华盛顿邮报:Uighur protesters land in Cambodia

rlsrls08

Uighur protesters land in Cambodia

By John Pomfret
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 3, 2009

Twenty-two members of a Chinese ethnic group who participated in violent demonstrations against China last summer have surfaced in Cambodia, sparking concerns that Cambodia will ignore their requests for asylum and return them to China.

The 22 Uighurs, including three children, trickled into Cambodia over the past several weeks, according to Omar Kanat, vice president of the World Uyghur Congress, a group that advocates for the rights of Uighurs in China. He said that two additional Uighurs have been detained in neighboring Vietnam and that five others, who were known to have fled China into Vietnam, have disappeared.

Violent anti-China demonstrations led by Uighurs rocked Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region of northwest China, on July 5.

At least 200 people died in the bedlam that involved Uighurs attacking Han Chinese and then bands of Han Chinese retaliating against Uighurs. Last month, China's state-run media reported that nine Uighurs had been executed for taking part in the riots. Kanat and other sources said that seven of the men who fled to Cambodia were wanted by the Chinese.

The Chinese government blamed the unrest on Rebiya Kadeer, a Uighur businesswoman who had been jailed in China and then exiled to the United States after pressure from the Bush administration.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that Beijing wanted the Uighurs to be returned to China and that only a "handful of Uighurs in China are engaged in national splitism, religious extremism and violent terrorism."

A State Department spokeswoman said it is department policy not to comment on asylum cases.

Uighurs constitute a mostly Muslim ethnic group that speaks a Turkic language. For years, Uighur separatists have conducted a sometimes violent campaign against China's rule of the resource-rich Xinjiang region.

Cambodia has a troubled history when it comes to refugee rights. Human Rights Watch criticized Cambodia in a report this year for sending asylum-seekers back to Vietnam.

"Cambodia is not a good place to be a refugee these days," said Sophie Richardson, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp ... R2009120203746.html

rlsrls08

另外一篇关于外逃维吾尔人的新闻

下面是读者评论

Weeger wrote:
hocov, why don't you go collect your 50 cents from the Chinese government! Prove to me that these 22 Uyghurs are "terrorists", and not innocent people! Or else shut up.

12/4/2009 4:07:23 PM
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hocov wrote:
The US is losing moral ground when it condemns some terrorists but not other terrorists , at least in the eyes of the Chinese people.
These Uighur terrorists murdered innocent people and they are terrorists. You cannot fight terrorism by appeasing some section of the militant Islamic lunatics.

12/3/2009 9:08:25 PM
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Mickey2 wrote:
Whether Cambodia or Vietnnam, there's no way these Uighurs can blend in and disappear.

The Uighurs have middle eastern looking faces that stand out in Cambodia and Vietnam.

12/3/2009 2:20:52 PM
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wowi wrote:
Mr. Pomfret: Uighur need to learn fight for their right in peaceful way. i think the rally organizer wanted to protest peacefully. the Chinese government wanted the protest go on peacefully. at first the government even send female cops to confront with the protesters.an English teacher told BBC, he witnessed the Uighur protesters initially attack the police. violent struggle can not help Uighur. why you said:"At least 200 people died in the bedlam that involved Uighurs attacking Han Chinese and then bands of Han Chinese retaliating against Uighurs. ", you try to minify violence by Uighur, magnify violence by Han. it can not help Uighur realize peaceful protest is the only proper way. you are not helping Uighur, you are trying to lead them to a wrong way.
12/3/2009 10:47:45 AM
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alex65 wrote:
It seems that everyone jumped on their gun here.

I agree with Weeger. These 22 people, especially the three children, may not have been involved in the violent acts or the planning/instigation of the violence. Those who murdered innocent civilians must be brought to justice and those who did not must have their names cleared. This applies to Uigher, Han, and any other ethnic groups. The difficult part is who is in a position to mkae the judgement beside the current authoritarian Chinese government.

On the other hand I have a some questions on the following:

“Omar Kanat, vice president of the World Uyghur Congress, …said …that five others, who were known to have fled China into Vietnam, have disappeared.”

1. How does Mr. Kanat know about this?
2. What relationship does the World Uyghur Congress have with these people?
3. Are these the organizers of the Urumqi protests/riots on the run from authority?

12/3/2009 6:53:30 AM
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iewgnem wrote:
"Cambodia has a troubled history when it comes to refugee rights. Human Rights Watch criticized Cambodia in a report this year for sending asylum-seekers back to Vietnam. "
---
Well, in that case the Taliban are by all means ultra human rights lovers, protecting all those Al+Queda protesters and all.

Human rights watch is a joke.
12/3/2009 1:37:32 AM
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Lavrat2000 wrote:
Don't let them come here. Don't give them asylum - let Cambodia do what it wants. Uighurs are troublemakers and terrorists.
12/3/2009 12:25:32 AM
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Weeger wrote:
Thank you for bringing attention to the plight of the Uyghur refugees, Mr. Pomfret. However, the assertion you make in the first sentence of your article is highly inflammatory and unverifiable. How do you know that these 22 Uyghurs "participated in violent demonstrations against China"- especially the 3 children? There was violence perpetrated by Uyghurs on July 5, 2009, but there were also many, many Uyghurs who participated in peaceful protests on July 5 and subsequent days. Many of the peaceful protestors, along with many Uyghurs who did not protest at all, peacefully or violently, have been detained or sought by Chinese authorities. Your first sentence seems to convict these 22 Uyghurs, with no trial, jury or judge.
I would emphasize that, in reference to your 3rd paragraph, during the initial peaceful protests on July 5, some Uyghurs carried the PRC flag- so these demonstrations cannot be labeled as "anti-China", even if "anti-China" sentiment may have fuelled later acts of violence.
12/3/2009 12:24:47 AM
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hocov wrote:
Those Uighur murderers have to pay for their crimes.
12/2/2009 9:57:05 PM
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rlsrls08

评论中支持维人的只有一个。

这篇新闻的作者John Pomfret算是个中国通吧，他还开了个博客专门写中国的事情。


Pomfret's China
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/pomfretschina/

遥远的冬天

嗯，还算理性。

和解团结

评论里那个Weeger貌似是个维吾尔人，在很多地方看到他/她了，包括China geeks里面