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BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has called for a crackdown on Islamists fighting for an independent Muslim state in the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang, state media reported. Zhu, who visited Xinjiang last week, repeatedly stressed the importance of strengthening national unity and social stability in an area inhabited by different ethnic groups, the official Xinhua news agency stated. Xinjiang Islamists - mainly the ethnic Uighur Muslims - have been involved in frequent and bloody clashes with the Chinese authorities in recent years. Uighurs, who speak a Turkic language and make up a large part of Xinjiang's population, have been linked to several deadly bombings as well as riots. Zhu said an "iron fist" should be used to crack down on the Islamists to ensure the success of the government's plan to develop its economically backward western provinces. "Any act that disturbs national unity and social stability, we have to firmly struggle against it," the People's Daily quoted Zhu as saying. Zhu's visit to the region last week coincided with an explosion on Friday, which killed 60 people and injured 173. The government has ruled out Islamist involvement in the blast, saying it was an accident that happened when a truck carrying explosives to be destroyed blew up in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi. Witnesses have said the truck was a military vehicle. Tensions remain high between the government and the Xinjiang Muslims, exacerbated by China's policy of moving millions of the majority ethnic Han Chinese into the region and giving them the best jobs. China has executed 24 Xinjiang Islamists this year alone and an international human rights group has claimed Muslims accused of separatism make up a majority of those put to death in the country. China earlier this year signed agreements with several Central Asian countries to gain their cooperation in helping fight separatism. Beijing has accused Afghanistan of backing the separatist movement in China and using neighboring Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikstan for smuggling arms and supporting Islamist groups. Zhu visited local oilfields, railway departments and farms of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a group of ethnic Han Chinese, relocated to Xinjiang to "develop" the region. He emphasized the need to accelerate infrastructure construction, including water conservancy, communications, telecommunications and power facilities. Zhu said Xinjiang should concentrate its efforts on developing and utilizing its abundant water resources and building a project to transport natural gas from the region to the eastern part of the country. |
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