Foreign Policy Blogs

Xinjiang Province: Terror Across Central Asia

Well it looks like I didn't live up to my promise, but better late than never right?  The Olympics in China have made quite a splash; in the pool, in the Caucasus's, Bush's speeches and church visit, and in the Xinjiang Province, where on Sunday a multitude of attacks occurred all over the city of Kuqa, killing around 11 people, injuring many more, and leading to even greater instability and fear in the region.  The group of attackers targeted government and private buildings, used vehicles, grenades, and most disturbing apparently suicide bombings in the incident.  This following the killing of 16 border patrol guards, two bus bombings, and a video threat.

china-central-asia-800-080512.jpgThe Xinjiang Province's Uighur Muslims have definitely overshadowed the Tibetans on the Olympic world stage.   This was clearly in evidence when I saw an NBC special piece on the Xinjiang Province and its Uighur people on the air Sunday night.  The segment was informative, as I’m sure most Americans have never even heard of the region, and discussed the influx of Han Chinese people and culture in the region and how this was causing great material and psychological distress to the Uighurs.  The report was overall sympathetic to their cause and largely stayed away from painting the region as terror-ridden, though the story was preceded by talk of the recent attacks there.  (I tried to get video, but was unable, anybody find a link please send it to me and I’ll post it)

Still it must be acknowledged that the province is getting this type of attention because of these violent incidents.  And though I previously wrote pieces stating the strong possibility that China was just using terrorist claims and fears to further their grip on the region, these incidents no doubt firmly showcase a security threat to the Chinese government, the Olympics, and the region at large.

The strategic intelligence analyst group Stratfor recently wrote an article discussing the extremism in Xinjiang, its history and how it has evolved to what we’re seeing today, and it's not pretty.  Analyst Rodger Baker argues that he sees emerging ‘a Turkistan Islamist movement with links in Central Asia, stretching back to Afghanistan and Pakistan, blending Taliban training, transnational jihadist experiential learning, Hizb al-Tahrir (HT) frameworks and recruiting, and Central Asian ties for support and shelter.’  Rodger calls the extremist movement a ‘different entity’ than what China has faced in the past.  The article discusses the possible link between the ETIM and Turkistan Islamic Party, especially regarding a video from last April, and most provocatively and probably correctly he argues that this new Uighur movement is blending the HT  and Taliban ideologies with their underlying principles of Turkistan independence, in other words the Uighur movement is becoming more connected with region's other Islamic militants.  It almost reminds me of how the US/Pakistan helped foment religious radicalism in Pakistan/Afghanistan Pashtuns to defeat the Soviets and then now dealing a force that is ‘blowing back.’  In other words, a mostly ethnic conflict or society is being turned more religious and this may have radical implications, as we might be seeing right now.  I don't want to get ahead of myself though here (I probably already did), as this situation is very complicated.  What do you think?  How should one view these recent attacks in Xinjiang?  How would you view them if you were the Chinese government?  How would the Taliban view them?

(Photo: Stratfor)

 

Author

Patrick Frost

Patrick Frost recently graduated from New York University's Masters Program in Political Science - International Relations. His MA thesis analyzed the capabilities and objectives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Central Asia and beyond and explored how these affected U.S. interests and policy.

Areas of Focus:
Eurasia, American Foreign Policy, Ideology, SCO