By Bernama,
Beijing : China Tuesday denied that it had demolished a mosque in the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang region following its management’s refusal to put up signs in support of Olympics.
“The report is seriously not in line with the facts,” PTI quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying in a regular bi-weekly media briefing here. Only the illegal constructions on the agricultural land were removed, he said.
The spokesman was commenting on reports quoting the exiled group, World Uyghur Congress, which alleged that a mosque at Kalpin county in Xinjiang’s southwest had been pulled down after it refused to put up signs supporting Olympics. The Congress claimed that China was forcing mosques in East Turkistan to publicise Beijing Olympics to secure the support of Uyghur people but they were resisting it.
China has accused militants in the oil-rich Xinjiang region of working with terror groups for an independent state called East Turkistan.
Qin said some peasants and herdsmen had put up two structures for religious purposes on land meant for agriculture use which violated the country’s law of management of land. Under the regulations, anyone using the land meant for agriculture for construction should on their own remove the structure and other facilities. “We shall protect the land meant for agricultural use,” he said.
He said the Department for Management of land resources had explained the law and regulations to peasants and herdsmen who had later themselves removed the illegal construction during the period between late May and the beginning of June.
“Those constructions are illegal, not the so called mosque,” Qin said, adding, the local government had not detained anyone nor had it seized any article from the peasants.