China has executed two Muslims who were among 18 Uighurs convicted of separatism in the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang, local officials said Friday. The group, all alleged members of the little-known East Turkestan People`s Party, were sentenced on July 21 by the Intermediate People`s Court in Aksu city in Xinjiang, said Ma Lin, deputy director of the court in Shaya county, where the defendants lived. "Two were sentenced to death and have been executed," Ma told AFP. Two others were sentenced to life imprisonment. The Aksu court could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the Germany-based overseas Uighur activist group World Uighur Congress said the other 14 defendants were sentenced to five to 20 years in prison. "Some of them were businessmen, some were religious people. Others had been harassed by the Chinese government," said the spokesman Dilxat Raxit. All 18 defendants were charged with illegally organizing a political party, using armed tactics to split the country, concealing guns, ammunition and explosives, and illegally producing, buying and selling as well as transporting weapons and explosives, Raxit said. The court official did not name the defendants, but Raxit said the two executed men were Akmed Tash, president of the group, and Lokman Mamet, treasurer, using the phonetic spellings of their names.
The case highlights what many believe is growing dissatisfaction among Uighurs in China, given the Chinese government`s stepped up crackdown against them after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. A reporter of a local paper in Aksu indicated Friday there were many groups formed by dissatisfied Uighurs in the area -- a sign of continuing tension in the region despite government efforts to quell dissent. "The East Turkestan People`s Party is one of many such terrorist groups in this area," said Gong Xise, a reporter for the Aksu Daily. He said one of the 18 people sentenced were trained in Afghanistan and had fought against American troops and then returned to China from Afghanistan. This could not be immediately confirmed. "They participated in setting off explosions, kidnapping and robbery and other terrorists activities," Gong said. Most Uighur political parties in Xinjiang support independence, Raxit said, adding China`s tactics created more dissent. Human rights groups have accused the Chinese government of using the global anti-terror campaign to harshly punish Uighurs who held dissenting views, even those who were non-violent. "We hope the international community will pay attention to this," Raxit said. "We`re being sacrificed in the global anti-terrorism cause. We`ve become the only people in China sentenced by death because of political activities since 1989." A local official told AFP in August ethnic and religious tensions are flaring up again in a Muslim-majority district in Hotan, southern Xinjiang, neighboring Aksu. Uighurs make up the predominant majority of the population in southern Xinjiang while more Han Chinese live in the north, which is better developed. |