Uighurs in Kyrgyzstan hope for peace despite violence

Nicolas De Pedro, Research Fellow at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, says the issue of Uighurs was always part of the China's policy towards Central Asia. “It is a key factor to explain the rapid rapprochement between Beijing and the newly independent republics after the collapse of USSR. Beijing was interested in putting an end to the Soviet policy of traditional support and sympathy for the Uighur activism, particularly in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,” De Pedro told Al Jazeera.