XINJIANG POLICE: ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM THREATENS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 005898

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2022
TAGS: PTER OREP SNAR PREL PRGOV TI PK KG AF CH
SUBJECT: XINJIANG POLICE: ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM THREATENS
CHINA'S WEST

REF: BEIJING 00188

BEIJING 00005898 001.6 OF 003


Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson.
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Mark
Kirk (R-IL) visited Urumqi, Kashi and China's border
with Kyrgyzstan during an August 29-31 trip to the
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Public Security
Bureau officials simultaneously touted the success of
anti-terrorism efforts in Xinjiang while claiming that
Uighur terror groups are still training recruits and
building links overseas. Xinjiang officials said
Chinese public security forces are enjoying a higher
level of cooperation from the Uighur community, a
reflection of greater economic prosperity and
increasing distaste for violent extremism among
Xinjiang Muslims. In addition to terrorism, Xinjiang
PSB officials said they face growing smuggling of
Southwest Asian heroin via the border with Pakistan.
At the border, customs officials indicated that the
interdiction of guns and explosives remains the top
priority. End summary.

PSB Exhibit on Uighur Terror/Separatist Groups
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2. (SBU) Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Mark
Kirk
(R-IL),accompanied by Poloff and DEA Attache, visited
the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (PSB) headquarters
in Urumqi August 29. The trip was sponsored by the
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. At the
start of the visit, PSB officials showed
Representatives Larsen and Kirk an exhibit presenting
the PRC view of the history of Xinjiang
terrorist/separatist movements. The exhibit focused
on a series of violent attacks, demonstrations and
assassinations carried out by Uighur groups from 1990
to 1997. At the end of the tour, Xinjiang PSB
officers showed the delegation a room full of
confiscated literature and weapons. The weapons
displayed included handguns, homemade rifles, homemade
grenades, crossbows and improvised explosives.
Officers giving the tour said most of the weapons
confiscated in Xinjiang come from Russia, though some
exported Chinese land mines and other weapons have
been smuggled into Xinjiang from third countries.

Uighur Terror Groups Still Active
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3. (C) Following the exhibit, the Vice Director
General of the Xinjiang PSB, Hashim Aji (Chinese name:
Aximu Aji),said that despite a lack of violent
incidents in Xinjiang since 2000, Uighur terror groups
are still active and have numerous links to extremist
organizations abroad. Aji said Uighur terrorists
continue to receive training in Afghanistan and
Chechnya and have ties to extremists in Kashmir. Aji
said the detention of 20 (sic) Uighurs in Guantanamo
Bay demonstrates that Uighur separatists are a part of
the international terrorist movement. To bolster his
case that Uighur terrorists remain a present threat,
Aji described in detail a January 5, 2007 raid by
Xinjiang police on an alleged terrorist training camp
(reftel). One police officer and 17 terrorists were
killed in the raid, which took place in an area close
to the Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan borders.
Aji said the camp was connected to the East Turkistan
Liberation Organization (ETLO). The PSB reportedly
learned of the camp thanks to an informant. The ETLO
members present at the camp were planning to carry out
bus bombings and attacks on bridges, according to Aji.


4. (C) (NOTE: Aji's claim of ETLO involvement
contradicts January statements from both the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Xinjiang PSB that stated the
camp was operated by the East Turkistan Islamic

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Movement (ETIM),not ETLO. In Chinese, Aji frequently
used the term "dong tu," a more vague term that could
denote any East Turkistan organization. The
interpreter, however, used the term ETLO.)

ETLO, Uighur Youth Congress Deserve Designation
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5. (C) Aji said he was happy the United Nations
designated ETIM a terror group in 2002, but he argued
that other Uighur organizations, such as ETLO and the
World Uighur Youth Congress, also deserve official
designation as terrorist organizations.
Representative Kirk urged Aji to provide more specific
information regarding recent activity by suspected
Uighur terrorists. Only with better and more recent
information, Rep. Kirk said, could the United States
support additional designations. When asked about the
activities of Uighur groups in neighboring countries,
Aji said he is still concerned with training
activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Xinjiang
PSB is also concerned Uighur terror groups are
targeting Chinese businesspeople in Pakistan. Aji
positively described counterterrorism cooperation with
neighboring countries. When asked about the presence
of direct, cross-border communications channels
between the Xinjiang PSB and neighboring police
forces, Aji said all cooperation was conducted through
Interpol.

Golden Crescent Heroin Entering Xinjiang
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6. (C) Jin Peng, head of the counternarcotics division
of the Xinjiang PSB, told Representatives Larsen and
Kirk that heroin entering from Afghanistan and
Pakistan is a growing problem. Previously, most of
the heroin consumed in Xinjiang, as in the rest of
China, came from the Burma/Golden Triangle region.
Xinjiang police seized just 8.2 kilograms of Southwest
Asian heroin between 1991 and 2004. Since 2005, Jin
said, Xinjiang police and border authorities are
increasingly interdicting Southwest Asian heroin,
which accounted for 67 of the 123 kilograms seized in
Xinjiang in 2006. Jin acknowledged these seizures are
just the "tip of the iceberg" with respect to the
actual amount entering Xinjiang. While most of the
heroin entering Xinjiang is destined for China's
coastal regions, local consumption is on the rise.
Jin said Xinjiang has an estimated 70,000 to 80,000
heroin users out of a total population of 20 million.
Jin said drug smuggling primarily involves third-
country nationals, particularly Africans. The
extensive use of these "mules," Jin said, means the
Xinjiang PSB is often unable to prosecute the
ringleaders of these smuggling organizations. While
not offering specifics, Aji commented that Xinjiang
authorities are worried drug money, along with
donations from overseas Uighurs, is helping to fund
terror/separatist groups.

Lunch with Xinjiang People's Congress Chairman
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7. (SBU) Over lunch, Xinjiang People's Congress
Chairman Abdurehim Amet told the delegation that
Central Government budget subsidies and support for
Xinjiang's economic development was winning hearts and
minds, and ordinary citizens are increasingly willing
to cooperate with authorities to prevent terrorism.
Asked about Uighur attitudes toward the migration of
Han Chinese into Xinjiang, Amet claimed most of the
Han arriving are skilled workers who help boost the
economy. Amet criticized exiled Uighur activist
Rebiya Kadeer, describing her as a "criminal" who most
Uighurs condemn.

Kashi PSB on Explosives, Drug Interdiction
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8. (C) In Kashi (Kashgar),Representatives Larsen and
Kirk met PSB Deputy Director Yan Weiguo. Echoing

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Abdurehim Amet's comments, Yan attributed the lack of
violent terror attacks since 2000 to the increasing
willingness of the Uighur community to report illegal
activity. The Kashi area is experiencing 12 percent
annual GDP growth, Yan said, which is increasing
support for the government. That Xinjiang had not
experienced any recent car bombings reflects the PSB's
success at controlling explosives. Yan said the PSB
had recently uncovered a case of would-be terrorists
attempting to acquire explosive material used by oil
companies.


9. (C) Regarding anti-narcotics efforts, Yan said in
2006 Kashi police arrested 17 drug smugglers and
seized 38 kilograms of heroin. These cases involved
individuals from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and
Lesotho smuggling heroin to Xinjiang from Pakistan and
then on to coastal cities, particularly Guangzhou.
Yan said Chinese police arrested one third-country
national who had made three drug runs within 20 days,
each time traveling from Central Asia to Kashi and
then to Guangzhou.

Trip to the Kyrgyzstan Border
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10. (SBU) Representatives Larsen and Kirk visited the
Tuergate (Turugart) border crossing near Kashi August
30, which is guarded by a People's Liberation Army
detachment. Poloff observed about 15 soldiers (all
Han Chinese) both at the border itself and at a
barracks approximately one mile downhill from the
crossing. A PLA officer told Poloff that soldiers
typically are assigned to one-month shifts at the
crossing and are rotated between other border stations
and posts further inland. Trucks and buses cross the
border from Kyrgyzstan into China, undergo an initial
document inspection at the PLA garrison and then
proceed by gravel road approximately 130 kilometers
into China to an immigration and customs inspections
station. During a one-hour stay at the border, Poloff
observed 20 large trucks (half with Chinese plates,
half with Kyrgyzstan plates) and one Bishkek-Kashi
passenger bus crossing from the Kyrgyz side. (Note:
Normal traffic had been restricted to facilitate the
delegation's travel.) Customs officials at the inland
station told the Codel that the Tuergate border
handles 30,000 vehicle crossings (both ways) in one
year. The border is open year-round Monday through
Friday, weather permitting, and closes every evening
at eight o'clock.


11. (SBU) At the inland customs station, all cargo is
off-loaded, inspected, and, if arriving on a Krygyz
vehicle, transferred to Chinese-plated trucks.
Customs agents told the delegation that every item of
cargo is examined. The delegation observed customs
officials running bales of Kyrgyz wool through x-ray
machines. Customs officials said their primary goal
is to interdict weapons and explosives. A customs
officer told Poloff that they had not uncovered any
illegal drug shipments at the port. The previous
year, he said, inspectors had found a false bottom in
one truck that was used for smuggling alcohol.
Customs authorities regularly find rocks, scrap metal,
old tools and other items inserted into bales of
Kyrgyzstani wool to make them heavier. This
"contraband" was stacked on shelves next to the x-ray
machine.


12. (U) The CODEL did not have an opportunity to clear
this cable.
Randt