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Uygur and Han Students unite against mobs

By Lei Xiaoxun (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-10 07:34

URUMQI: When Han rioters came crashing through the gates of the Xinjiang Medical University (XMU) in the region's capital, students and teachers from the same ethnic group formed a wall to protect their Uygur fellows from the mob.

Uygur students said they would shield Han schoolmates from Uygur rioters if that ethnic group attacked the campus.

In the eyes of XMU students, when rioters attacked one of them, they attacked them all, regardless of ethnicity and the students made a stand in the aftermath of street battles in Urumqi that killed at least 156 and injured more than 1,000.

The attack on XMU itself left one teacher injured.

It was a horrific time for Elyar Talat, a 21-year-old XMU medical science sophomore.

"Several hundred rioters gathered and marched by the north gate of our campus," he said on Wednesday.

Rioters were seen carrying sticks and pipes, calling for blood in the name of those who died in the clashes on July 5.

The mob broke through the gates of the campus, which housed more than 18,000 students, of which around one half were from ethnic minorities.

Related readings:  Hu: Xinjiang stability most important task  Expert: Xinjiang riot an act of terrorism  Evidence shows Rebiya Kadeer behind Xinjiang riot: Govt  Xinjiang: A history of intertwined ethnic ties  Supporters of Xinjiang separatists demonstrate in Washington

A group of teachers, who organized themselves into patrols to guard the campus after Sunday's clashes, lined up with arms interlocked in an attempt to prevent the rioters from reaching teachers and students from ethnic minorities.

Many students also organized themselves and tried to fight off the rioters with whatever they could get their hands on, including table legs, said XMU chancellor Hamulati Wufuer, who rushed to the site immediately after the violence broke out.

"The situation was so critical that each side of the confronting groups were ready to turn the campus into a battlefield," Wufuer said.

Rioters were seen beating two ethnic minority members to the ground, he said, leaving people on campus terrified.

"This is something no one would want," said Dong Lewen, a Han student majoring in English at XMU.

Many Han students armed with sticks were seen joining the protective wall formed by the teachers to help shield their ethnic minority classmates, friends and teachers.

Han students also formed a ring around ethnic minority students' dormitories to prevent rioters from breaking into the buildings, while ethnic minority faculty took shelter inside, Wufuer said.

"I tried my very best to explain the situation that all the people should refrain from confrontation," he said.

The persuasion finally appeared to pay off when both sides withdrew from the confrontation, he said.

Students and teachers cordoned off the campus and waited for riot police to arrive.

"It was very touching I started tearing up when I saw teachers and students of all ethnic backgrounds standing firm against the rioters, for each other's safety," Wufuer said.

And tension on the campus has since eased.

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