Russia says China Xinjiang riots internal affair

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Wed Jul 8, 2009 4:17am EDT

MOSCOW (*******) - Russia on Wednesday put its support firmly behind China, saying violent clashes in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang were a purely internal affair.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has abandoned plans to attend a G8 summit in Italy, returning home early to deal with ethnic violence that has killed at least 156 in Xinjiang.

"Using separatist slogans and provoking ethnic intolerance, the initiators of the disorder attacked citizens and beat them, turned over cars and torched them and looted shops and other buildings," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"We would like to confirm that Russia views the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region as an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China and considers that events there are purely the internal affair of China," the foreign ministry said.

"We hope that the actions, which taken within the bounds of the law, by the Chinese authorities to support order in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region will allow the situation to be swiftly normalised," the ministry said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed his condolences to the relatives of those killed during a phone conversation on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart Jang Jiechi, the ministry stated in a separate release.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge)

Source:http://www.*******.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5671SM20090708

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SCO expresses condolence to families of victims in Xinjiang riot



2009-07-11 22:46:03

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Saturday conveyed condolence to the families of the victims in the bloody Xinjiang riot on July 5.

A statement from the SCO said the organization sincerely sympathize with the family members of those innocent people killed in the riot that occurred in Urumqi, capital of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The riot has so far caused 184 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries, left hundreds of vehicles burnt, shops looted and other public facilities destroyed.

The SCO's member states regard that the Xinjiang region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China and the situation in Xinjiang is purely China's internal affairs, the statement said.

The SCO believes that measures the Chinese government is taking in accordance with the country's laws can restore peace and order in the region, it said.

The statement, issued by the SCO's rotating Secretary-General Bolat Nurgaliev, vowed that the organization will enhance cooperation among member states in terms of fighting terrorism, separatism, extremism and transnational organized crimes to maintain peace and stability of the SCO area.

The SCO is a permanent inter-governmental international organization with its Beijing-based secretariat. It was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/11/content_11693625.htm