JULY 21 XINJIANG SITREP

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 002083 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2034 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV CH SUBJECT: JULY 21 XINJIANG SITREP REF: BEIJING 2066 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Acting Political Minister Counselor Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Emboffs in Urumqi heard of no unrest or violent incidents during the course of July 21. The People's Armed Police (PAP) presence throughout the Han and ethnically mixed areas of the city continued to decline. Foot traffic in these areas continues to visibly increase day by day. Several major police roadblocks in the downtown area of Urumqi that had been in place since July 6 were gone. In Uighur neighborhoods, however, PAP in riot gear remained stationed on most street corners. PAP propaganda operations continue. Most propaganda banners are now bilingual with slogans written in both Chinese and Uighur, a change from last week when the overwhelming majority were in Chinese only. Emboffs travel to Kashgar on July 22. ¶2. (U) During a July 21 State Council press conference, State Ethnic Affairs Commission Deputy Director Wu Shumin stated that China will not abandon its current ethnic policies as a result of the riots in Xinjiang and that "East Turkestan separatist activities" have been ongoing since 1993. He said that China's ethnic policy promotes ethnic unity, equality and harmony and will be "perfected with changes in the situation." ¶3. (U) There was a marked drop in Xinjiang coverage in most media outlets on July 21. Among national print media there was no front page coverage of Xinjiang-related issues today for the first time since July 6. Today's People's Daily only featured two short stories on Xinjiang noting that the amount of compensation for victims of the violence had increased and that most shops in Urumqi had resumed normal opening hours. GOLDBERG