Initial figures announced by the Chinese Government on Monday suggest that more than 150 people were killed and over 800 were injured during the violence that engulfed Urumqi.
The exact circumstances that led to so many people being killed and injured are still unclear. Longstanding tensions between the Uighur and Han Chinese ethnic groups seem to have played a major role, with reports indicating that the immediate cause of Sunday’s demonstration was an outbreak of violence between the two groups in a toy factory in Guangdong Province in late June.
“This is an extraordinarily high number of people to be killed and injured in less than a day of rioting,” Pillay said. “I urge Uighur and Han civic leaders, and the Chinese authorities at all levels, to exercise great restraint so as not to spark further violence and loss of life.”
The High Commissioner noted that the right of demonstrators to exercise freedom of expression in a peaceful manner must be maintained. “I fully recognize that the authorities have an essential duty to maintain public order,” she said. "However, it is vital that the authorities only resort to lethal force when it is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”
“Those who have been arrested should be treated properly,” she said, “and they should be accorded due process that is fully in line with China’s own laws and international human rights standards and norms.”
Such standards cover matters such as reasons for arrest, humane treatment of those arrested or detained, and methods of interrogation, as well as the conduct of fair trials, and the handing down of proportionate sentences to those found guilty of committing crimes.
The High Commissioner called for a transparent independent investigation into the causes of the rioting and the reasons why it escalated to the point of causing injuries or loss of life to around 1,000 people, as well as identifying the victims and establishing precisely what happened to them. “Such a process is essential to create trust,” Pillay said. “Otherwise there is a risk of a prolonged vicious circle of resentment, unrest and violent reaction and counter-reaction.”
“I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the injured and the families of all those who were killed on Sunday,” she said. “This is a major tragedy.”.
