archive: PLA muscle on parade in restive Urumqi
PLA muscle on parade in restive Urumqi
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The 'South China Morning Post'
July 15, 1999
Title: PLA muscle on parade in restive Urumqi
Author: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Publication: The 'South China Morning Post'
Date: July 15, 1999
A huge military parade has been held in Xinjiang, the biggest event of
its kind in the restive Muslim region since the 1949 revolution,
according to a state newspaper.
The Xinjiang Daily did not say how many soldiers took part in the
parade in the provincial capital of Urumqi on Friday, but said they
paraded in 20 groups of infantry and 19 groups of armoured vehicles.
The 2,000 spectators included the commander of the Xinjiang military
district, Lieutenant-General Guo Boxiong, and regional government and
Communist Party leaders.
General Guo and other officials called out to soldiers ``Serve the
people'' and other slogans, the paper said. Photographs showed General
Guo saluting troops as helicopters flew overhead.
The show of strength comes amid a crackdown on separatist activity in
the resource-rich region. A report by the human rights group Amnesty
International in April accused Beijing of executing at least 190
people in Xinjiang since January 1997.
Unemployment, discrimination and curbs on religious freedom have
fuelled antiChinese sentiment and an armed separatist movement among
Uygurs, the region's largest ethnic group.
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