Hundreds protest government land grab in Muslim region of China

Shanghai (AsiaNews/AP) - Hundreds of people in Muslim Northwestern China protested outside government offices over plans to evict them from their farmlands to build a dam, without adequate compensation.  On Friday, May 11th, police arrested at least 16 protesters in the Xinjiang region's Yili county, outside the offices of a reservoir and hydropower station planned for the local Tekas River.

Authorities plan to remove about 18,000 farmers, forestry workers and herders to make way for the reservoir, but protesters said they've been paid only 880 yuan (about 100 US dollars) out of the 38,000 yuan (4,600 US dollars) promised to them.

An officer at Tekas County police headquarters confirmed Friday's protest: "The protest was big. People don't want to move because they aren't satisfied with the amount of compensation for resettlement. Many of the people are herders and it would be very difficult for them to find new grazing lands, more difficult than just moving to a new house."

In the last months, protests have sparked violent confrontations across China, where residents are accusing authorities of forced, often violent evictions and land seizures by police in collusion with construction companies, which are themselves often in collusion with corrupt government officials. 

Any such protests would be especially sensitive in Xinjiang, where China harshly suppresses all attempts by the Uighur population to demand greater political rights. China claims it is fighting a low-level insurgency waged by Uighur groups who want independence for the region.  (ThR)

• CHINA
• protests
• land
• grab
• muslims
• indipendence