Chinese troops on the
streets of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region. After decades of
efforts to subdue Muslim Xinjiang and Buddhist
Tibet by force, Beijing has
attempted, since 9-11, to link this resistance
to the global fight
against terror.
Terrorism in Xinjiang is Like Terrorism on 9-11 (China Daily,
China)
Do U.S. politicians have one definition of terrorism when an
attack is committed against Americans, but an entirely different one when
applied to events in other countries? This editorial from the state-run China Daily asserts an equivalency between
ongoing unrest against Chinese rule in Xinjiang and Tibet, and attacks
committed by al-Qaeda against the United States, concluding that U.S. leaders
need to revise their definition of terrorism.
Move over Dalai Lama: At the White House in 2008, President George W. Bush meets another of Mainland China's most demonized figures: Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer.
What
criteria are there for what is, and is not, a terrorist attack?
With
incidents involving terrorist groups, like the fatal bombing in Boston, U.S.
politicians use one yardstick, but when it comes to the terrorist murders of
innocent residents in the Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions, it seems a
different yardstick applies.
On
Wednesday, when terrorists in Shanshan, Xijiang killed 24 innocent people, including two police
officers, rather than showing sympathy to the victims and indignation toward
the perpetrators, a U.S. State Department spokesman urged China to
"provide all Chinese citizens - including Uygurs
- the due process protections to which they are entitled."
The
spokesman even said, "The United States is deeply concerned by accounts of
discrimination against Uygurs and other Muslims in
China."
It
appears that the spokesman was attempting to claim that the attack in Xinjiang
was a clash between ethnic groups. If we follow that logic, we could describe
the killing of U.S. citizens by terrorists as a clash of civilizations.
Yes,
the separatists, extremist and terrorist forces that have launched
attacks in Xinjiang have their own political objectives, but so do other
terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. Whatever their political objectives may be, they
can never justify acts of terror.
The
fact that 16 Uygurs died in the latest attack is
strong evidence that the incident is anything but ethnic.
Posted
By Worldmeets.US
The
cooperation of all nations help in the fight against terrorism. But such joint
efforts need to be based on a correct understanding of what terrorism actually.
The
biased prism through which some U.S. politicians view such horrific acts, means
that if an attack occurs in the United States or harms U.S. citizens, it is categorized
as a terrorist attack, but when it happens in other countries, it is viewed as
something else.
We
sincerely urge these U.S. political figures to use reason rather than allowing themselves to be carried away by biases. Such
prejudice will only lead them away from the proper conclusion, and will do
nothing to help win the global fight against terrorism.
