Inner Asia
Uighur leaders to al-Qaeda: No, thanks
Uighur exile leaders were quick to disavow an article in al-Qaeda's media service portraying harsh oppression of Muslims in "East Turkistan," or Xinjiang.
Tag: Inner Asia
Inner Asia
Aral Sea almost gone: NASA
Satellite photos released by NASA reveal that the eastern basin of the Aral Sea has completely dried up. Water levels are less than 10% of what they were 50 years ago.
Inner Asia
Next: Free Siberia?
In a little-noted irony, as Vladiimir Putin backs the "People's Republics" in eastern Ukraine, he has cracked down on a separatist movement that has emerged in Siberia.
Inner Asia
Xinjiang: over 100 dead in Eid violence
Chinese authorities say more than 100 were killed in violence in Xinjiang on Eid al-Fitr; the riots may have been in reaction to official restrictions on honoring the holy day.
Inner Asia
China: Uighurs defy Ramadan crackdown
Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are stepping up sweeps and security measures in the wake of a new attack—and have barred public officials from fasting for Ramadan.
Inner Asia
Urgent action for imprisoned Tibetan leader
Students for a Free Tibet have issued an urgent appeal for Khenpo Kartse, an ailing Buddhist abbot and human rights defender imprisoned for over six months in harsh conditions.
Inner Asia
Tibetan dissident film-maker released in China
International rights groups welcomed the release of Tibetan film-maker Dhondup Wangchen, imprisoned in China in 2008 for shooting the documentary Leaving Fear Behind.
Inner Asia
Xinjiang: officials sentence 55 in public rally
Chinese officials in Xinjiang held a public rally at a sports stadium for the mass sentencing of accused "terrorists," in which 55 were sentenced before a crowd of 7,000 people.
Inner Asia
Xinjiang: terror makes headlines —not repression
The deadly assault on a marketplace in Urumqi makes brief headlines, while the ongoing repression and humiliation of the Uighurs that fuels such attacks is little noted.
Inner Asia
US plays Mongolia card against China
Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel signed a "joint vision" statement with Mongolia calling for expanded military cooperation—clearly aimed at further encirclement of China.
Inner Asia
China’s Uighur unrest: ‘terrorism’ or provocation?
Eleven ethnic Uighurs were killed in what China's state news agency Xinhua called a "terrorist attack" in Xinjiang—and what Uighur exiles hailed as an act of "resistance."
Inner Asia
Mongolia: ecologist gets 21 years for ‘terrorism’
Mongolian ecology activist Tsetsegee Munkhbayar was sentenced to 21 years in prison for "acts of terrorism" after his arrest at a protest against uranium mining.