Family letters against Kadeer authentic: official

• Source: Global Times
• [01:59 August 04 2009]
• Comments

By Qiu Yongzheng in Xinjiang and Liang Chen in Beijing

Family members of Uygur separatist Rebiya Kadeer condemned her, in letters made public Monday, for killing hundreds of innocent people in the Urumqi riots.
 
Rebiya’s son, Khahar, daughter, Roxingul, and younger brother, Memet, denounced Kadeer for organizing the riots and undermining peace in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.

“Because of you, many innocent people of all ethnic groups lost their lives in Urumqi on July 5, with huge damage to property, shops and vehicles,” Xinhua reported, citing the letter translated from the Uygurs’ language. Nine other relatives also signed the letter.

Kadeer, who promised not to incite any separatist activity upon leaving the country for the United States in 2005, was once known as the richest businesswoman in Xinijang. She has 11 children, five of them and nine grandchildren live in the far-west Uygur region, according to Bloomberg.

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, told Reuters that the letters were fake.

“It’s not possible that one of her family members would write such a letter,” he said.

Amid doubts of whether Kadeer’s relatives voluntarily wrote the letter, an official with the Xinjiang police told the Global Times yesterday that reporters could interview these relatives in accordance with the required procedures, most of whom are conducting their businesses or jobs as normal.

“Kadeer’s ex-husband and children wrote several such letters to the government soon after the July 5 riot, which was a surprise to us, too,” said the official, who preferred to remain anonymous.

“The relatives of Rebiya apparently know more about the truth of the riots, so they have a bigger say than Rebiya, who is in a foreign country,” said Pan Zhiping, director of the Institute of Central Asia at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences.

After Kadeer’s ex-husband wrote the letter, the government sent people to confirm the authenticity of it and found the claim was true. That’s why the officials decided to publicize the letters.

Fourteen relatives of Kadeer were protected by the government after the riots. Her younger brother, Memet, said the government wanted to protect them from revenge.