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Article: China's Muslim rebels: the Uighurs. (Muslims of Turkic origin would like to make Xinjiang province the independent nation of East Turkestan)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 13, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ALMATY
LIKE all empires, China's has become flaky at the edges. Tibet's desire to break away is well known. Less publicised are the separatists of Xinjiang, Tibet's neighbour. According to the Uighurs, a minority of Muslims of Turkic origin, for more than 200 years China has been "occupying" Xinjiang, or East Turkestan, as nationalists call their formerly independent country.
In May, China began a major crackdown on the separatist movement, arresting more than 5,000 Uighurs, among them intellectuals, religious leaders, artists and members of underground organisations. Several people were reported to have died in clashes between Uighurs and Chinese policemen. ...