C.Asia worried as Kazakhs warned against China travel

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Tue Jul 7, 2009 10:27am EDT

* Kazakhstan issues warning against China travel

* Uighur communities in C.Asia say disturbed by clashes



By Olzhas Auyezov and Olga Dzyubenko

ALMATY/BISHKEK, July 7 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan warned its people against travelling to riot-hit China on Tuesday as Central Asia watched with unease reports of escalating violence in China's western region of Xinjiang.

Kazakhstan is home to about 300,000 Uighurs, a Turkic ethnic group involved in two days of clashes with Han Chinese in Xinjiang. Cultural and linguistic links underlie a brisk cross-border trade' largely in consumer goods.

No protests have been reported in Kazakhstan's biggest city, Almaty, about 860 km (530 miles) west of the Xinjiang capital Urumqi, but the clashes touch a raw nerve because of Uighurs' traditionally uneasy ties with ethnic Kazakhs.

On Tuesday, Chinese riot police fired tear gas to disperse Han and Uighur protesters in a region which, along with Tibet, is one of the most politically sensitive areas in China.

The Kazakh foreign ministry urged its people to refrain from travelling to Xinjiang.

"An agreement has also been reached with the Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan to halt issuing tourist visas to people planning to visit this region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev told reporters.

China sees Kazakhstan as a source of energy and has invested billions in its oil sector.



KYRGYZSTAN

An Uighur representative in Almaty, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Uighurs in Kazakhstan had been deeply disturbed by the events in China.

"Some have voiced the idea of staging protests in their support," said the source, who plays an active role in Uighur affairs in Kazakhstan. "Everyone is extremely worried."

In another Central Asian country, Kyrgyzstan, Uighurs said they were closely watching the situation and many said they could not get hold of their relatives living across the border.

"People are angry, some even wanted to organise protests," said Dilmurat Akbarov, a local Uighur activist.

"Phones are not working. All information is blocked. The Chinese want to blame Uighurs for everything but ... we are not against the Chinese, we are against the communist regime." (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Additional reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; editing by Ralph Boulton)



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