Viciousness of rioters 'unexpected'

• Source: China Daily
• [09:13 July 20 2009]
• Comments

In the days preceding the riots, there were "noticeably hot" sales of long knives, some of which were used in the attacks, the report quoted vendors as saying.

The presence of alleged ringleaders, including several women in long, black Islamic garb and black head scarves who issued "commands" to rioters, was also noted in the report.

"Such dressing of women is very rare in Urumqi, but these kind of women were seen many times at different locations on surveillance cameras on that day," the report quoted unnamed local police authorities as saying.

Bekri said that as the situation is becoming more stable, "it won't be long" before the Internet was completely reopened to the public.

He said that during the riot, the Internet and cell phone messages became the main communication methods for mobsters, and it was necessary for the government to shut down the Internet to stabilize the situation and restore social order.

Experts have warned that terrorism might be the real driving force behind the Urumqi riot.

The World Uygur Congress, which China alleges instigated the riot, is closely associated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group labeled by the UN and the US as a terrorist organization, said Rohan Gunaratna, who heads the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

"The ETIM is a big threat for the central Asian area. China needs more anti-terror specialists and should improve intelligence work on the ETIM and train more police in counterterrorism," he said.

Some Chinese legal experts also suggested after the Xinjiang riot that the government have more effective anti-terror legislation.

"The nature of the riot has the major characteristics of a typical terrorist attack," said Bo Xiao, director of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the Standing Committee of Xinjiang regional People's Congress.

China should establish a special law for counterterrorism in addition to the current less explicit regulations scattered throughout different laws, he said.