By KUNA
Tokyo : China called on the international community to unify their position and pool efforts in striking out against terrorism, days after authorities foiled a suspected terrorist in Xinjiang, a Muslim region in western China, state press reported Wednesday.
“The international community should speak in one voice and form synergy to firmly strike terrorism,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a press conference on Tuesday, according to Xinhua News Agency.
He had the remarks in response to a journalist’s question quoting human rights organizations’ comments as saying China was exaggerating terrorism threats in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
“The East Turkistan Islamic Movement was a terrorism organization listed by the United Nations,” said Qin, lashing out at some comments that connected China’s efforts of fighting terrorism in Xinjiang with the Uygur people.
“These people are trying to sow dissension among the Han nationality and the Uygur nationality, trying to incite conflict between the two nationalities, ” said Qin, adding these people only represented a handful of terrorist forces.
Xinjiang police raided hideouts of the East Turkmen Islamic Movement in January, when materials and weapons suggesting a planned attack on the upcoming Beijing Olympics were discovered. The group is seeking an independent Islamic state for the Xinjiang region’s 8 million Uygur Muslims, an ethnic minority in China.
Last Friday, a China Southern Airlines flight en route from Xinjiang’s capital city of Urumqi to Beijing made an emergency landing when passengers with suspicious liquid were caught.
There were no injuries, and Qin said the case is under further investigation as a case of attempted terrorism.