World

Muslim Separatists Threaten Beijing Olympic Games

by Christina 123 | July 26, 2008 at 04:52 pm

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A little known group of Muslim separatists, the Turkestan Islamic Party, have claimed responsibility for a series of explosions in Chinese Cities and pose a threat to the Olympic Games, due to start 8th August 2008, it has been claimed.

Chinese officials dismissed video statements by spokesmen claiming to represent the little-known Turkestan Islamic Party, who warned that they would attack next month's Games and said they were to blame for the previous blasts. A US terrorism-monitoring firm published a transcript of their video.

The Chinese authorities have repeatedly alleged that extremists from the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang - known as East Turkestan by separatists among the Uighur Muslim population - were targeting the Olympics. Officials have blamed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and, more recently, Hizb ut-Tahrir for plots. The AFP news agency quoted intelligence analysts Stratfor as saying the Turkestan Islamic Party was another name for ETIM.

During the last fortnight alone, Chinese officials claimed they had cracked a plot to attack a football venue in Shanghai and had broken up 12 terrorist cells in Xinjiang. In addition to stationing a 100,000-strong anti-terrorist force in Beijing, a security drive has been launched in Xinjiang.