Beijing, March 3 (IANS) Police have found flags of “East Turkistan” forces at a Chinese train station the southwestern city of Kunming where a terrorist attack killed at least 29 civilians and injured over 140, a government spokesman said Monday.
“Some flags of the ‘East Turkistan’ forces were discovered at the site, according to the initial findings of the police. Investigation of the terrorist attack is still under way,” Xinhua quoted foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying at a daily news briefing.
The “East Turkistan” forces, among which the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is a major group, are one of the major and direct reasons for increasing terrorist attacks in China, particularly in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The ETIM, listed by the UN Security Council as a terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the Tian’anmen attack in October in which five people were killed and 40 others injured.
Qin stressed that the Chinese government would launch a tough crackdown on the terrorists, whoever and wherever they are, whatever affiliation they may have, and whenever the attacks happen.
The terrorists, positioning themselves in opposition to any ethnic groups or religions, are a common enemy to mankind, Qin said.
When asked to comment on some foreign governments that failed to call the Saturday violence a terrorist attack, Qin expressed his hope that the international community could be unanimous in voice and action when dealing with terrorists.
Foreign governments and international organisations have expressed condemnation and indignation over the terrorist attack and sent their sympathies to the Chinese government and people, the families of the victims and the injured in particular, Qin said.
“This represents the mainstream of the international community, the voice and conscience of mankind,” Qin added.