Chinese leader stresses ethnic unity to minorities
July 28, 2009 - 10:31am


BEIJING (AP) - China's president called Tuesday for the strengthening of ethnic unity in the country _ his first public comments on the issue more than three weeks after deadly riots in the far west killed nearly 200 people.

President Hu Jintao did not directly refer to the violence in Xinjiang between minority Uighurs and majority Han Chinese. He has not publicly appeared in the region since the July 5 riots in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi.

"Peoples of all ethnicities should respect each other, care for each other, and help each other to achieve common progress," Hu said on a tour of southwestern Yunnan province. "Let the flower of ethnic unity bloom brightly and beautifully."

The Xinjiang violence was China's worst ethnic unrest in decades, with 197 people left dead and more than 1,700 wounded. Most of the dead were Han Chinese, though Uighurs say they believe many more of their community were killed in the ensuing government crackdown.

Officials said Tuesday that limited phone messaging and Internet access are now available Xinjiang, after they were suspended in the wake of the riots as the government tried to prevent the violence from spreading.

Xinjiang Governor Nur Bekri accused protesters of using the Internet and text messaging to mobilize rioters.

The Chinese government has repeatedly said the riots were orchestrated by separatists working inside and outside the country, though they have provided little evidence to back that up.

Since the violence began, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and similar Chinese sites have also been blocked nationwide.


(Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Menbe: http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=385&sid=1688155