Urumqi: Security forces in far-west China's strife-hit city of Urumqi used tear gas to break up fresh protests on Friday, as thousands of Han Chinese demanded better security after a reported spate of attacks with syringes.
The protesters massed in the streets in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region, for a second day to protest that authorities were too slow to punish Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people native to the energy-rich region, behind deadly riots on July 5.
The Han Chinese residents also said they were the targets of mysterious attacks with syringes.
Police vans continued patrolling streets with loudspeakers, telling people to go home and maintain order. But with schools closed and bus routes through the city interrupted by road blocks, most in the crowds had little to do but mill about and break off into brief protests.
"The main thing is nobody here feels secure any more," said Zhen Guibin, a Han Chinese onlooker at one of the angry scenes. Many people complained that those behind the killings on July 5 had not been tried.
The official Xinhua news agency reported that "tear gas has been deployed to disperse the protesters."
The government has also banned "unlicensed marches, demonstrations and mass protests," Xinhua said, as authorities step up efforts to stifle the unrest.
During Thursday's noisy protest crowds called for regional Communist Party boss Wang Lequan to resign. Some called for his execution.
Wang, who has held the region's most powerful position for the last 14 years, had made no appearances in state media on Friday, as of late afternoon.
Alarm spread in the city after government text messages a week ago warned of attacks with syringes. Some parents were afraid to send their children alone to classes when schools were open earlier in the week.
"They have no right to block off the road like this. These Uighurs have been stabbing us with needles," said a man trying to push through barriers sealing off a Uighur neighbourhood. We need to take care of the problem."
Paramilitary troops and police manoeuvred around the city to diffuse the angry crowds gathered at intersections. Many in the crowd tried to argue directly with police, calling for "more rights for Han people."
A group of young Han Chinese men unfurled a Chinese flag and tried to lead a march to People's Square, followed by several hundred people shouting "safety”. Police snatched away the flag, but the crowd continued shouting.
The July 5 protest by Uighurs gave way to a spree of violence across the city in which 197 people were killed, most of them Han Chinese. Two days later, Uighur neighbourhoods were attacked by Han Chinese demanding revenge.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, September 04, 2009, 15:36