Violence in Uighur territory of China

The presence of a student of Uighur ethnicity sparked me to write about them--particularly in the context of Guantanamo.
A few days ago, I read this compelling essay by Parag Khanna. When I read about Urumqi in that essay, I emailed that student--now a former student since her transfer--whose family is from that city.

I had hoped for a debate/discussion between this student and another student--an alum now--who was a Han Chinese from China. I told them that if they were not comfortable with a public setting, well, we could discuss Xinjiang in my office. But, that did not come to pass.

My interest in this is because I was confident that while the world was fixated with Tibet and the Tiananmen Square, it is Xinjiang where there will be real tensions. And, for all we know, the tight grip that the Communist Party has on the country will crumble only starting with Xinjiang. Of course, the latest news could very well be nothing more than a flash in the pan. But, I think we ought to spend time covering this news item, and understanding the issues. According to the BBC:

Several hundred people have also been arrested after the violence erupted in the city of Urumqi on Sunday.

Xinhua news agency said police restored order after demonstrators attacked passers-by and set fire to vehicles.

The protest was reportedly prompted by a deadly fight between Uighurs and Han Chinese in southern China last month.

The BBC's Chris Hogg in Shanghai says that if the numbers of dead are to be believed - and state media say they may rise - this looks like the bloodiest suppression of protest in China since Tiananmen Square 20 years ago.

I am all the more concerned about this development because these are the kind of opportunities that keep alive groups like al-Qaeda. Those maniacs can easily spin this as a situation where "godless" communists are wiping out Muslims because of their beliefs and practices. A few convinced graduates of the fundamentalist madrassahs in Pakistan and Afghanistan will try to sneak across the border into China, and soon we can have yet another crazy place on the planet. And, by the same token, and unfortunately, the legitimate demands of the Uighurs will get pushed into the background.

Stay tuned.