Reader’s links for March 12th 2017

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Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

33 Replies to “Reader’s links for March 12th 2017”

  1. Turkish referendum campaign in Europe fires up tensions

    Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey’s family minister flew home to Istanbul on Sunday after Dutch authorities expelled her for seeking to woo the vote of expatriate Turks for a key referendum at home.

    A crowd waving Turkish flags greeted Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya at the airport, where she said she and her entourage were subjected to “rude and tough treatment”.

    Her expulsion came after Dutch authorities barred Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from entering the Netherlands, where he, too, had planned to campaign for the April referendum that would boost the powers of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    The move fuelled a fierce row that spilled over into violence in the port of Rotterdam where Cavusoglu was to speak.

    After several hours of calm demonstrations, police moved in early Sunday to disperse over 1,000 people gathered near the Turkish consulate, charging the crowd on horseback and using dogs to regain control.

    Protesters hit back, throwing rocks at riot police, while hundreds of cars jammed the streets blaring their horns and revving their engines.

    The Netherlands, which holds general elections on Wednesday, had repeatedly said Cavusoglu was not welcome to campaign for the referendum in the country and refused his plane permission to land.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/protests-rotterdam-over-turkish-rally-ban-223104423.html

  2. Erdogan compares Dutch rally ban to Nazism as row spirals

    Rotterdam (Netherlands) (AFP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said a Dutch ban on his foreign minister’s visit was like Nazism, as tensions rocketed over rallies abroad to help Ankara gain backing for a key vote.

    His comments came after the Netherlands said it would refuse Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu permission to land for a rally to gather support for a referendum on boosting Erdogan’s powers.

    The Dutch decision to ban Cavusoglu from visiting and holding a rally in the port city of Rotterdam came after Germany and other European nations also blocked similar campaign events.

    Unlike in Germany, where a string of planned rallies were barred by local authorities, in the Netherlands it was the government that stepped in to block Cavusoglu’s visit.

    “They are the vestiges of the Nazis, they are fascists,” Erdogan told an Istanbul rally Saturday, days after he angrily compared moves to block rallies in Germany to “Nazi practices”.

    “Ban our foreign minister from flying however much you like, but from now on let’s see how your flights will land in Turkey,” Erdogan said.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-foreign-minister-insists-netherlands-visit-081831328.html

  3. Dutch police expel Turkish minister as ‘Nazi remnants’ row escalates

    Turkish authorities have sealed off the Dutch embassy and consulate, sources at Turkey’s foreign ministry have said, in the latest incident in a tit-for-tat row between the two countries over Turkish campaigning in Europe.

    Turkey also closed off the residences of the Dutch ambassador, charge d’affaires and consul general as tensions between the Nato partners escalated after the Dutch government barred Turkey’s foreign minister from flying to Rotterdam.

    In the Netherlands, the Turkish family affairs minister was detained by the authorities to prevent her addressing a Rotterdam rally in support of the Turkish president and escorted to the German border. Police later used horseback charges to break up a pro-Turkey crowd that had gathered at the country’s consulate in the city.

    Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya said through her Twitter account early on Sunday that she was being taken to the town of Nijmegen, near the border with Germany, adding that she condemned the Dutch authorities’ action in “the name of all of our citizens”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/11/erdogan-brands-dutch-nazi-remnants-for-barring-turkish-mp

  4. Netherlands bars Turkish ministers as rally dispute escalates

    Turkey told the Netherlands on Sunday that it would retaliate in the “harshest ways” after Turkish ministers were barred from speaking in Rotterdam in a row over Ankara’s political campaigning among Turkish emigres.

    President Tayyip Erdogan had branded its fellow NATO member a “Nazi remnant” and the dispute escalated into a diplomatic incident on Saturday evening, when Turkey’s family minister was prevented by police from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam.

    Hundreds of protesters waving Turkish flags gathered outside, demanding to see the minister.

    Dutch police used dogs and water cannon early on Sunday to disperse the crowd, which threw bottles and stones. Several demonstrators were beaten by police with batons, a Reuters witness said. They carried out charges on horseback, while officers advanced on foot with shields and armored vans.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-europe-netherlands-idUSKBN16I07O?il=0

  5. Chinese Communist Party officials harden rhetoric on Islam

    BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party is hardening its rhetoric about Islam, with top officials making repeated warnings this past week about the specter of global religious extremism seeping into the country.

    Shaerheti Ahan, a top political and legal affairs party official in Xinjiang, became the latest official from a predominantly Muslim region to warn political leaders gathered in Beijing about China becoming destabilized by the “international anti-terror situation.”

    Over the past year, President Xi Jinping has directed the party to “Sinicize” the country’s ethnic and religious minorities, while regional leaders in Xinjiang, home to the Uighur (WEE-gur) ethnic minority, have ramped up policing amid an uptick in violence.

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_POLITICS_ISLAM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-03-12-06-48-20

  6. As North Korea’s arsenal grows, experts see heightened risk of ‘miscalculation’

    On the day of North Korea’s first atomic test in 2006, aides to President George W. Bush began phoning foreign capitals to reassure allies startled by Pyongyang’s surprising feat. The test, aides said, had been mostly a failure: a botched, 1-kiloton cry for attention from a regime that had no warheads or reliable delivery systems and would never be allowed to obtain them.

    “The current course that they are on is unacceptable,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said publicly at the time, “and the international community is going to act.”

    A decade later, that confidence has all but evaporated. After a week in which Pyongyang successfully lobbed four intermediate-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, U.S. officials are no longer seeing North Korea’s weapons tests as amateurish, attention-grabbing provocations. Instead, they are viewed as evidence of a rapidly growing threat — and one that increasingly defies solution.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/as-north-koreas-arsenal-grows-experts-see-heightened-risk-of-miscalculation/2017/03/11/0a0b5cd2-05be-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html?utm_term=.a096ebd22f60

    • For a WaPo article it is fairly accurate, the danger is probably greater then they said and it is growing daily. They also tried making Obama look good but he is the person that ordered the US to stop researching and developing more effective missile defense weapons. Hopefully this is one of the Obama Executive Orders that has been reversed.

      • WaPo = CIA
        There’s always some verifiable info that’s spun with disinfo.
        Worth a look, as long as you know what they are.

  7. A Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Britain: February 2017

    by Soeren Kern
    March 12, 2017 at 5:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10042/britain-islam-february

    February 1. Jim Walker, a 71-year-old volunteer at Carnforth Station, was banned from the premises after someone complained about an alleged racist comment. Walker, who, for more than a decade, has been winding a famous clock at the station, was overheard discussing a newspaper article about young migrants entering Britain from the French port of Calais. Walker said:

    “Carnforth Station Trust received a complaint from a visitor who was not happy about me speaking to somebody about the issue…. What they are doing is outrageous. It is absolutely unbelievable, it is a violation of free speech….

    “I must be the only man in Carnforth who has a document saying where he can and can’t walk and all for expressing a point of view and quoting an editorial from a newspaper. Now [winding the clock] is no longer possible.”

    February 1. Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons that women should feel free to wear the hijab, a traditional Islamic headscarf. Several European countries have imposed bans on parts of Muslim religious dress. “What a woman wears is a woman’s choice,” May said after she was asked — on world hijab day — if she supported the right of women to wear the garment.

  8. Death and Destruction for Christmas
    Muslim Persecution of Christians, December 2016

    by Raymond Ibrahim
    March 12, 2017 at 4:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10029/christmas-death

    As in previous years, the month of Christmas saw an uptick in Islamic attacks on Christians — much of it in the context of targeting Christmas festivities and worship.

    The one that claimed the most lives took place in Egypt. On Sunday, December 11, 2016, an Islamic suicide bomber entered the St. Peter Cathedral in Cairo during mass, detonated himself, killed at least 27 worshippers, mostly women and children, and wounded nearly 70. A witness said:

    “I found bodies, many of them women, lying on the pews. It was a horrible scene. I saw a headless woman being carried away. Everyone was in a state of shock. We were scooping up people’s flesh off the floor. There were children. What have they done to deserve this? I wish I had died with them instead of seeing these scenes.”

    The death toll and severity of the attack (pictures and videos of the aftermath here) surpassed even the New Year’s Day bombing of an Alexandrian church in which 23 people were killed in 2011. A few weeks before the St. Peter’s bombing, a man hurled an improvised bomb at St. George Church, packed with thousands of worshippers, in Samalout. Had the bomb detonated, casualties would likely have been higher. In a separate December incident, Islamic slogans and messages of hate — including “you will die Christians” — were painted on the floor of the Virgin Mary church in Damietta.

    In Germany, Anis Amri, a Muslim asylum seeker from Tunisia, seized a large truck, murdered its driver, and pushed him onto the passenger seat, then drove the truck into a Christmas market in Berlin. Twelve shoppers were killed and 65 were injured, some severely. Four days later, Amri was killed in a shootout with police near Milan. ISIS claimed responsibility despite original reports claiming the man had no ties to Islamic terror groups.

  9. Saudi says security forces kill youth in Shi’ite Muslim town (reuters, Mar 12, 2017)
    http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN16J0OG

    “A wanted person has been fatally wounded during an operation by Saudi security forces in eastern Saudi Arabia, the interior ministry said on Sunday, in the second incident of its kind since Friday.

    Residents said that a 16-year-old youth died in the raid on Saturday morning targeting wanted people in Awamiya, a restive town in the Qatif district, where many of the country’s Shi’ite Muslim minority live.

    The interior ministry said security forces came under fire while pursuing wanted men who had been hiding in houses vacated by inhabitants to pave the way for a development project intended to revamp the area…”

  10. UK sending Syrians back to countries where they were beaten and abused (theguardian, Mar 12, 2017)
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/12/the-refugees-uk-wants-to-send-back-to-countries-where-they-were-abused

    “Britain is using EU rules to send asylum seekers from Syria and other countries back to eastern European states where they were beaten, incarcerated and abused, the Guardian has learned.

    Migrant rights groups and lawyers say the Home Office is using the rules to send people back to “police brutality, detention and beatings” in several European countries…”

  11. Crooked illegal migrant who preyed on British public for 17 YEARS awarded £40,000 by judge /express, Mar 12, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/778085/Illegal-immigrant-thief-Iran-crime-40K-judge-locked-up-too-long

    “THOUSANDS of pounds of taxpayers money has been handed to a prolific criminal who has lived illegally in Britain for 17 years after a judge ruled the Iranian was locked up for “too long”.

    Hassan Massoum Ravandy was award the whopping £40,000 payout after Judge Heather Baucher ruled he had been unlawfully detained for 17 months.

    But critics have called the bizarre ruling “crazy”, adding the thief “did not deserve it”.

    The 46-year-old reportedly arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry in 2000, claiming he feared persecution in Iran…”

  12. UK Imams could be FORCED to preach their sermons in English to stamp out radicalisation (express, Mar 12, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/778138/Muslim-Imams-forced-to-preach-sermons-in-English-get-rid-of-radicalisation-in-mosques-UK

    “IMAMS in the UK could be urged to deliver their sermons in English in a bid to stamp out radicalisation.

    The plans, by the counter extremism task force, are being floated amid concerns that religious leaders who preach in a foreign language deepen divisions between Islam and British society.

    But it is yet to be seen whether mosques up and down the country will adopt the idea or how it will be enforced if it comes into effect.

    The proposals comes as some Middle Eastern countries encourage Muslims to publish sermons online in English.

    A Government spokesperson told The Telegraph that if Imams speak in another language, aside from English, it is difficult for outsiders to know if radicalisation is taking place.

    At present, Imams who visit England from the European Union must prove that they can speak English fluently before they can enter the country.

    However, among the UK’s Muslim population, there are no country-wide rules, or licences necessary for religious leaders.

    And that is likely to remain unchanged.

    Prime Minister Theresa May has thrown her support behind initiatives that tackle radicalisation…”

  13. Iran Compares Its Bavar-373 to Russian-Made S-300 ‘Sending a Signal to US (sputniknews, Mar 12, 2017)
    https://sputniknews.com/military/201703121051505564-iran-bavar-s300-signal/

    “Tehran has said that it is testing the Bavar-373, a new indigenous missile defense complex that is ostensibly as capable as the Russian-made S-300, to send a signal to the United States and Israel, as well as improve morale of its armed forces and the people, political analyst Alexander Perendzhiev told RIA Novosti…”

  14. ‘Berlin is Not Baghdad’: Merkel’s Policy Contradicts With Democracy (sputniknews, Mar 12, 2017)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201703121051508557-berlin-not-baghdad/

    “On Thursday, Germany’s populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party presented its pre-election program in Berlin. The main political agenda of the party remains the same: a sharp restriction of immigration and a more resolute expulsion of illegal migrants.

    The draft of the pre-election program during a joint press conference in Berlin was presented by three party representatives: Albrecht Glaser, Frauke Petri and Jörg Moyten.

    One of the main points of the party’s political agenda was the immigration issue. “Berlin is not Baghdad” — Glaser said in his statement, stressing that decisions on the immigration issue should be made not only by the country’s authorities, but also by the local population…”

  15. Erdogan Says ‘West Arms All Terrorists’ in Mideast as Rally Ban Row Escalates (sputniknews, Mar 12, 2017)
    https://sputniknews.com/politics/201703121051506465-erdogan-west-arms-terrorists/

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Western countries on Sunday of delivering arms to terrorists in the Middle East, with his accusations following recent bans on Turkish ministers by the Netherlands and Germany.

    On Saturday, the Dutch authorities barred the Turkish foreign minister from landing, ahead of his planned Turkish expat rally at the embassy prior to the referendum on the constitutional changes. On the same day, the Turkish family and social affairs minister was denied entry to the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam and then deported to Germany. Both the Dutch and German authorities have called off the family minister’s campaign meetings.
    “The West arms all terrorists in the Middle East. Although the West still denies this fact, Ankara has documentary evidence of arms deliveries. There also are photos on which terrorists are wearing uniforms of these countries,” Erdogan said, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.

    The incident with the ministers prompted Turkish protests near the Rotterdam consulate. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim threatened “harsh” retaliation measures, while Erdogan had promised to retaliate for the incident with the foreign minister.

    Ankara has been seeking support from Turkish expats for a constitutional change that would increase the president’s powers. The Turkish referendum on the constitutional amendment is scheduled for April 16.”

    • Der Spiegel – Mann greift Passanten mit Messer an

      Ein 29-Jähriger hat im rheinland-pfälzischen Frankenthal vier Menschen mit einem Messer angegriffen. Der Mann wurde inzwischen festgenommen. Die Opfer sind nur leicht verletzt.

      Ein Mann hat am Sonntagabend vier Menschen im rheinland-pfälzischen Frankenthal mit einem Messer attackiert. Der Täter sei am Sonntagabend in der Innenstadt überwältigt und festgenommen worden, teilte die Polizei auf Twitter mit.

      Er habe vier Menschen verletzt, es sei aber niemand getötet worden. Über das Motiv des Täters wie auch zu seiner Person machten die Ermittler zunächst keine Angaben.

      In einer Mitteilung des Polizeipräsidiums Rheinpfalz heißt es, der 29-Jährige sei am Abend Gast in einer Bar bei der Willi-Brand-Anlage gewesen. Diese Bar wollte er offenbar verlassen, ohne seine Getränke zu bezahlen. Der Wirt sei ihm nachgelaufen und soll den mutmaßlichen Täter vor der Bar angesprochen haben. Hier zückte der Mann offenbar ein Messer und rannte in Richtung Innenstadt davon, wo er die vier Menschen mit dem Messer verletzt haben soll. Die Ermittlungen dauern an.

      http://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/117696/3582957

      POL-PPRP: 29-Jähriger verletzt mehrere Passanten mit Messer
      12.03.2017 – 20:34

      Frankenthal (ots) – Heute Abend, 12.03.2017, gegen 19 Uhr, verletzte ein 29-Jähriger aus Frankenthal mehrere Passanten in der Frankenthaler Innenstadt mit einem Messer. Der 29-Jährige Ägypter war am Abend Gast in einer Bar bei der Willi-Brand-Anlage. Diese Bar wollte er verlassen, ohne seine Getränke zu bezahlen. Der Wirt lief ihm nach und sprach ihn vor der Bar an. Hier zückte der Mann ein Messer und rannte in Richtung Innenstadt weg. In der Innenstadt wurden nach bisherigen Erkenntnissen vier Personen von dem Flüchtigen angegriffen und mit dem Messer verletzt. Diese Verletzungen sind nicht schwerwiegend.

      Der 29-Jährige wurde von der Polizei festgenommen.

      http://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/117696/3582957

  16. Pakistanis among 16 ISIS militants killed in East of Afghanistan (khaama, Mar 12, 2017)
    http://www.khaama.com/pakistanis-among-16-isis-militants-killed-in-east-of-afghanistan-02376

    “At least sixteen militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed in a series of airstrikes conducted by the US forces in Afghanistan.

    The provincial police commandment in a statement said the airstrikes started early on Saturday and continued until late night, leaving sixteen militants dead, including seven Pakistani nationals…”

  17. 31 Taliban militants killed in Afghan and foreign forces airstrikes in Helmand (khaama, Mar 12, 2017)
    http://www.khaama.com/31-taliban-militants-killed-in-afghan-and-foreign-forces-airstrikes-in-helmand-02374

    “At least thirty one insurgents were killed in a series of airstrikes conducted by the Afghan and foreign forces in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.

    The provincial government media office in a statement said the airstrikes were carried out in the provincial capital city of Lashkargah, Nad-e-Ali, and Garamser districts.

    The statement further added that 11 of the militants were killed after they were targeted by the Afghan forces in Bolan Mandawi area of Lashkargah and at least three others were wounded.
    At least eight Taliban insurgents were killed and six others were wounded during a separate operation in Nad-e-Ali district.

    According to the provincial government, several areas were cleared during the operations in Nad-e-Ali and dozens of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) were destroyed.

    The statement also added that twelve insurgents including a local leader of the group identified as Mullah Ewaz were killed in an airstrike conducted by the foreign forces in Hussainabad area of Garamser district.

    A vehicle belonging to the militants was also totally destroyed after it was hit by the airstrike, the statement said.”

  18. Saudi inmate writes all Qur’an chapters by hand in 4 months (saudigazette, Mar 13, 2017)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/saudi-inmate-writes-quran-chapters-hand-4-months/

    “An inmate in Dhahban prison in Jeddah has written the entire 30 chapters of the Holy Qur’an by hand in just four months.

    He has also enumerated and punctuated all the verses.

    A Saudi philanthropist visited the prison and asked the prisoners to participate in the competition he named “By my hand I wrote the Qur’an”.

    He gave the participants three years to complete the work and promised to give them feasible prizes. “By organizing the handwriting contest, I wanted to help the inmates memorize the entire Qur’an by heart,” said the philanthropist, who was not identified.
    A Saudi inmate was able to finish the job in just four months and came first in the competition.

    He said it took him three months to write the chapters of the Holy Qur’an and another month for the numbering and punctuation of the verses.

    “I had already memorized 20 chapters of the holy book by heart and was able to memorize the remaining 10 chapters when I finished handwriting the Qur’an,” he said.

    He said the contest was not limited to Dhahban prison only but also covered many other prisons in the Kingdom and some other Gulf countries. “At first I was hesitant. I never believed I could write the whole book by hand but when I started the job, it became easy day after day,” he said.

    He said his handwritten copy of the Holy Qura’n has been sent to the authorities concerned for final checking.”

  19. zero hedge – Czech President Mocks Media, Declares Himself An “Agent Of Putin, Trump, China And Israel”

    Taking the recent escalation in global conspiracy theories, according to which such and such president is a Manchurian Candidate of this or that foreign power, to their next comedic level, on Friday the Czech Republic’s conservative Euroskeptic president, Milos Zeman, declared that he is an agent of not only Putin, but also various other leaders and nations, during a press conference where he announced his intention to run for a second term. Speaking in Prague, Zeman launched his 2018 re-election campaign, and during the televized event vowed not to change his controversial conservative platform, which includes prioritizing Czech interests over pan-European ones.

    Zeman has often been at odds with the government of Social Democrat Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, which has been a supporter of Brussels on issues like anti-Russian sanctions and immigration. Though largely a figurehead like in many other European states, with limited executive authority in the Czech Republic, Zeman, who won the office in 2013, remains one of the country’s most popular figures, especially in the villages. Among other policies frowned upon by Brussels, he has advocated nurturing closer ties with Russia and China, supporting Israel, and limiting the inflow of asylum seekers from Muslim nations.

    When asked by a Russian TV channel whether he was concerned about being branded a Russian agent, Zeman – who like Trump has been accused of having a pro-Russian bias by the local press – satirized the Czech media for criticizing his position on Moscow.

    “I am an agent of Russia, and particularly of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin” he declared, speaking in Russian. “I should add that I am also an agent of the Chinese President. Lately also of the new American President. I am an agent of Israel, which I have been supporting all this time.”

    On a more serious note, he then clarified by saying that, in reality he is the agent of only one country, the Czech Republic

    Zeman said media criticism was among the factors that had prompted him to seek re-election. “Each of their attacks encouraged me more to run. Thank you, Czech media,” he explained.

    As RT adds, the only other contender for the presidency is businessman and writer Michal Horacek, who has launched a campaign with the slogan “We can do better.”

    Zeman will name the country’s next prime minister before he leaves office. Sobotka’s Social Democrats are running an uphill battle against their ruling coalition rivals, the ANO movement of billionaire Finance Minister Andrej Babis. In taking a page out of the Trump playbook, Babis’ campaign is based on rooting out corruption and running the country like his business, an idea that resonates favorably with many voters.

    Sobotka, who won the party’s leadership on Friday, argues that Babis dislikes democracy and has conflicts of interests. Zeman may favor Babis over Sobodka to form a new coalition government, if neither party wins a majority of parliamentary seats in October.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-12/czech-president-mocks-media-declares-himself-agent-putin-trump-china-and-israel

    video – in Russian from 27:18

  20. reuters – China’s Xi calls for ‘great wall of iron’ to safeguard restive Xinjiang

    Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called for a “great wall of iron” to safeguard the restive western region of Xinjiang after a top official said Islamist separatists pose the “most prominent” challenge to the country’s stability.

    Xi make the comments at a meeting of Xinjiang’s lawmakers on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, marking his first ever visit to the regional delegation since taking office.

    Beijing has long said it faces a determined campaign by a group known as the East Turkestan Independence Movement, or ETIM, in Xinjiang, where hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in attacks and unrest between mostly Muslim ethnic Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese.

    “(ETIM) is the most prominent challenge to China’s social stability, economic development and national security,” Cheng Guoping, State Commissioner for counterterrorism and security, was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper.

    The comments come about a week after a video purportedly by the Islamic State group surfaced showing Uighurs training in Iraq, vowing to plant their flag in China and saying that blood will “flow in rivers”.

    “Just as one loves one’s own eyes, one must love ethnic unity; just as one takes one’s own livelihood seriously, one must take ethnic unity seriously,” Xi told the delegation, according to the state broadcaster.

    The daily evening news showed Xi meeting delegates in traditional Uighur dress, with one individual presenting him with a photo of a Uighur family whose relative once met Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China.

    “I’m too excited. In 1958 old Kuerban met Chairman Mao in Beijing and now I’m meeting Chairman Xi,” he said in heavily accented Mandarin.

    China is worried that Uighurs have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for militant groups there, having travelled illegally via Southeast Asia and Turkey.

    Rights groups say the unrest in Xinjiang is more a reaction to repressive government policies, and experts have questioned whether ETIM exists as a cohesive militant group. China denies there is any repression in Xinjiang.

    Cheng told the China Daily that China should “closely check in on whether Afghanistan is becoming another paradise for extremist and terrorist groups. Such a major development may pose a serious challenge to the security of our northwestern border”.

    The Global Times, an influential state-run tabloid, said Xinjiang authorities would issue a new anti-extremism regulation this year, possibly later this month, that would “prevent the spread of extremist ideas”.

    It said the regulation would supplement an existing counterterrorism law that is focused on acts of terrorism, but did not give details.

    “Lawmakers need to distinguish between ethnic habits and extremist practices and understand that not all extremist ideas constitute a crime,” the paper cited Dong Xinguang, deputy director of the standing committee of Xinjiang’s regional legislature, as saying.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-security-xinjiang-idUSKBN16H04J