The people of Xinjiang in far western China, including millions of
ethnic Uighurs, have been advised to stay home during their Olympic
torch relay on Tuesday "for safety reasons."
A top sports
official in Xinjiang, Li Guangming says safety concerns arose because
so many people are expected to turn out to watch the Olympic flame as
it passes through Urumqi, the regional capital. He advised would-be
spectators to tune into television instead.
Xinjiang has eight
million ethnic Uighurs, most of whom are Muslims. The Chinese
government has cracked down hard on separatist activity in the area,
and accused Uighur activists of trying to make Xinjiang an independent
state.
A spokesman for the World Uighur Congress, Dilxat Rexit
says the stay-at-home message is intended to create a false atmosphere
of harmony in the restive region.
The spokesman says China is using the Olympics as an excuse to continue its crackdown on his people.
China
claims to have cracked at least two Xinjiang-based terror plots this
year. One involved an attempt to blow up an aircraft flying to
Beijing; another to kidnap foreigners and carry out suicide attacks
during the Olympics.
After parading through Urumqi on Tuesday,
the Olympic torch relay will head to Kashgar, another city in Xinjiang,
on Wednesday. The timetable for the torch relay through Xinjiang is
now one week earlier than scheduled, after China announced a
postponement Sunday for the controversial Tibet leg of the Olympic
symbol's tour.
Media reports say the Tibet leg also has been shortened, and may be limited to the capital, Lhasa.
Officials
have not given any reason for the changes, but they follow postponement
of the torch relay in Sichuan province after last month's major
earthquake there May 12.
Some Tibetan exiles and human rights activists have called on China to cancel the Tibet relay.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
