoo Googlize this Blinklist Facebook Wikio Export PDF Print E-mail    Chairman of Unified CPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal DahalChairman of Unified CPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday said China wants to see Nepal making progress in peace and development front and is willing to extend all kinds of help for it. Dahal, who returned from his week-long visit to China yesterday, said that he got this impression during his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other senior Chinese leaders and government officials . China wants to see establishment of permanent peace and development in Nepal, Maoist spokesman Dina Nath Sharma quoted Dahal as saying while briefing party leaders at the central committee meeting of the party held at its headquarters in Parisdanda today morning. Dahal also informed his party colleagues about his meetings with the Chinese leaders and the major achievements of the week-long China visit. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sharma said there is no rift in the relationship between China and India, as reported by some sections of the media and that the Chinese leaders think it is now the turn of Asia to lead the world now. The three-hour long meeting was attended by the members of the party’s powerful standing committee as well as central leaders available in the capital. nepalnews.com

MN_Nepali · Oct 21, 2009 12:29 AM

Dahal returns from China; says dialogue is UCPN-M's priority, not protests Monday, 19 October 2009 17:29 Share this Twitter Myspace Digg Del.icio.us Slashdot Furl Yahoo Googlize this Blinklist Facebook Wikio Export PDF Print E-mail Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (File photo)Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who returned from weeklong visit to China Monday, said his party wants to resolve the current political deadlock through talks. Speaking to reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport on his return from Beijing, Dahal said Unified CPN (Maoist) had given priority to talks to resolve the stalemate than agitations against the President's move. Dahal said he was hopeful that the ongoing three-party negotiations would arrive at a consensus very soon. He also directly slammed the remarks of Defence Minister Bidhya Bhandari that the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) should be revised to make it easier for Nepal Army to carry out its normal activities. The Maoist chairman said the norms of peace process must be upheld and warned the ministers against making statements against the CPA. Dahal had gone to Beijing on October 11. In China, he met Chinese president Hu Jintao and other senior leaders of the Chinese Community Party, discussing relations between Nepal and China and the two communist parties. Vice chairman Mohan Baidya, party's foreign department chief Krishna Bahadur Mahara and his son accompanied him during the trip. nepalnews.com

MN_Nepali · Oct 21, 2009 12:32 AM