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More than 500 Uighur Turks killed in China â€“ PHOTOSESSION

More than 500 Uighur Turks killed in China â€“ <font color=red>PHOTOSESSION</font>

07 July 2009 09:51 (UTC +04:00)

State-run Xinhua agency reports about 1434 arrests, 156 people dead and more than 800 injured. The authorities said the situation in Urumqi was taken under control on July 6. Uighurs held protest actions in the towns of Kashgar, Aksu and Yili of the province.
The unrests began after that the Chinese young men molested Uighur women, who were forcibly taken away to work at the toy factory in Guangdong province of China, chairman of the Turkey-based Eastern Turkistan Culture and Solidarity Circle Seyid Tumturk told Turkish Hurriyyet newspaper. Tow days later about five thousand Chinese attacked the Uighurs and killed 300 people, which caused mass protest actions in Urumqi. The demonstrators clashed with police when it sternly interfered in the events. Some shops, houses and police vehicles were burned. Police and militaries fired on the demonstrators and killed tens of people. Phone communications and Internet access were cut in Urumqi. Tumturk said the Chinese authorities intended to change demographic situation of Uighur province and to force the people to work in other provinces. â€œAccording to the reports we obtained there are more than 500 people dead and thousands of injuredâ€, said Tumturk.
Leader of Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli said it caused to think that murders in the Xinjiang-Uighur province of China began after the Turkish President Abdullah Gulâ€™s visit to China. He called on Turkey and international community not to remain indifferent to the events. â€œTurkey must show decisive position immediately to stop the violence against our Uighur brothers. MHP will support the government in this issueâ€.
Chairman of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering also expressed concern over the killing of demonstrators in China. He demanded the Chinese government to respect the human dignity.

The Uighur Turks struggled for independence from China throughout the centuries. Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Province in China was established in 1950s. The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, which is struggling for establishing of independent Uighur Islamic state, was declared a terrorist organization in China.