Growing Concern in China Over Role of Militant Group ETIM; Pakistan's Waqt TV:
Lord Nazir Ahmed Will Reward $100,000 for Assassination of George W. Bush;
In His New Show on Russian TV, Wikileaks Founder Assange Interviews Hassan Nasrallah
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Inquiry & Analysis No. 824
Growing Concern in China Over Role of Militant Group East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Xinjiang and Its Hideouts In Pakistan
By Tufail Ahmad*
 Map courtesy: thechinabeat.blogpost.com
In an April 5, 2012 statement, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security published details of six terror suspects who had spent time in a "neighboring country" – a reference to close ally Pakistan – and describing them as "core members" of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM). It also urged foreign governments to arrest and hand over the six ETIM members to Chinese authorities.
East Turkistan, also known as Xinjiang, was relatively autonomous until the early 1950s when Mao's victorious rebel armies captured it and other Chinese border regions. Resistance by the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uyghurs to gain independence from China has lacked political support from neighboring nations due to their own "fractured tribal nature."
Founded in 1997, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is an Islamic militant group seeking East Turkistan's independence from China. In recent decades, its members have operated out of their bases in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region, often arriving there via Southeast Asian countries. In April 2012, a ministry spokesman called the group "the most direct and real safety threat that China faces."
In recent years, Pakistani and Chinese officials have worked in close cooperation to capture ETIM militants from Pakistani tribal areas. In June 2009, Pakistan extradited 10 militants of ETIM to China, with a Pakistani official confirming that they were captured after they attacked Pakistani security forces. In 2010, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: "We treat ETIM not only as an enemy of China but also as an enemy of Pakistan…"
However, Chinese concern about the ETIM militants based in Pakistan has persisted. In March 2012, Xinjiang governor Nur Bekri warned that China is facing a network of militants entrenched in neighboring countries. Asked about the ETIM's Pakistan connection, Bekri said: "We have certainly discovered that East Turkistan [Islamic Movement] activists and terrorists in our neighboring states have a thousand and one links… But officials, especially in Pakistan, have said over and over again that they oppose any violent activities directed against China."
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6286.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 4664
Pakistan's Waqt TV: 'Lord Nazir Ahmed Has Announced That He Will Reward Anyone Who Assassinates George W. Bush With $100,000' – And Other Pakistani and Urdu Media Reports Clip from Waqt TV – The news ticker in Urdu reads: "Lord Nazir sets price for the heads of Bush and Tony Blair"
Below are excerpts of reports from the Pakistani and Urdu media on Lord Nazir Ahmed's controversial statements, in which he reportedly announced a bounty for the heads of Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Tony Blair, that led to his temporary suspension from the UK's Labour Party. The controversy involves two speeches and a press statement that he delivered in the town of Haripur on April 13, 2012 and a few days earlier in Lahore on April 10, 2012.
While international media organizations based their reports on a single source, The Express Tribune daily of Pakistan, which carried a report on Ahmed's announcement of £10 million rewards for U.S. President Barack Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush in Haripur, the Western media has not reported that Ahmed allegedly made a similar statement while addressing students at Punjab University in Lahore on April 10, 2012. This incident was widely reported next day, April 11, in the Pakistani media and by at least one London-based Urdu daily. In fact, two days after Lord Nazir Ahmed first announced a bounty for Bush in Lahore, his announcement became a topic for the political comedy show Hasb-e-Haal, broadcast by the Pakistani television channel Dunya TV.
Ahmed's statement followed the U.S.'s announcement of a $10 million reward for Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of the Pakistani jihadist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba and Emir of its charity arm Jamaatud Dawa. Both organizations are banned by the UN Security Council for their role in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Following the controversy, Ahmed denied that he offered any bounty for Obama, Bush and Blair, telling CNN: "I am appalled that The Tribune Express [sic; The Express Tribune] has told such a big lie. I did not mention President Obama and I did not mention any bounty." He told GEO TV: "I didn't mention bounty at all. It's a fabrication by the BBC and other sections of the media. My positing on the shedding of blood, whether of Muslims or non-Muslims, is well known and I have always maintained it." About his suspension, he said: "The Labour Party, with the false news stories from BBC and Sky [TV] as a basis, has suspended me temporarily... I neither uttered the name of Barack Obama in any of my speeches nor set money for anyone's head…. "
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6288.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 4663
In First Episode of His Show On Russian TV, WikiLeaks Founder Assange Interviews Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah
Following are excerpts from an interview by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange held with Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. The interview aired on Russia Today TV on April 17, 2012.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3401.htm.
Julian Assange: "What is your vision for the future of Israel and Palestine?" […]
Hassan Nasrallah: "We do not want to kill anyone or act unjustly towards anyone. We want people's rights to be restored. The only solution is to establish a single democratic state on the land of the Palestine, in which Muslims, Jews, and Christians will live in peace. Any other solution is totally non-viable."
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/6287.htm.
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