Apr 25, 2013

East Turkestan: US Urges China To Promote Uyghur Rights


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On Wednesday 24 April 2013, The United States urged China to safeguard the rights of its Uyghur minority and carry out a transparent probe of the latest acts of violence in which 21 people died.

Below is an article published by Strait Times:

The United States on Wednesday [24 April] urged China to safeguard the rights of its Uyghur minority and carry out a transparent probe of the latest violence in which 21 people died.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell called on China to "take steps to reduce tensions and promote long-term stability in Xinjiang," the vast and ethnically divided western region.

"We urge the Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation of this incident and to provide all Chinese citizens - including Uighurs - the due-process protections to which they're entitled," he said.

Chinese officials said that police officers and social workers - including 10 from the mostly Muslim Uighur community - were among the dead in gun fights Tuesday [23 April] in Barchuk County, blaming the violence on "terrorists".