WASHINGTON — US lawmakers on Friday, July 11, denounced China's harsh crackdowns in the Muslim-majority northwest Xinjiang region ahead of the Olympic Games.

"The Chinese government should not be permitted to use the 'war on terror' or Olympic security as a front to persecute the Uighurs," said Republican co-chairmen of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Frank Wolf, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

China convicted 15 Muslim Uighurs in a closed trial on July 9, on terrorism charges.

Two of them were executed. Three others were given suspended death sentences and the remaining 10 received life imprisonment.

On the same day, police in Urumchi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, reportedly killed five Uighur men who authorities claimed were part of a 15-member group planning attacks.

These are "abuses of due process and rule of law," said Wolf.

"These trials' appear to be no more than a ploy to oppress religious freedom and ethnic minority groups."

China wants to use the Beijing Olympics, to be launched on August 8, to polish its international image amid growing concerns regarding its human rights record.

"To this day, executions take place immediately after sentencing, trials are totally closed off to any observers and still happen in total secrecy," said Democratic co-chairman Jim McGovern.

Persecution

The Uighur American Association said that the Chinese government is using the Olympic Games to persecute Muslim Uighurs.

"The experience of Uighurs has shown that the Beijing regime is prone to manipulating threats of religious extremism and terrorism in order to crack down on peaceful dissent," said association president Rebiya Kadeer.

Chinese police have this year detained 82 people in Xinjiang who they said were planning to attack the Beijing Olympics.

In April, China said it had crushed a group in Xinjiang that was plotting to kidnap foreign journalists, tourists and athletes during the Olympics.

In another case, police in Urumqi said they broke up a group in January whose leaders were planning to stage attacks in Beijing and Shanghai with toxic materials and explosives.

Rights groups accuse Chinese authorities of religious repression against Uighurs, a Turkish-speaking minority of eight million, in the name of counter terrorism.

China has been waging a campaign against Muslims struggling to set up an independent "East Turkestan" in Xinjiang.

Beijing views Xinjiang as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.

IslamOnline.net & News Agencies

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