Continued Tensions
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch speculate that Uyghur resentment towards alleged repression of Uyghur culture may explain some of the ethnic riots that have occurred in Xinjiang during the PRC period.
Conversely, Han Chinese are treated as second class citizens by PRC policies, in which many of the ethnic autonomy policies are discriminatory against them (see autonomous entities of China) and previous Chinese dynasties owned Xinjiang before the Uyghur Empire. Independence advocates view Chinese rule in Xinjiang, and policies like the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps as Chinese imperialism.
In the 1980s there was a scattering of student demonstrations and riots against police action that took on an ethnic aspect; and the Baren Township riot in April, 1990, an abortive uprising, resulted in more than 50 deaths.
A police round-up and execution of 30 suspected separatists during Ramadan resulted in large demonstrations in February 1997 which were characterised as riots in the Chinese state media, which western have described as peaceful. These demonstrations culminated in the Gulja Incident on the 5th of February, where a PLA crackdown on the demonstrations led to at least 9 deaths and perhaps more than 100. The Ürümqi bus bombs of February 25, 1997 killed 9 and injured 68. The situation in Xinjiang was relatively quiet from the late nineties through mid-2006, though inter-ethnic tensions no doubt remained.
Recent incidents include the 2007 Xinjiang raid, a thwarted 2008 suicide bombing attempt on a China Southern Airlines flight, and the 2008 Xinjiang attack which resulted in the deaths of sixteen police officers four days before the Beijing Olympics. Further incidents include the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, the September 2009 Xinjiang unrest, and the 2010 Aksu bombing that led to the trials of 376 people. The 2011 Hotan attack in July led to the deaths of 18 civilians. Although all of the attackers were Uyghur, both Han and Uyghur people were victims.
Read more about this topic: History Of Xinjiang
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