By By Christine Iskandar (6/6/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Having a ‘Wahhabi’ member of the family is not something Uzbeks speak openly about. In fact I only found out because the son in question called home. It was the first time the family had heard from him for over a year, and at last they knew that he was still alive.

By Alima Bissenova, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and an editorial ass (6/6/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Akmalikramovskyi district court of the city of Tashkent convicted 23 people to imprisonment varying from 8 to 18 years for alleged violations of the articles 159 (attempt to overthrow the constitutional government of Uzbekistan), 216 (participating in banned public associations or religious organizations), and 244 (possessing and distributing materials threatening national security) of the Uzbekistan Criminal Code. The Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan that monitored the trial maintains that the allegations are based not on evidence of participation in anti-state or terrorist activity but on the religious practice and beliefs of the accused. At the trial, most of the accused retracted their earlier testimonies given during interrogation, saying that they were forced to confess under torture and threats to their families.

By Ruth Ingram (6/6/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Kashgar railway station is a potent symbol of Chinese subjugation in an already beleaguered Xinjiang. The glistening, marble-clad monolith at the end of a sumptuous two-lane highway in the outskirts of the city, is another sign for the so-called ‘minority’ race that the end is near for their predominance in this remote homeland. Completed only last year, the rail link between the capital Urumqi and this strategic southern Uyghur city, is another nail in the coffin of their hopes for independence and signifies the determined Chinese commitment to swamping southern Xinjiang with the Han majority population.