Chaos erupts in Urumqi, China
Dear friend,
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan China's north-western province is on a knife-edge: Sunday's unrest in Urumqi led to violent clashes involving Uighurs and Han Chinese that left at least 156 people dead, over 1,000 injured and around 4,000 detained.
That's more people killed in political unrest than any other time since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. It's so serious that China's President Hu Jintao cut short his visit to the G8 summit to tackle the crisis, and he now needs to show strong leadership to prevent the violence escalating into further bloodshed.
Sadly, last night China's top leadership vowed to administer "severe punishment" to those involved in the deadly rioting - a sure sign that they will use excessive force if protesters take to the streets again.
Please call on our Prime Minister to push Hu Jintao to restore order in Urumqi without resorting to excessive force
Sunday's atrocities began with peaceful demonstrations over the death of two Uighurs at a toy factory on 26 June. What started as a peaceful assembly turned violent as the crowd reacted to heavy-handed policing. Now a curfew has been imposed, telephone lines are down and the city remains tense; there is still deep underlying suspicion from both sides that the wrong move might spark another wave of bloody violence.
Please send your email to stop the violence and restore order in the region
Since the 1980s, the Uighurs, China's biggest Muslim minority, have been subjected to detention, imprisonment and restrictions on religious freedom by discriminatory policies set by those in power. As the world looks on in horror after Sunday's events, this is our Prime Minister's unique chance to leverage the strength of Australia's "true friendship" with China and speak up strongly for the fundamental rights of the Uighur people.
Please call on our Prime Minister to speak out against the violence, as well as discriminatory practices against Uighurs
At this crucial time, let's put the pressure on Chinese authorities by sending a firestorm of emails and letters they can't ignore. Like the crackdown on protesters in Iran, we've got to keep up this intensity if we want to get through to them that the responsibility for protecting human rights cannot be deflected, nor will it be forgotten.
Thank you,
Jenny and the rest of the Crisis Response Team
Amnesty International Australia
PS. Rebiya Kadeer, who spent six years in prison in China, now travels the world raising awareness about China's repression of the Uighur people. On her visit to Australia last year she thanked Amnesty International supporters who campaigned tirelessly for her release. Read her story.
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