China is the only major country in the world which is continuing with strict lockdown measures in its Xinjiang region populated by 10 million Uyghur Muslims purportedly to curb the spread of Covid.
The protests against Covid lockdown got strengthened in the Xinjiang region of north-west China as a fire broke out in residential building of Urumqi leading to at least 10 deaths and several injuries. The deadly fire provoked huge protests and people came out in numbers on the streets in the midnight with flowers and candles and alleged that due to the restrictions imposed by Beijing that rescue operation had got affected.
However, as per the reports of AP, the police used pepper spray to disperse the protestors. A protester who gave only his family name, Zhao, told the news agency AP that one of his friends was beaten by police and two friends were pepper sprayed. He said police stomped his feet as he tried to stop them from taking his friend away. He lost his shoes in the process, and left the protest barefoot.
The videos that were shared in social media showed people complaining about the restrictions that acted as hindrance for the residents who tried to escape the building as the fire broke out. It has been for quite a long time now that the people of this region have been protesting against the Covid policy of Beijing. The lockdown that has been going on for more than three months in the name of curbing the spread of Covid was somehow being relaxed today morning as the protest throughout the night had ben intensified. The Chinese government brought down most of the videos of protests posted in the social media.
According to the reports of AP, the protesters raised slogans like “Xi Jinping, step down, Communist Party, step down”, “Unlock Xinjiang, unlock China”, “do not want PCR (tests), want freedom” and “press freedom”.
Amidst the allegations that the restrictions affected the rescue works, the authorities of Urumqi said that there was no barricading in the building and people were allowed to leave.
Notably, instead of taking any responsibility, the city officials. Had put the blames on the residents only for their incapacity to get out of the fires. Li Wensheng, head of Urumqi's fire department said, “Some residents' ability to rescue themselves was too weak.”
The policy of Beijing to impose the lockdown on this region populated by 10 millions Uyghur Muslims have led to a situation where at least 4 million people have not come out of their homes for almost 100 days.
The demonstrations, as well as public anger online, are the latest signs of building frustration with China's intense approach to controlling COVID-19. It's the only major country in the world that still is fighting the pandemic through mass testing and lockdowns.
Given China's vast security apparatus, protests are risky anywhere in the country, but they are extraordinary in Xinjiang, which for years has been the target of a brutal security crackdown. A huge number of Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities have been swept into a vast network of camps and prisons, instilling fear that grips the region to this day.
(With Inputs from AP)