China car attack likely work of discriminated community, not terrorists

Washington – China has accused a Uighur separatist group for the Monday’s Tiananmen Square car attack, but analysts say it is likely that disgruntled, discriminated people were the ones behind the attack.

Experts said that Uighur radicals, who have been seeking independence from Beijing from many years, have stopped engaging in organized activities in the wake of successful government drives against them, CSMonitor reports.

Uighurs have been under restrictions on their religious practices and culture, and they complain that they do not enjoy the same economic opportunities as the Han settlers who have settled into Xinjiang in recent decades.

Uighurs also claim that they face discrimination in employment, housing, and treatment by the police, analysts said.

The fiery car crash in Tiananmen Square killed five and injured 40, the report added.

China’s top domestic security official, Meng Jianzhu, blamed the terrorist East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) organization for inciting the attack.

The Chinese authorities have long been blaming outbreaks of violence in Xinjiang on ETIM, claiming the group has ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Washington and the UN had named the group on their terrorist blacklists, at Beijing’s request in 2002.

However, the United States quietly removed it, amid doubts that it really existed.