Radhakrishna Rao,
Visiting Fellow, VIF
Slowly and surely, the middle kingdom seems to be emerging as a
preferred “soft target” of terrorist violence spearheaded by a radical
outfit with its alleged links to the notorious Al Qaeda. For the
communist China, which not long back was least worried about the devious
doings of global terrorist networks, disturbing developments in its
home-turf in recent months have brought home the looming threat of
terrorism in all its manifestations.
Not surprisingly then the violent stabbing spree at Kunming railway
station in Yunnan province on March 1 has set the alarm bells ringing
in China’s security set up. Incidentally, the south westerly Yunnan
province whose capital is Kunming has had no history of a terrorist
attack or social violence. Much to the dismay of Chinese security and
intelligence agencies, the knife wielding attackers who encountered
virtually no resistance initially left 33 people dead and 130 injured in
one of the bloodiest incidents ever reported in this part of the
country. China’s official Xinhua news agency described this
pre-meditated violent incident as “China’s 9/11 and a severe crime
against humanity”. The authorities of the Kunming Municipal Government
were quick to point out that evidence at the crime scene showed that the
attack was organised by the Xinjiang based Uighur separatists.
Significantly, this is for the first time that militants allegedly
belonging to the, which is fighting for a sovereign Muslim majority
Xinjiang country, managed to carry out such a frightening and violent
attack outside their home-turf. The suspicion is that the attack could
be a part of the long term strategy of Uighur separatists to hit soft
targets deep inside China with a view to create “fear psychosis” and
draw global attention to their on-going struggle for a separate Muslim
majority Xinjiang country.
The Patronage that the banned East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is
said to be receiving from Al Qaeda is considered a major factor behind
its rapidly expanding acts of violent terrorism.
Nevertheless, this is not the first act of terrorism mounted by
Uighur separatists outside of the Xinjiang province. In October last, a
terrorist attack in the capital city of Beijing had stunned and rattled
China. This well planned violent attack at the historic Tiananmen Square
had resulted in the death of five people. In the aftermath of this
incident, the ruling dispensation in Beijing had described this
terrorist outrage in the heart of China’s capital city as a “pre
meditated and well planned suicide attack” aimed at destabilizing the
Communist giant. This attack which was also blamed as the handiwork of
ETIM marked a significant shift in the militant activities of ETIM whose
violent activities were for long confined to Xinjiang. Chinese
authorities drive home the point that ETIM has for long been engaged in
Central, East (By "East" , the Chinese authorities imply the
possibility of Uighur extremists having linkages with Muslim
separatists in Southern Thailand and insurgents in Mindanao island of
Philippines) and West Asia and has joined hands with many of the
terrorist outfits with global footprints. ETIM cadres are known to have
fought alongside Taliban militia in Afghanistan and rebel forces in
trouble torn Syria. Clearly and apparently, China has enough to worry
about ensuring its domestic peace and territorial integrity in the face
of brazen terrorist attacks.
In a well thought out move aimed at psychologically paralysing the
terrorist outfits by blocking their funding sources, China’s Central
Bank has announced new measures aimed at enabling authorities to freeze
assets of domestic terrorist groups and their “overseas patrons’.
Cutting off the source of funding could take the sail out of the winds
of a terrorist group. India too needs to take steps to end the “hawala
racket” which has become a major source of funding for terrorist
outfits, criminal gangs and anti social networks in the country. Chinese
security agencies believe Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asian
Republics offer safe sanctuary to the fugitive Uighur separatists owing
allegiance to ETIM For long there has been a suspicion that ETIM gets
funds, training and psychological motivation from Al Qaeda. The
Islamabad based Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies had indicated that
Uighur separatists from Xinjiang province of China mainly frequent the
mountainous North Waziristan, the most turbulent part of the lawless
tribal belt. Indeed, Beijing has on many occasions expressed its
displeasure over the failure of Pakistan to crack down on Uighur terror
groups. Chinese officials in Xinjiang blame ETIM overseas cadres,
chiefly those active in camps of Pakistan, for fomenting trouble in many
parts of the province. This largest Chinese province in the extreme
west of the country shares porous borders with both Pakistan and
Afghanistan. Uighur extremists are also known to have forged strong
links with radical Islamic groups in the Central Asian Republics.
For well over two decades now, the ruling dispensation in Beijing has
been blaming Uighur extremists for acts of sporadic violence and
destruction in the sprawling and resources rich Xinjiang where
12-million ethic Uighurs reside. Currently, Uighurs constitute 45% of
the total population of Xinjiang. Uighurs are upset that with the state
supported plan to settle Chinese Hans in the restive Xinjiang, they are
doomed to end up as a minority group.
Since 1990s, Xinjiang has been making it into the media headlines for
acts of violence indulged in by the disgruntled Uighurs who see a
repressive streak in the policy designed for them by the rulers in
Beijing. China is of view that ETIM is trying to insulate itself from
the country’s counter terrorism measures by developing robust
transnational ties that include alliance with other terrorist groups and
safe operational bases in other countries.
Uighurs are quite upset that their religious, cultural and commercial
activities are being curtailed by Beijing presumably to put a lid on
the separatist sentiments embedded deep in the psyche of the community.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have been pressurising Uighur men
not to grow beards and Uighur women not to use veil or other Islamic
attire. These measures have been justified by Beijing as a cornerstone
of the strategy designed to end the spread of religious extremism said
do be responsible for the violent separatist movement. Many Uighurs say
that they are made to feel like second class citizens in their home
turf. Uighurs are upset that the Chinese speaking Hans in Xinjiang
have cornered most of the civil service jobs and are forging ahead in
business and professions.
In 2009, around 200 people had paid with their lives in one of the
bloodiest clashes that took place between native Uighurs and Han
settlers in the provincial capital of Urumqi. And in April 2013, violent
clashes involving Uighurs and policemen in Kashgar had left 21 dead.
Further in June.2013, 35 people were killed in an attack against a
Police Station in Luquan. Uighurs who follow a moderate version of Sunni
Islam are clear that repressive policies aimed at the community is at
the root of on-going “unrest and turbulence” in the province. But Uighur
uprising has never attracted the global attention the way Tibet has.
Strategic analysts believe, however, that Uighur uprising could pose a
serious threat to China’s territorial integrity in comparison to the
turbulence in Tibet. For now, by design or accident, Tibet is on the way
to slowly getting integrated into the “Chinese mainstream”. But then
the festering unrest and turmoil in Xinjiang has all the potentials of
graduating into a full scale and well armed separatist movement that
China can ignore at its own peril. It is not for nothing that Xinjiang
has been described as China’s emerging West Bank.
