JAPAN / AUSTRALIA: Protesters rally in front of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo and outside the Chinese consulate in Sydney to condemn the Chinese government's conduct in the Xinjiang region
Record ID:
464138
JAPAN / AUSTRALIA: Protesters rally in front of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo and outside the Chinese consulate in Sydney to condemn the Chinese government's conduct in the Xinjiang region
- Title: JAPAN / AUSTRALIA: Protesters rally in front of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo and outside the Chinese consulate in Sydney to condemn the Chinese government's conduct in the Xinjiang region
- Date: 9th July 2009
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 8, 2009) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS SHOUTING "FREE UIGHUR" IN ENGLISH IN FRONT OF THE CHINESE EMBASSY IN TOKYO MORE OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING AND CHANTING IN JAPANESE "GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY" CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG FLYING IN EMBASSY / A FEMALE PROTESTER SHOUTING AND HOLDING SIGN AND SHOUTING IN JAPANESE "STOP KILLING PEOPLE CHINA" MORE OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING IN ENGLISH "FASCIST CHINA" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) EHMETJAN LETIP, 31-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER, SAYING: "If China wants to claim ownership of that region, they should treat the people there the same way they treat Chinese people in other areas." ANOTHER SMALL GROUP OF PROTESTERS MARCHING TOWARDS THE CHINESE EMBASSY AS MEDIA SURROUNDS THEM MORE OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING IN JAPANESE "GET OUT OF UIGHUR LAND. THE COMMUNIST PARTY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING" MORE OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING IN JAPANESE "STOP THE MASSACRE" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) ILHAM MAHMUT, JAPANESE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WORLD UYGHUR CONGRESS, SAYING: "Stop the racial massacre against Uighur people." MORE OF PROTESTERS CHANTING "CHINA, TERRORIST" SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (JULY 8, 2009) (ABC TV - NO ACCESS AUSTRALIA) VARIOUS SHOTS OF UIGHUR PROTESTERS SYDNEY UIGHUR PROTESTER, ADINA NEESAM (SOUNDBITE) (English) SYDNEY UIGHUR PROTESTER ADINA NEESAM SAYING: "We can't even call them, we can't even have any contact." UIGHUR PROTESTERS OUTSIDE OF CONSULATE (SOUNDBITE) (English), AUSTRALIAN UIGHUR ASSOCIATION GENERAL SECRETARY, MAMTIMIN ALA SAYING: "Its quite frustrating that the Australian Government has not voiced any concern." UIGHUR PROTESTERS HOLDING UP CHINESE FLAG WITH THE WORK "KILLER' PAINTED ON IT
- Embargoed: 24th July 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVA1QIVYRWSHZJRY1CZ4V4KJI3TR
- Story Text: A handful of Japanese and Uighur protesters gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo Wednesday (July 8) to protest the government's involvement in the violence in the Xinjiang region of China.
About 14 protesters cried out from across the street of the embassy for the Chinese government to stop the killings and leave the region where the country's muslim minority reside.
Ehmetjan Letip, a 31-year-old protester who had come to Japan five years ago to study physics, told Reuters the escalating situation moved him to join the protests.
"If China wants to claim ownership of that region, they should treat the people there the same way they treat Chinese people in other areas," said Letip.
Due to local police restrictions, only five protesters at a time were permitted to approach the Embassy to deliver their message.
Ilham Mahmut, who heads the Japan branch of the World Uyghur Congress, an organisation led by exiled political leader Rebiya Kadeer, read a statement and said, "Stop the racial massacre against Uighur people."
On the other side of the hemisphere, about 150 protesters gathered outside the Chinese consulate in Sydney to protest what activists say are human rights violations against the Uighurs and ethnic violence in China's Xinjiang province on Sunday (July 5). The protest forced the consulate to close.
Australian Uighurs shouted "China is terrorists" and brandished a Chinese flag with the word "killers" painted on it.
One protester, Adina Neesam said the Uighur people were not to blame for the violence and said the Chinese government was preventing communication with people in the region.
"We can't even call them, we can't even have any contact," Neesam told local broadcaster ABC.
The organiser of the protest and the Australian Uighur Association General Secretary, Mamtimin Ala, also expressed his concerns over both the lack of information and the deaths in China.
He expressed his disappointment at the inaction of the Australian government.
"Its quite frustrating that the Australian Government has not voiced any concern," Ala said. Australian police officers arrested one man who threw an egg at the consulate.
Ethnic violence in Urumqi erupted on Sunday (July 5) culminating in a clash between Uighur protesters and Chinese police, resulting in 156 deaths and more than 800 people injured.
Tensions continue to intensify in the region as Han Chinese blame Uighurs for the deaths over the last few days and seek vengeance.
Chinese police have arrested 1,434 suspects in connection with the weekend riots in Urumqi, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None