Published by: THE WORLD UYGHUR NETWORK NEWS May 7, 1997

Moscow Voice of Russia World Service

Station Observer (Mitrovanov's) commentary; from the "Good Evening,

China" program

Chinese President Jiang Zemin's Moscow visit and the documents signed

during the visit, including the accord on the reduction of forces along

border areas, have received ample coverage in the media. But one thing

was not adequately reported. Station observer [Mitrovanov] notes: We

are referring to the promise made by Kazakh and Kyrgyz leaders that

their countries would not be involved in the separatist activities in

the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Qian Qichen had pointed out that the

views of [Kazakh President] Nazarbayev and [Kyrgyz President] Akayev,

and President Jiang Zemin were identical, namely: The aforementioned

countries would not provide the footholds for those forces which

attempt to divide China on grounds of ethnic and regional

characteristics. The three leaders' consensus of view may [words

indistinct] sober up foreign observers who have been stubbornly

searching for traces of Xinjiang's incidents in Central Asia.

It is true that, because of historical reasons, hundreds of thousands

of ethnic Uygurs are residing in Central Asian countries. However, the

overwhelming majority of them are law-abiding citizens who (?have no

intention to see) Xinjiang be seceded from China and become an

independent Xinjiang state. On the other hand, there are also other

ethnic minorities living in China, including ethnic Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and

Mongolian. Of course, the discontent of (?certain) people in Xinjiang

has its objective cause. We think that it is primarily because of the

great differences between the economic development and [words

indistinct] people's living standards between the eastern and western

parts of China.

However, the Chinese Government's recent moves shows that they are

taking measures to change this situation, but this takes time. In the

meantime, it is regrettable to note that certain forces are still

instigating some people in Xinjiang to do what is against the law,

including terrorist activities. The means which the terrorists

employed was nothing more than blasting buses and railway stations

[words indistinct] likely in the Middle East rather than in the former

USSR republics.