China: Two US-based human rights groups have accused China of using the law heavy-handedly to clamp down on Muslim Uighurs in its restive western Xinjiang region in the name of anti-separatism and counter-terrorism.
Beijing's "wholesale assault" on the Uighurs' faith ranged from vetting imams and closing mosques to detaining thousands every year and executions, Human Rights Watch and Human Rights in China said in a report released yesterday entitled Devastating Blows: Religious Repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang.
"Systematic repression of religion continues in Xinjiang as a matter of considered state policy," said the report, based on previously undisclosed regulations and policies.
The groups echoed charges from other human rights monitors that China was using the global war on terrorism to justify a widespread crackdown on Uighurs.
"China has opportunistically used the post-September 11 environment to make the outrageous claim that individuals disseminating peaceful religious and cultural messages in Xinjiang are terrorists who have simply changed tactics," the report said.
Uighurs make up 8 million of the 19 million people in Xinjiang and many favour greater autonomy for the area. - (Reuters)