Struggle of the Uighur people is quite real

If you are thinking that my blogging, yet again, about the Uighurs can mean only one thing: their situation hasn't improved and something serious happened recently, yes, that is, indeed, the unfortunate story.

In the deadliest ethnic violence in China since 2009, 21 people were killed in confrontations Tuesday between police and Uighur residents of Kashgar, the country’s westernmost city.
Among the dead were 15 police and neighborhood security officers and six people that the state media described as “mobsters.’’
Kashgar, which lies close to China's borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, has been a frequent site of violence between the dominant ethnic Han Chinese and the Uighurs, a Muslim minority.

Terrible!  We can only act polite from afar:

The US has urged China to conduct a transparent investigation after clashes in the restive Xinjiang region left 21 people dead.
US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell also urged that "due process protections" be given to all Chinese citizens, including ethnic Uighurs.

Even worse is that we really don't know what is going on in Xinjiang:

Beijing's media blockade has been successful. Instead of allowing some access to Western reporters, Beijing a few years ago resumed an old strategy and restricted their ability to enter Xinjiang, and almost entirely banned them from entering the mountainous, 460,000-square-mile Tibetan Autonomous Region.

That means that there is no independent verification of the "official" version of incidents in Xinjiang:

[In Xinjiang, Hou Hanmin, a Xinjiang propaganda bureau spokeswoman] is sticking to the message. Tuesday's violence is "certainly a terrorist attack," she told reporters, comparing the incident to the Boston Marathon bombings. And until Western reporters can investigate, her version of the events will remain the last one standing.

While the US is now urging China to protect its Uighur minority, it was also the US that made it so easy for the Chinese to refer to anything in Xinjiang as terrorism.   In a post four years ago, in July 2009, I quoted James Fallows, who wrote:

it is a lasting error and embarrassment that after 9/11 the U.S. won Chinese government support by agreeing that Uighur separatists -- formally, the East Turkestan Liberation Organization -- should be seen as part of the world terrorist threat. After all, they are Muslims.

Screwy!  The guy who ushered in the Global War on Terror, meanwhile, gets to open his Presidential Library!

In that first post from four years ago, I wrote about the Kafkaesque Guantanamo scenario in which the 22 Uighurs found themselves in.  Where are they now?

The U.S. refused to grant them asylum. Nearly a dozen now live in Albania, Bermuda, El Salvador and Switzerland. Three remain in custody at the U.S. Navy prison in Cuba.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/17/3291352/in-chinas-shadow-guantanamos-former.html#storylink=cpy

From a part of the world with a long and rich history.  A part of the old stories of the Silk Road.  In reviewing a book on the Sufi shrines in Xinjiang, Ian Johson writes in the NYRB :

Looking at these bright, numinous images, we begin to sense something inexpressible but more profound than any of the region’s difficult politics—a glimpse at the intangible traditions and beliefs that have given shape to Xinjiang’s Muslims over many centuries.

I suppose no god can be of help!

Going where no man has gone before: An Indian academic in Kazakhstan

No, I am not heading to Kazakhstan.  (editor: I bet your colleagues will be happy to pay for a one-way ticket out. Awshutupalready!)

There I was reading The Economist on a slow Saturday morning, and I come across an ad for faculty positions in the business school in Almaty, Kazakhstan.  I am intrigued.  I keep reading and find that the contact name is "Kishan Rana, PhD" ... An Indian name!  And that he is the "Dean of the Bang College of Business."

"Bang College" sounds so much like one of those diploma mills in India, until you note the compensation stated in the ad: "after-tax salaries up to $115,000"

The naturally curious person that I have always been, well, a quick Google search led me to more info about Rana, who is there after his years in Canada; he notes:

I was commissioned in the Indian Navy as a lieutenant after completing my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with honors.  I was in the top three of the graduating class. After my initial training of about 14 months, I was put in the warship-building program.  I was in uniform, not a civilian, and was in charge of building warships for several years.  I also served on warships at sea and participated in all kinds of exercises, including a war during the 1970s.

Kind of ironic, isn't it--a navy man now in a landlocked country, and even the Caspian Sea is far, far, away from Almaty!  Amazing how far and wide people of Indian origin are scattered around the world.

I suppose this Kazakh ad caught my attention because only a couple of days ago I read this piece in the New Yorker, (subscription required) about the country building a brand new capital city in Astana.  It is crazy that the country is spending so much of its resources into this. 

Astana has been the capital of Kazakhstan only since 1997, three years after the country’s leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, told a stunned parliament that a prosperous, independent country like Kazakhstan ought to have its capital “in the center” of the country, rather than on the border. Almaty, the old capital, was pleasantly situated in the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountain range, and was famous for its apple orchards. And Astana? It was six hundred miles to the north—that is to say, toward Russia—and bitterly cold.

And, hey, not any ordinary buildings in this brand new capital city. But, expensive structures like this--"The Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center at night":

And this--"The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation":

The article wonderfully and easily paints a picture of a cold place in the middle of nowhere.  It will not be a surprise, however, if this isolated place by the Steppe has an Indian tandoori eating place run by some guy from Kerala :)

But, to some extent, one need not be surprised with the Indian/Central Asian connection at all.  The map below, which I pulled up from my post about the Uighurs, makes the connections a simple case of geography. Well, not that simple!

Maybe it is a misnomer: not Indians as much as the wanderers, eh!

2011 is the game-changing year that I have been waiting for?

With every passing day my blog entry from November 2009 seems to be even more profound than I had thought--noting the regularity of game-changers, I wrote then that "it is then tempting to worry that the next event is round the corner."

Turns out it is the authoritarian and dictatorial regimes all over that have do to the worrying in this fantastic year that 2011 is turning out to be!
Al Jazeera + Twitter + Facebook = Revolutions.  Who would've thunk it!!!

The enchanting smells of the Jasmine Revolution are waking up the Chinese too:

Skittish domestic security officials responded with a mass show of force across China on Sunday after anonymous calls for protesters to stage a Chinese “Jasmine Revolution” went out over social media and microblogging outlets. 

I wonder if it has spread all the way to Xinjiang?  The Economist's correspondent doesn't think the Chinese need to worry, right now, about the Uighurs launching a democratic revolution:

In Xinjiang  however the authorities might worry that Muslim Uighurs can identify more readily with their democracy-seeking co-religionists in the Middle East and Africa. Many of Kashgar's Uighurs do have much to complain about, from discrimination to unemployment to a makeover of their old city which has forced thousands of them from their homes into soulless new apartment buildings. Soon after my arrival on February 18th I noticed I was being followed by a black Volkswagen. It remained on my tail until I left the city 48 hours later. When I proceeded on foot, one of its occupants would get out of his car to lurk behind me. Kashgar's police have a reputation for intimidating foreign correspondents in this way.

They probably have little to fear, however, from any popular uprising in support of democracy. Xinjiang's troubles tend to be related to ethnic tensions rather than democratic yearnings (though some activists might hope that ending rule by the Han-dominated Communist Party might pave the way for democracy).

Here is to hoping that they would rise up, "Nur" (you know who you are!)

More on the Uighur issues

Sometimes a cigar is not a cigar?

With all the escalation surge in Afghanistan, commentators are beginning to offer competing narratives for what is really going on.  Consider the following excerpt from an opinion essay in The Hindu:

The international community has been led to believe that the India-Pakistan fault line is the pivotal concern in the U.S.’s diplomatic strategy in Afghanistan. However, it is more a subplot. The U.S.’s principal protagonist is China, while India and Pakistan — and increasingly Russia — are more like jesters in forming the confusion and the humour in an Elizabethan drama. The main plot is about the expansion of NATO in Central Asia.

So, it is not really about Afghanistan or AfPak, according to the author, a former Indian diplomat, but is to strategically position the US and NATO in Central Asia in order to counter China.
I think this is a little exaggerated.  However, there is an element of truth here: like in Africa, here in Central Asia too China is beginning to flex its soft power in a big way.  For two reasons: one, the resources (oil and natural gas, in particular) and second, the Islamic population that China believes is more sympathetic to the Uighurs in China's Xinjiang Province.  Wait, this is all sounding way too familiar; is it because I have blogged about it before?  Of course, yes!!! :)

The Uighur-issue morphs into Chinese oil issue!!!

In an earlier post, I commented that China might be able to rid itself of Communist Party's choke-hold not via Tibet, or via some radical movements for democracy. Instead, I think it will be only through a successful Uighur revolution. Now, even if the Party does not get ousted, I certainly wish for an equal treatment of Uighurs--equal to how the Hans are treated.
In that post, I worried though that the Uighurs themselves will be shortchanged if al-Qaeda decides to make this a rallying cause. Well, al-Qaeda has fired that first shot:

China has warned its citizens in Algeria about possible attacks from al Qaeda in retribution for a Chinese government crackdown in the Muslim region of Xinjiang, and security has been tightened around Beijing's missions in the Philippines.

The Chinese embassy in Algeria on its web site urged all Chinese people and organisations to be more aware of safety precautions and to strengthen security measures "in consideration of the situation after the July 5 incident in Urumqi".

The warning came after London risk consultancy Stirling Assynt said in a report to clients that al Qaeda might target Chinese workers in northwest Africa, citing "chatter" after the July 5 ethnic riots in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

"China has been reminding overseas Chinese to pay attention to their safety and enhance self protection ... China will take any necessary measure to protect the safety of Chinese organisations and citizens overseas," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters on Tuesday when asked to comment on the report.

In the Philippines, which is battling a Muslim insurgency in its south, the government has ordered security to be tightened around the Chinese embassy and consulates, said Andres Caro, head of the national police directorate.

So, why does China have so much of an interest in North Africa for its citizens to be there you ask? Good question! What might Algeria, Sudan, and Libya have that China might need? The same thing that cynics contend drives American interest in the Middle East: OIL!!!

Let us then summarize the story thus far:
The Uighurs, who have a long history in Central Asia, and who are Muslims, have tried establishing their independence, but were absorbed into China, with an "autonomous" status--Xinjiang. And then in the name of promoting economic development, Beijing has been "Hannifying" Xinjiang so much so that the Han population is now about 45% in Xinjiang. There are extensive reports of how Uighurs are treated as second-class citizens in their own "autonomous" province. Every once in a while, as the Uighurs demand better treatment, China puts them down. And now, al-Qaeda is ready to target Han Chinese in North Africa, who are there primarily because of the Chinese economic demand for petroleum and natural gas.

So, is there anybody out there watching out for the Uighurs? US? UK? India? Russia? Oh yeah, the brave Turkey--yes, that same country which has a problem even talking about what happened to Armenians within their borders a hundred years ago.

What a crappy world this is, eh!

Kashgar, Uighurs, Kashmir, and Aryans

With Xinjiang in the news, the curious person in me started wondering whether there might be connections between Kashgar--a major Uighur city--and the name Kashmir. After all, these are all place names up there in the mountains and it is possible that they are all derived from the same clan, of sorts?

If Wikipedia can be believed, they are indeed related.

The Khasas are an ancient people, believed to be a section of the Indo-Iranians who originally belonged to Central Asia from where they had penetrated, in remote antiquity, the Himalayas through Kashgar and Kashmir and dominated the whole hilly region. They are believed to have given their names to Kashgar, Kashi (Central Asia), Kashkara, Kashmir, Khashali (south-east of Kashmir) Kashatwar, Khashdhar (Shimla Hills) and other recognizable colonies at the present day in the hills from Kashmir down to Nepal as also in various plains.

Indo-Iranians? Aryans? How interesting!

The same Wikipedia entry goes on to discuss the role of Khasas in the Mahabharata, and in the famous Kurukshetra War in that epic. (BTW, apparently a friend was talking to his brother-in-law about the Hindu mythologies, and that BIL stopped him right there with an admonition that to him those are not mythologies but real gods he believes in, and events he believes unfolded centuries ago!)

Some more on Uighurs, and China

This time from the Economist:

The government, however, was unusually quick to restrict internet and mobile telephone communications. It has been spooked by the role of the internet during recent unrest in Iran. The Iranian opposition has sparked considerable online discussion in China, as well as disapproving coverage in the official media. Within hours of the Urumqi riot, internet access was cut across Xinjiang (the first time such a wide outage has been reported anywhere in China, even during the unrest in Tibet). International telephone calls were blocked. Within 48 hours text-messaging services were also suspended. A few broadband lines were kept open in an Urumqi hotel for the media .....

China can count on strong moral support from its Central Asian neighbours, with which it is co-operating closely to try to combat cross-border militancy. In the old alleyways of Kashgar, now being rapidly torn down as part of an urban-renewal programme that is fuelling yet more resentment among local Uighurs, official painted slogans condemn Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group calling for a universal caliphate. The group, which has roots across China’s borders, has started to gain recruits in Xinjiang, but is not thought to be widespread. China’s efforts to establish common cause with its neighbours, and to encourage them to stamp out Uighur militancy in their own territories, may partly explain the prominence that Kashgar’s authorities give the organisation.

America feels these closer ties with Central Asian countries are being forged at its expense. But it appreciates China’s quiet support for the anti-terror campaign, including intelligence-sharing. America has no interest in supporting Uighur nationalism and exacerbating instability in an already volatile region. Xinjiang for now is one unstable Muslim area of the world where America is not a public enemy, at least among its Muslim population. It will require a skilful balance between the preservation of crucial ties with China and support for the rights of an aggrieved minority to ensure that this remains so.

As has always been the case with America's foreign policy, realpolitik will end up triumphing over principles, which means that the US will screw the Uighurs and kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party. After all, they are our economic colonizers!

More on Uighurs

James Fallows notes that:

it is a lasting error and embarrassment that after 9/11 the U.S. won Chinese government support by agreeing that Uighur separatists -- formally, the East Turkestan Liberation Organization -- should be seen as part of the world terrorist threat. After all, they are Muslims.

It is such stupid decisions by the US government that continue to fuel the Islamist view that America and the West is anti-Mulsim.

Fallows throws a damper on my hope--my hope that the collapse of the Chinese communist stronghold will be triggered by any radical youth or Tibet, but with Uighurs. He approvingly cites the NY Times op-ed:

The state apparatus has become dizzy with success in dealing with unrest. This gives little hope that further mass outbreaks will not be violently crushed. It also demonstrates that social upheaval will not pave the way to democracy. The party is too strong and confident to allow change from below.

Fallows is way more informed about China--way, way, more than me--which means that I have to kill my hopes for reform, and any hopes for the Uighurs. The world might not care because, after all, they are Muslims without oil :-(

Struggle of the Uighur people is quite real

In the context of violence in Xinjiang, I am "re-publishing" my opinion piece from the Register Guard (February 5, 2009):

A wonderful aspect of teaching is that it is a version of “life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” The latest was when students introduced themselves in one of my classes, and one said that her off-beat name reflects her Uighur heritage.

When I, from a land of a billion people, am a rare ethnic representative on campus, a Uighur student at our university was beyond my wildest imagination. So, naturally, excited am I!

Until this term, the Uighurs (also spelled Uyghurs) had been only an abstract concept to me ever since reading about Muslims in China, in the far western province of Xinjiang. Not anymore I am now able to connect this academic concept with a real person.

As a student many years ago, one of the first things I did upon reading about the Uighurs was to play my favorite game in such contexts, which is to establish a connection to India. It turned out that it was not a difficult process between India and the Uighurs there are not many degrees of separation.

In the English language, we use a word “mogul” when we refer to highly powerful businessmen. This word derives from the powerful and influential Mughal empire that ruled a large part of the Indian subcontinent, until it was replaced by the British.

The Mughal dynasty began in 1526, when Babur defeated the reigning sultan in Delhi. The empire had some of its glorious years under Akbar and Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. Babur was descended from Timur (also known as Tamerlane), who was Turkic, with some Mongol heritage. The Uighurs also speak a Turkic language. Aha! I had linked up the Uighurs to India.

But I was not happy once I understood that the Uighurs were pretty much in the same situation that the Tibetans are, and fear the loss of language, culture and traditions under the heavy-handed rule of the Chinese government.

A reader might wonder why we should care about some 8 million Uighurs in a remote part of China. Well, we in the United States have even fewer degrees of separation, through a direct and controversial connection Guantanamo.

Soon after the U.S. and NATO forces liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban regime, the U.S. picked up a number of people while sweeping the area for Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. In the process, we apparently also picked up a few Uighurs who happened to be in that area. Their presence in Afghanistan is not that difficult to imagine, given that Xinjiang is so far out in the west of China that it borders Afghanistan.

Designated as enemy combatants, these Uighurs were confined to Guantanamo. However, as it became clear that the Uighurs were not involved with any militant activity directed against the U.S., five of them were released. But they did not want to be sent back to China out of a fear that they might be tortured there. No other country offered to take them, either except Albania, which is where they have been since their release in 2006. What a strange story of globalization!

Meanwhile, another 15 of the remaining 17 Uighurs in Guantanamo have been cleared for release, but more than a hundred countries contacted by the U.S. have refused to take them. While Uighur families in the U.S. have offered to house and help rehabilitate them, our government is not in favor of 15 Guantanamo alums living within our borders.

The status of the Uighurs in Guantanamo will soon have to be addressed by the Obama administration. The fundamental issue, though, is that the Chinese government continues with its policies of denying rights, particularly to minorities. The Tibetan story is all too familiar to us; the situation in which the Uighur are trapped in is very similar which is why it is also referred to as China’s other Tibet problem.

The slide from Timur’s expansive empire, which provided an environment for Turkic culture to flourish, to having a few of their people locked up in Guantanamo has been quite a tragic tale for the Uighur people. I suppose not everything in life’s box of chocolates is good.

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.