Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

China's Silent Crackdown

China has decided to increase it's heavily armed police presence across the Xinjiang region. Locals of both the Uyghur and Han ethnic groups have reported that there are more Chinese troops in the region than in any year since 2009. Riot police routinely block access to mosque and patrol Uyghur villages and neighborhoods. Freedoms that are taken for granted in the West are now alien to the oppressed peoples of Xinjiang

The official excuse for the sudden tidal wave of Chinese police in the province is the June 2009 ethnic violence in Urumqi. Yet this year things seem to have gotten out of control. While small shows of dissent around the morbid anniversary are just as much a tradition now as the increased police presence has become, this year is worse. This year is a turn for the worse.

Peaceful displays of contempt were replaced by a violent attack on police by knife wielding civilians. This violent spark was all it took to bring down the heel of the Chinese jackboots. With the excuse secured, the Chinese government decided to show it's muscle by bringing in combat ready police units. Security forces bristled as Ramadan approached. The dogs of war had come to Xinjiang over what could had been handled by local police forces.

This over reaction by China has become typical as the communist leaders continue to push a narrative of "jihad and a "war on terror" in it's far western province. The opportunistic politicians in Beijing have utilized the "unrest" of their own making to push economic growth at the expense of local citizens. This over development of Xinjiang has allowed the Chinese to shift it's growing economy off the eastern shores and out onto the mineral rich lands of Xinjiang. It has also allowed however the racism of the ruling political class to disrupt the social structure that previously existed in Xinjiang.

For decades this tinge of racism has inundated Xinjiang as government schools have pushed the idea that Han Chinese are superior to the Uyghur minorities. This is highlighted by the continued segregation of Uyghur children from Han children. Those who are placed in the same classes with Han students far too often suffer abuse at the hands of teachers and pupils alike. Yet the state does nothing to correct either the abuse or the segregation the abuse is used to justify.

Then there are the state programs that offer Han benefits for moving to Xinjiang while the state simultaneously attempts to push Uyghur citizens out. Taking Uyghur females to the East to work in what amounts to forced labor has been a long running trait of the Chinese government. This practice alone could push any good intentioned individual to the point of questioning the state's motives. It not only acts as a state sponsored method of deportations but threatens the ethnic group as a whole.

All of this has been done this year under the weight of a massive police buildup. A buildup that has allowed China to begin what some speculate is a "silent crackdown". This means that China is sweeping through Uyghur neighborhoods and mosque making mass arrest. Only this time they aren't chasing the Uyghur around the city beating their victims where everyone can see. This time China is collecting their victims in night raids and door to door arrests.

Since August 8th Uyghur have reported that the attendance at mosque has been down at least by three quarters what it was prior. This is in part due to unreasonable bans on prayer times and travel for Uyghur Muslims. It also is believed to be in part due to the silent crackdown that has been occurring for over around a week now.

Imams have reported that Uyghur youth are not able or do not dare show up for prayers after the August 7th police violence (in which the Chinese police shot a four year old girl). Some have pointed to the conclusion that many of the youth may be among the "detained". This would mean that the Chinese are collecting the youth of the Uyghur community just as they did prior to Ramadan in areas of Xinjiang.

Aykol Uyghur Suffer Mass Arrests 

After Eid Massacre

The main reason for the mass arrest in Aykol has been the police violence that occurred on August 7th. The incident began with what China's police viewed as a "routine arrest". The state official had directed police to gather two individuals on the charges of "unlawful religious practices". When the crowd at the mosque gathered to watch the arrests the inevitable happened. The police decided to antagonize the onlookers with their usual displays of force.

When the situation began to deteriorate it wasn't from lack of the officers' best efforts. The Uyghur crowd asked why the two men were not allowed to enter in and pray and simply be arrested afterward. That is when the police decided to show their force in a more profound manner... live ammunition. 

Civilians report that around one third of the crowd began to retaliate with rocks as the police popped off shot after shot. Another third of the crowd offered moral support as they backed off the battle lines that promptly formed. While the remaining third began to break and run. 

This wasn't the fire fight that China has reported. It wasn't a running battle either. This was the result of rabid police who had been encouraged to use deadly force at the drop of a hat. This was a small group of Uyghur civilians who had been pushed too far and had decided to defend themselves by any means. No, this wasn't the shoot out that the police told state media. This was savagery... state sponsored savagery. 

A young girl, only four years of age, paid in blood for the lack of self-control that the police showed that day. From their lack of integrity this young girl learned a lesson, for right or for wrong, that police in her country can't be trusted. That lesson, learned from the sting of a bullet, isn't one that goes way simply because the state tells you it is wrong either. That is a lesson that will forever be remembered in the scar it left behind. 

As for the Uyghur community in Aykol and the surrounding area, this tragic attack left at least four dead and around 50 (updated from 21) injured. It was not only a stain upon the community's Eid celebrations but was the start of a police siege of the village and surrounding area. This blood bath brought the Uyghur community only more suffering in the week that has followed it.

Sweeping through the area the police collected around 300 to 400 Uyghurs. Officially the victims of this roundup are just in for questioning. However many of the family members believe that their imprisoned relatives are on their way to long term detention. This fear is accompanied by the reality that China has recently sentenced Uyghur to death for similar alleged offenses. And since China executes (at times publicly) more civilians than any other country in the world, this fear is very real to the hundreds of Uyghur the Chinese have arrested over the past week. 

Time To Scream

In response to China's heightened police presence in Xinjiang province we would like to invite all those who read this to "scream" with Alder's Ledge. We understand that this tragedy is not as dramatic as those occurring in Syria, Egypt, and other war torn areas of the world. Yet it is our duty and the mission of Alder's Ledge to scream for all oppressed and suffering peoples of our sad little world. And for this reason we have decided to relentlessly cover the suffering of the Uyghur people. We want to bring a light into the dark reality that is the plight of the Uyghur community. And to do this we need you... we need your voice. 

Screaming is easy in this modern world. Almost too easy, yet it is essential. 

All you have to do is put your voice out there and tell the stories of the Uyghur who are suffering under China's oppressive system. You can do this by sharing articles like this one on your social media outlets. You can do this by starting the conversation in your own way on Twitter, Facebook, or better yet... in person. 

Your voice can break the silence that surrounds these tragic events. All you have to do is use it. All you have to do is scream.

Want to learn more about this issue or others covered by Alder's Ledge?

Join us on Twitter: @alders_ledge

Or follow us on Facebook: Alder's Ledge

Beneath The Heel Of The Peoples' Republic

Learning From A System of Oppression And Discrimination

Vladimir Lenin told us; "Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted." Is China's desire to totally control Uyghur students rooted in it's communist beliefs?

Ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan Chinese schools in the Xinjiang region of China have begun to tighten controls on the ethnic Uyghur. In addition to the extorted promises of Uyghur parents agreeing to keep children under 18 years of age from fasting for Ramadan, China has begun sending out buses to gather up Uyghur students. These actions are said to be preventive measures that are supposed to keep both Uyghur and Han citizens safe during the anniversary of the July 5th, 2009 ethnic clashes in Urumqi. The thing that makes Uyghur groups both in exile and within China find these measures offensive and discriminatory is the fact that China only appears to target Uyghur when such measures are taken. 

Such actions often include the confiscation of Uyghur students' cell phones and other personal electronic devices. These confiscated phones are searched and most of the time returned. If an Uyghur student attempts to hide their property from the authorities they face severe consequences, of which China is not willing to talk about. Yet Han students are excused from search and seizure methods that are applied to Uyghur students. 

This is amplified by the state sponsored segregation of Uyghur students from the rest of the students in Xinjiang schools. However when Uyghur students are not segregated they become ready targets for Han students and ethnically Han teachers. In October of 2011 a group of Han students barged their way into a Uyghur language class armed with sticks. These Han students savagely attacked and beat Uyghur students as the Han teacher stood by and watched. Yet in other cases Uyghur students in even earlier grade levels are routinely subjected to severe beatings by Han teachers for even the most minute of infractions (often only perceived offenses). Han students on the other hand are rarely punished, let alone physically. 

“I was sent to Canada to study ... because I couldn’t go to school back home because I was afraid of my Chinese teachers and Chinese classmates.” 

~ Uyghur Student seeking asylum in Canada

The response by many Uyghur parents has been to transfer their children to schools that are officially bilingual or have a Uyghur majority. This initial response has created a system in which the Uyghur fall in line with the Chinese desire for total segregation. It completes the initiatives put forth by Chinese officials without forcing the government to accept responsibility. The excuse that is often offered by Chinese government officials is that the two ethnic groups just simply can't "get along". Therefore when a group of Han students attacks a group of Uyghur students the officials are able to tell the outside media (heavily restricted, if ever allowed into Xinjiang) that this is just how children behave. While at the same time China takes advantage of ethnic division and further alienates the Uyghur community. 

Division, after all, allows for China's government to carry out it's own "war on terror" in Xinjiang. It permits China the oppertunity to put pressure on the Uyghur community so as to crush any future hopes of a separatist movement. With continual pressure of China's heel upon the Uyghur people the government in Beijing seeks to subdue the spirit of a people. Under it's weight it seeks to force Uyghur no other option but to leave their homeland. Thus replacing the Uyghur with China's "ethnic Chinese" Han people. 

While these statements may be controversial to some. The history of China's actions in the Uyghur Autonomous Region has been that of an invasion force. From the start in 1949, China sought to bring the region under control by forcing Han citizens to move into the region. From the very moment the People's Liberation Army entered Xinjiang the Chinese began to flood the region with friendly civilians. Once established in the region, China laid out laws that blatantly favored the Han while discriminating against the Uyghur people. This tradition has been unimpeded every since. 

In 2009's ethnic riots the Chinese government used the excuse that the initial protestors (and instigators of the violence) were in fact Uyghur. The part that China ignores is that the ethnic violence quickly placed blood on both Han and Uyghur hands. Even more importantly, China refuses to admit to the fact that military and police forces entered the fray clearly on the side of the Han citizens of Urumqi. These police forces then conducted arbitrary arrests that cast a large net over Uyghur neighborhoods while almost completely avoiding the Han neighborhoods. Disappearances of Uyghur men and boys followed the 2009 riots and have not ended.

The Uyghur children are however the real victims of China's entrenched bias against them. From the moment Uyghur students come of age to be school bound they are introduced to a state sponsored system of oppression and discrimination. They are not allowed to speak their language in Chinese state schools without fear of beatings by both teachers and Han students alike. Instead of being taught the history of their people, Uyghur students are forced to learn the official history of Xinjiang and The People's Republic. Their heritage and ethnicity are taught to them to be reasons for their suffering at the hands of government officials. And yet all of this is supposed to teach the children of the Uyghur to be faithful to a government all the way across the country in Beijing. A government that they are not permitted to take part in or advantage of. 

Seeds grow in their own time and in their own way. If China intends to teach loyalty to the system (which I highly doubt) then they will be greatly disappointed when the children they teach bring forth the fruit of the seed China has planted. A government that teaches it's youth that it is a burden, an obstacle, and an oppressor cannot pray for patriotism. Instead, it prepares it's field for conflict.

Source Documents 

(Note: not all sources listed)

UNPO 

http://www.unpo.org/article/13376

Radio Free Asia

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/students-06132013105142.html

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/beatings-01312013165459.html 

Human Rights Watch 

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/10/22/we-are-afraid-even-look-them

Is Europe Dieing?

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Rise of Fascism in Russia.
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In 2009 it was predicted that over half the worlds known population of Neo-Nazis lived in Russia. To me this is almost to much to believe. After all, it was Adolf Hitler who had used a "scorched Earth" policy while invading the "Mother Land". So how is it that the World War Two stormtroopers are now reappearing in Russia?
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The idea goes that as the collapse of the Soviet Union came about the rise of immigration began. People from the Caucuses and other former colonies of the Soviets began to rush into the falling empire's homeland. These people simply were seeking a better life than what the Soviets had made for them in the old Soviet block puppet states.
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Now days the immigration to Russia is still climbing. With a booming economy, the old communist state is suddenly an attractive destination for the East and its impoverished countries. This has helped bring about the resentment that has fueled the "apocalyptic" view of the skinhead movement in Russia.
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Ideas that focus on the "birth rate" and the replacement of ethnic majorities have lent to the racist motivations that now have a footing in Europe. The Czech Republic has demonized its old communist rulers while leaning back toward Adolf's style of thinking. Romania too has lent itself to the racist ideologies of Hitler's Europe. Russia however... well Russian racist are reforming the agendas of Nazism to fit their nations unique needs.
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Random street fighting, vicious attacks on minorities, terrorist style executions, and racist backed boot camps. These are all the trademarks of Russian Nazism. This is how half of the Nazis in the world today behave.
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It is clear that the movement is still growing. The economy in Russia may be hitting rough patches yet the immigration to Russia is still continuing. And the Nazi movement in Russia is still sucking in the poor and weary in a dim society. All we have left is to see where the movement ends.
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Will Russia be the new Germany?
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Source Document
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Current TV: From Russia With Hate