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.

Pan noted that the “deceptive and distorted propaganda of separatists” could only serve to confuse overseas Uygurs, who are not very familiar with China.
 
“Rebiya is so selfish that she held the whole Xinjiang region hostage in order to achieve her own political goals,” said Zhao Guojun, an expert on international issues at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. “Rebiya is using every means to force the international community to blame China. However, what she did bring is harm to her hometown, especially to tourism.”

Although the International Grand Bazaar, a tourist attraction in Urumqi, has reopened to the public after being closed for weeks following the riot, the city has seen significantly fewer tourists.

“I used to be able to earn at least 5,000 yuan ($735) a day; now I make much less as business becomes so slow,” said Nurguli, a 37-year-old Uygur woman who sells souvenirs in the bazaar.

He Xingliang, a professor of religion and cultural issues at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Xinjiang would not become “a new Chechnya,” as the ethnic construction of China is very different from that of the former Soviet Union, which was quickly formed by a union of different nations.

“Xingjiang has been a part of China in history,” He said. “The blind obedience of some Uygurs to the ‘ethnic-State’ theory has caused the fanaticism, which is used as a tool by separatists.”

A further 319 people, the majority Uighers, have been arrested in Urumqi in connection with the riots at the beginning of July, Bloomberg said. Before, 53 people were detained, since hundreds of rioters attacked civilians, smashed businesses and set fire to buses in Urumqi on July 5, leaving at least 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured.

In another development, police forces and State security agencies have prevented five organized terrorist attacks on civilians in Xinjiang, China’s anti-terrorism sources said yesterday. The plots were foiled in Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksu and Ili, officials said.

Zhang Shengjun, an expert on international politics at Beijing Normal University, said that it’s horrifying that Rebiya sacrificed her compatriots’ lives to meet her own interests.

“She is definitely a terrorist, as it’s a modus operandi for the terrorists to gain sympathy by sacrificing their own compatriots,” Zhang told the Global Times yesterday.

Following the recent withdrawal of three Chinese films from the 58th Melbourne International Film Festival, another four Chinese films pulled out to protest the screening of a documentary about Kadeer, Xinhua said yesterday.

Zhang Han, An Baijie, Yu Miao and Zhou Min contributed to this story

A Letter to Rebiya Kadeer

The children of Rebiya Kadeer, head of the World Uyghur Congress, have written a letter to their mother accusing her of masterminding the July 5 riots in Urumqi, and which was also signed by other relatives on July 24. The letter was originally written in the Uygur language, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The complete text is reproduced here:

Dear mother,

This letter is written by your son Khahar and daughter Roxingul, together with your younger brother Memet Kadeer.

You once were the richest person in Xinjiang just because you were granted a lot of business opportunities and convenience by the Communist Party of China and the government. But, despite the repeated leniency of the Party and the Government, you ended up in prison under other people’s enticement. You were allowed to go to the United States thanks to, once again, our government’s leniency. You pledged to our government not to participate in any separatist activity before you departed for the United States. You broke your word.

Mother! We all long for a stable life. In Xinjiang, which is like a big family to people of different ethnic groups, none of us have ever experienced a violent incident as cruel as what happened on July 5 (in Urumqi). Because of you, so many innocent people lost their lives in Urumqi on July 5, and so many houses, shops and vehicles were burned or damaged. The harmony and unity among ethnic groups were undermined. Why did this happen?

Xinjiang is a happy home to the people of various ethnic groups. It is impossible for anyone to simply destroy it, nor will the people forgive anyone who damages their homes. Mother, despite so many things you have done, the government treats us very nicely. We are often told, “Your mother is responsible for the things she did. It has nothing to do with you.”

Because you went to the United States immediately after you were released on parole, you have no idea how much Xinjiang has changed. People are living a good life here. There are no differences between ethnic groups so long as you’re willing to work hard. There are many Uygur millionaires and countless new buildings in Urumqi, and Uygur people enjoy various preferential policies from the government. Isn’t this the result of the good policy of the government?

No one wants this happy home destroyed. Please think about the happiness of us and your grandchildren. Don’t destroy the stable and happy life in Xinjiang. Don’t follow the provocation from some people in other countries. We still miss the mother who cared about us before going to jail. The last thing we want is that our mother be condemned by the people of all ethnic groups.

Khahar (son of Rebiya Kadeer)
Memet (younger brother of Rebiya Kadeer)
Roxingul (daughter of Rebiya Kadeer)
Kheser Hapiz (son-in-law of Rebiya Kadeer)
Kadilya Kheser (granddaughter of Rebiya Kadeer)
Rizya Kadeer (adopted daughter of Rebiya Kadeer’s daughter)
Zukhila Kadeer (older sister of Rebiya Kadeer)
Aydida Khahar (granddaughter of Rebiya Kadeer)
Aygul (daughter-in-law of Rebiya Kadeer)
Dildar Khahar (granddaughter of Rebiya Kadeer)
Zulpkhar (grandson of Rebiya Kadeer)
Sarda (grandson of Rebiya Kadeer)