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OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK
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DE RUEHTA #1210/01 2021027
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211027Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5834
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 1776
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1845
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1143
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0804
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1240
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2396
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2714

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ASTANA 001210 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EAP/CM, DRL 
 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI KDEM CH KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  LOCAL UIGHURS CONCERNED ABOUT UNREST IN 
CHINA'S XINJIANG PROVINCE, ORGANIZE LARGE DEMONSTRATION 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Kazakhstani media outlets, think tanks, and 
interest groups are expressing concern that Uighur-related unrest in 
China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) may negatively 
affect Kazakhstan because of Kazakhstan's own large Uighur 
population and close economic relationship with China.  Many 
Kazakhstani businessmen earn their livelihood through trade with the 
XUAR.  Kazakhstani government officials have publicly discussed 
efforts to provide consular assistance to Kazakhstani citizens in 
Xinjiang, but have largely eschewed commenting on the political 
aspects of the unrest.  Kazakhstani Uighur groups have criticized 
the Chinese government and staged a large protest in Almaty.  An 
official from the Chinese Embassy in Astana brought up Xinjiang with 
PolOffs, arguing that the Chinese government had taken steps to try 
to maintain ethnic harmony.  Kazakhstani Uighur activist Anvar 
Khadzhiyev told PolOff that Kazakhstani Uighurs should de-emphasize 
the situation in Xinjiang to avoid creating trouble in Kazakhstan, 
but he also criticized China's policies.  END SUMMARY. 
 
KAZAKHSTANI EXPERTS WORRY UNREST IN XINJIANG WILL DISRUPT TRADE 
 
¶3. (SBU) Kazakhstan-China bilateral trade reached $12 billion in 
2008, making China one of Kazakhstan's largest trading partners. 
China is also one of the largest sources of foreign investment for 
Kazakhstan, with Chinese companies investing $692 million in 2008. 
Bulat Sultanov, Director of the Kazakh Institute of Strategic 
Studies, a government-sponsored think tank, told the press on July 8 
that "massive disorders in Urumqi (i.e. the capital of XUAR) may 
have negative consequences for Kazakhstan, since the XUAR accounts 
for 70 percent of trade between Kazakhstan and China."  Sultanov 
said order should be restored in the shortest time possible in 
accordance with the law, while not depriving citizens of their 
rights to carry out peaceful demonstrations in the future. 
 
KAZAKHSTANI OFFICIALS FOCUS COMMENTS ON CONSULAR ASSISTANCE 
 
¶4. (SBU) On July 7, Kazakhstani television and print media reported 
that many Kazakhstani citizens were trapped in Xinjiang as a result 
of the unrest, and MFA spokesperson Yerzhan Ashikbayev asked 
Kazakhstani citizens to postpone any travel to that region.  On July 
8, MFA press service head Ilyas Omarov said that the Kazakhstani 
government was organizing an evacuation of Kazakhstani citizens from 
Xinjiang by bus.  Ashikbayev reported that over 1,000 Kazakhstani 
citizens -- of an estimated 5,000 who were in Xinjiang at the time 
unrest began -- had left Xinjiang over the past several days. 
Kazakhstan's Ambassador to China, Ikram Adyrbekov, thanked the 
Chinese government for their assistance in evacuating Kazakhstani 
citizens, and said he was "worried and heart-struck" about the 
unrest, but stressed that it was "purely a matter of China's 
domestic politics."  It appears that the government has refrained 
from making any other political commentary about the unrest. 
 
UNION OF UIGHUR YOUTH ORGANIZES MOURNING CEREMONY 
 
¶5. (U) In reaction to recent events in China, Kazakhstani Uighur 
groups have criticized the Chinese government and staged protests in 
Almaty.  (NOTE:  Many Kazakhstani Uighurs emigrated from Xinjiang or 
are the descendants of immigrants.  Kazakhstani Uighur activist 
Kakharman Kozhamberdiyev told the press that an estimated 
70,000-120,000 Uighurs entered the Soviet Union from China in the 
early 1960's.  END NOTE.)  The opposition news website Respublika 
reported that the Kazakhstani Uighur diaspora declared 40 days of 
mourning for the slain Uighurs in China.  According to opposition 
news website Azattyq, the Union of Uighur Youth of Kazakhstan also 
organized a government-sanctioned mourning ceremony held in the 
suburbs of Almaty on July 10.  Uighur representatives from the 
Kazakhstan Assembly of Peoples did not attend, and political leaders 
were not invited.  Following the mourning ceremony, however, the 
representative of the Union of Uighur Youth Abrashid Turdiyev 
expressed to reporters his criticism of Chinese authorities for 
their slow response to the recent inter-ethnic conflict between 
 
ASTANA 00001210  002 OF 004 
 
 
Uighurs and Hans that took place in a factory in Guangdong. 
Turdiyev said Uighurs in Urumqi rose up to demand that Chinese 
authorities conduct an objective investigation into the incident, 
and criticized the Chinese government's handling of the unrest in 
Urumqi.  Turdiyev told reporters Kazakhstani Uighurs are appealing 
to the media, the world community, the United Nations and the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to express their 
unbiased opinion of Chinese government actions.  Abdulla Usherov, a 
representative of the Almaty City Uighur Cultural Center and several 
local residents also denounced China's actions and called for an 
objective investigation into events in Urumqi. 
 
KAZAKHSTANI UIGHUR GROUPS CRITICIZE CHINA FOR SLOW RESPONSE 
 
¶6. (U) During a roundtable event held in Almaty following the 
mourning ceremony, Kakharman Kozhamberdiyev, Deputy Head of the 
World Congress of Uighurs and an activist from the Uighur 
Association of Kazakhstan, along with other leaders of the Uighur 
diaspora in Kazakhstan, reportedly condemned the actions of the 
Chinese authorities.  Kazakhstani Sinologist Murat Auezov told the 
media that China has a very large military contingent in Xinjiang 
and it could have stopped the unrest within two to three hours, "but 
there is the feeling that they were waiting for a worsening 
situation."  Auezov also said, "I'm afraid that China was waiting 
for an escalation of the tragedy in order to undertake 'adequate' 
actions."  On July 10, Kozhamberdiyev told the media that events in 
Xinjiang "were the result of the totalitarian regime in China and 
simply continue the long-lasting rights infringements against the 
Uighur people."  Kozhamberdiyev added that the WCU's ultimate goal 
is to separate Xinjiang from China and found a sovereign state, and 
asked, "how can a region, with more than nine million Uighurs and 
abundant natural resources and close ties with Central Asian 
culture, not pursue independence and establish its own country?"  He 
denied that the World Congress of Uighurs (WCU) was related to the 
violence in Xinjiang, stating, "The goal of our Congress is to 
achieve the rights of Uighurs to self-determination in a peaceful 
way.  According to one of the articles (of its charter), the WCU is 
against terrorism." 
 
KAZAKHSTANI EXPERTS CONCERNED ABOUT SEPARATISM IN XUAR 
 
¶7. (U) Kazakhstani political analyst Dosym Satpayev was quoted in 
the media on July 8 saying that Beijing's investment in Xinjiang 
over the past few years has triggered Han migration and a resulting 
ethnic imbalance, which he predicted will have two consequences for 
Kazakhstan -- an increase in separatist activities and a population 
migration from China to Central Asia.  Konstantin Syroezhkin, chief 
researcher at the government-affiliated Kazakh Institute for 
Strategic Studies, echoed Satpayev's concerns about separatism. 
Syroezhkin stated to the press that the unrest in XUAR might have 
been organized from abroad using tools such as the Internet.  He 
encouraged the Uighurs to drop their separatist aspirations, arguing 
that China's Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy stipulates that ethnic 
groups practice self-government in their regions." 
 
CHINESE EMBASSY SAYS STABILITY IN XINJIANG CRITICAL TO ECONOMY 
 
¶8. (SBU) Chinese Embassy Second Secretary Zhang Zhengkun raised the 
Xinjiang issue with PolOffs during a representational event on July 
15, saying that "Chinese officials had taken all possible steps to 
maintain ethnic harmony" since stability is a very important factor 
for China to ensure continued economic growth -- which in turn is 
necessary to prevent a wide range of problems.  Zhang also 
acknowledged Kazakhstan plays a critical role in guaranteeing the 
energy supplies necessary for China's continued economic 
development. 
 
MODERATE ACTIVIST PRAISES UIGHUR SITUATION IN KAZAKHSTAN... 
 
¶9. (SBU) On July 16, PolOff met with Anvar Khadzhiyev, a member of 
the Executive Board of Kazakhstan's Republican Uighur Cultural 
Center and a member of Kazakhstan's Assembly of Peoples -- an 
 
ASTANA 00001210  003 OF 004 
 
 
organization chaired by President Nazarbayev which represents the 
interests of Kazakhstan's minority ethnic groups.  Khadzhiyev, a 
professor of law at Eurasia University and moderate Uighur activist, 
was born in Xinjiang -- where his father died in prison after 18 
years of confinement -- and moved with his mother to Kazakhstan 
during the Soviet era.  He praised the government of Kazakhstan for 
its support in preserving Uighur culture, and argued that government 
support for a multicultural society and education in the Uighur 
language are two of the most important reasons for the positive 
situation of Uihgurs in Kazakhstan.  Khadzhiyev also pointed out 
that in Kazakhstan, there are ethnic Uighurs who hold high-level 
positions in government and law enforcement.  (NOTE:  Prime Minister 
Masimov is an ethnic Uighur.  END NOTE.) 
 
...AND CONTRASTS IT WITH THE SITUATION IN CHINA 
 
¶10. (SBU) According to Khadzhiyev, the reaction of Xinjiang Uighurs 
to Chinese policies of the last few years "is natural for people who 
have been oppressed."  The Urumqi riots are "the income of despair," 
Khadzhiyev told PolOff, remarking that "such problems will probably 
continue until issues of human rights and ethnic conflicts are 
addressed fairly."  Khadzhiyev said that, "like other empires, the 
current Chinese government is imposing its will on the Uighurs, 
trying to control them with education and propaganda."  He said that 
since 2003, the Chinese government has been transforming Uighur 
schools into Chinese schools; in recent years, only the lower grades 
of elementary school offer education in the Uighur language. 
Khadzhiyev also stated that the Chinese government is actively 
spreading the message that Uighur children should be educated in 
Chinese in order to have a good future. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Khadzhiyev claimed that Chinese policy goes beyond that of 
other "empires" in its attempt to "totally eliminate the Uighur 
ethnicity" by bringing in large numbers of Han Chinese to settle 
Xinjiang, putting Xinjiang's assets under Han Chinese control 
through the Develop the West program, allocating positions in 
Xinjiang in all economic spheres to Han Chinese, forcing Uighurs to 
leave Xinjiang to work, and unjustly imprisoning and killing Uighurs 
on charges of extremism and separatism.  Khadzhiyev said he has 
relatives in Xinjiang, but he does not dare to contact them, for 
fear that they would lose their jobs or suffer harassment from the 
authorities.  Khadzhiyev told PolOff that although the Chinese 
government labels Uighurs terrorists and separatists, it would be 
more appropriate to call the Chinese government's actions "state 
terrorism."  Khadzhiyev did not directly call for an independent 
Xinjiang, but argued that Chinese Uighurs should at least have real 
self-government.  "The Chinese say that the WCU is a terrorist 
organization," Khadzhiyev remarked with a shrewd smile, "but I do 
not think the U.S. government would allow any terrorist organization 
to operate in Washington." 
 
¶12. (SBU) Khadzhiyev continued, "As a Kazakhstani citizen and 
representative of the Uighur community, it is my personal opinion 
that Kazakhstani Uighurs should not emphasize the situation in 
Xinjiang, otherwise it will result in trouble for Kazakhstan and for 
our Uighur community here."  Khadzhiyev hinted that Chinese 
authorities may attempt to stoke ethnic divisions, saying "In 
Kazakhstan, the Kazakhs and Uighurs are very close friends.  But 
even in Kazakhstan there have been conflicts when the authorities 
had to interfere.  The unrest in Xinjiang worries Kazakhstani 
authorities and does not reflect well on the Kazakhstani Uighur 
community."  Khadzhiyev also maintained that Chinese special 
services are seeking to create provocations and entrap Uighur 
community leaders in Kazakhstan.  Although he had been invited to 
China several times, Khadzhiyev told PolOff he had declined the 
invitations "because it is too dangerous."  (NOTE:  On July 17, the 
day following his meeting with PolOff, Khadzhiyev died at a public 
swimming pool in Astana, apparently of a heart attack.  While some 
Uighur activists expressed suspicions about his sudden death, at 
this juncture, we have no information that would indicate it 
resulted from foul play.  END NOTE.) 
 
 
ASTANA 00001210  004 OF 004 
 
 
KAZAKHSTANI UIGHURS ORGANIZE LARGE PROTEST 
 
¶13. (U) According to press reports, approximately 8,000 Kazakhstani 
Uighurs attended a July 19 demonstration in Almaty in support of 
their ethnic brethren in China.  The event was approved by local 
authorities, who moved it to an indoor venue, reportedly in order to 
provide better security -- although the venue was too small by half 
to accommodate the large crowd.  At the demonstration, the head of 
Kazakhstan's Uighur Cultural Center, Akhmetzhan Shardinov, demanded 
that the Chinese government carry out an unbiased investigation into 
the events in Urumqi.  The WCU's Kozhamberdiyev spoke, saying "We 
have come out to protest today because the Chinese authorities are 
continuing to deprive people of their human rights."  Speaking in 
Uighur, Union of Uighur Youth activist Abrashid Turdiyev concluded 
his speech with the slogan "Freedom for Uighurstan," prompting the 
packed hall to rise to their feet shouting and pumping their fists. 
Other rally participants called on the Chinese government not to use 
terms such as Uighur terrorism or extremism, and singer Gulmira 
Razieva demanded that China "observe international human rights and 
rigorously follow international conventions, including the 
convention against torture and cruel treatment of demonstrators." 
Websites reported on the peaceful event, which lasted an hour and a 
half, showing photos of the large crowd with participants waving the 
flag of "East Turkestan," chanting slogans condemning the Chinese 
authorities for violence against the Uighurs, and calling on the 
United Nations to conduct an independent investigation of the 
"Urumqi tragedy." 
 
¶14. (SBU) COMMENT:  That Kazakhstani Uighurs have become so 
exercised about the unrest in Xinjiang reflects the fact that many 
are from families who immigrated from Xinjiang and many still have 
relatives there.  While the government does not want Kazakhstan's 
close relationship with China disrupted by the unrest in Xinjiang, 
the authorities have apparently decided to provide a modicum of 
political space for Kazakhstani Uighurs to vent their concerns about 
the situation.  We understand that the government warned 
participants in the Almaty demonstration not to be openly critical 
of China -- a warning which went partially unheeded.  The event was 
Almaty's largest political demonstration in a number of years -- at 
least several times larger than anything organized by opposition 
parties or civil society groups.  This indicates that under the 
right (or wrong) circumstances, ethnic identity has the potential to 
be an important factor in political mobilization, which is why the 
Kazakhstani government focuses so much attention on maintaining the 
country's inter-ethnic harmony.  END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND