JULY 20 XINJIANG SITREP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002066 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2034 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER CH SUBJECT: JULY 20 XINJIANG SITREP REF: BEIJING 2038 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Acting Political Minister Counselor Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4 (b),(d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) EmbOffs in Urumqi reported no new violence or unrest over the weekend of July 18-19 or on July 20. The official death toll from the riots remains 197. In majority Han or mixed neighborhoods the security posture had relaxed noticeably while large numbers of police continued to patrol the Uighur quarter. According to residents, none of the people detained in connection with the riots were being housed in the city prisons. Many Uighurs without Urumqi residence permits were returning to their hometowns in order to avoid being detained for residing in the city illegally. Family members of Uighurs detained in connection with the riots were also departing the city out of fear that they too could be detained. The Xinjiang Department of Human Resources and Social Security announced that inspection teams will travel to the east cost to inspect the work conditions of Uighur migrant laborers. XUAR Chairman Nur Bekri announced that the family of each "innocent" victim killed in the riot will receive RMB 400,000 (USD 59,000) in compensation. End Summary. ¶2. (C) EmbOffs in Urumqi reported no new violence or unrest over the weekend of July 18-19 or on July 20. The numbers of People's Armed Police security patrols in downtown Urumqi had visibly decreased since the week of July 13. There has been no change to the official death toll of 197. Trucks with loudspeakers broadcasting propaganda messages in Chinese continued to circulate but with reduced frequency. The security posture in Uighur neighborhoods remained noticeably higher than in other parts of the city, particularly around Xinjiang University, located in a predominantly Uighur section of Urumqi. By contrast, the Agricultural University, in a more modern, ethnically mixed section of the city had no visible security measures. Local police had established temporary road blocks on major traffic arteries leading out of the city and were stopping all vehicles to check for identification. EmbOffs were stopped at one such checkpoint but were allowed to proceed with no restrictions after showing identification. ¶3. (C) EmbOffs visited the neighborhoods around the two main Urumqi city prisons. According to residents, both Uighur and Han, who were waiting to visit family members in prison, none of the people detained in connection with the riots were being housed in the city prisons. When EmbOffs approached a Public Security Bureau detention center in the Uighur quarter they were asked to leave the vicinity by security personnel. This encounter involved an inspection of their identification documents, but no other restriction of their movements. Non-Resident Uighurs Departing -------------- ¶4. (C) A number of Uighur residents told EmbOffs that many Uighurs without Urumqi residence permits were returning to their hometowns. EmbOffs did not hear of any Uighurs being forced to leave the city and were told that most had decided to depart of their own volition as a result of frequent identification checks by police and a desire to avoid being detained for residing in the city illegally. EmbOffs were told that many of the family members of Uighurs detained in connection with the riots were also departing the city out of fear that they too could be detained. XUAR Announces Victim Compensation -------------- ¶5. (U) The July 20 edition of Beijing News (Xinjing Bao) headlined remarks made by Xinjiang Chairman Nur BEIJING 00002066 002 OF 002 Bekri at a July 18 press conference. Bekri said the family of each "innocent" victim killed in the riot will receive RMB 400,000 (USD 59,000) in compensation; half directly from the government and the other half from a newly established "Ethnic Unity Mutual Assistance Foundation" that is collecting donations from state enterprises and the public. At the press conference, Bekri rejected foreign press reports that Uighur families were being coerced into participating in programs to supply labor to coastal factories. He also defended Xinjiang's bilingual education system, saying that it was not leading to the destruction of minority languages. The Xinjiang Chairman also told journalists that Xinjiang authorities would gradually relax Internet controls as the situation continued to stabilize. New PRC Government Narrative: Riots were Terrorism -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Xinhua carried several news stories over the weekend that identified "suspicious elements" of the July 5 riots that indicated that the disturbances were premeditated and organized, and that the participants had received some kind of training. The news articles cited the "skill" with which Uighur mobs killed their Han victims, and the suspicious ease with which they found and ignited the fuel tanks of cars and buses. Beijing-based western journalists who had recently returned from Xinjiang told PolOff July 19 that Xinjiang authorities had told them that stones thrown by rioters and sticks/clubs carried by rioters during the unrest were not casually picked up but rather were brought in from outside Urumqi. FBI Director Mueller heard similar accusations in his meetings with senior MFA, MPS and MOJ officials July 17. Press Items -------------- ¶7. (U) The Xinjiang Department of Human Resources and Social Security announced the formation of four inspection teams that will travel to the east cost to inspect the work conditions of Uighur migrant laborers in cities such as Guangzhou and Beijing. According to press reports, the teams will interview Uighur migrants and compile their "suggestions and complaints." ¶8. (U) Over the weekend major Chinese papers and television stations featured prominent coverage of the story of PAP officer Wang Jingang who was killed during the riots. According to the Chinese press Wang was killed by rocks thrown at him while protecting his unit. The coverage included prominent photos of Wang's Uighur neighbors attending his funeral. GOLDBERG