Xinjiang Uygur writers pen anti-terrorism open letter

As reported in 'Peoples's Daily Online' : Xinjiang Uygur writers pen anti-terrorism open letter (Xinhua) 08:15, June 27, 2014 (Editor:Huang Jin、Gao Yinan) URUMQI, June 26 -- More than 200 Uygur writers, poets and translators in northwest China's Xinjiang region have published an open letter to denounce terrorism. The publication, entitled "Our responsibility and mission is to never keep silent -- a letterto fellow Uygurs," says, "We cannot keep silent anymore at a moment when the blackstorm launched by a few terrorists vainly attempts to destroy our civilization. "In the face of a series of violent terrorist crimes, how can we have no indignation orabhorrence? "Our conscience never allows us to be silent. We must stand up and shout loudly, 'stop!'" The letter, which was posted recently but does not carry a date of publication, came after aseries of deadly terrorist attacks in Xinjiang's capital city Urumqi, Kunming city insouthwest China, and Beijing. "We have undergone too much and each violent terrorist attack is like a bomb exploding inour hearts," the letter says, accusing the perpetrators of the attacks of being "a smallbunch of lunatic mobsters without human nature. They do not stand for any ethnic groupor religion." "Our whole ethnic group and each Uygur has been abducted by them and suffered humiliation and defamation at their hands," it adds. The writers call on Uygurs to think more rationally and urges writers and poets inparticular to shoulder responsibility as "safeguarding social stability and national unity isour holy mission." The letter urges civil servants to come out boldly at dangerous moments in the interests ofthe masses, intellectuals to articulate sound thoughts and students to acquire knowledge toget rid of ignorance. It asks believers to "go to mosques under the sunshine instead of illegal teaching siteshidden in underground dens," women to teach their children with wisdom, and religiousstaff to give believers clarity on real Islamic tenets. "We would not like to see 'Uygur,' a title boasting rich meaning, turn into the pronoun ofterrorism, nor do we want to fall victim to blindness and ignorance and be taken into theevil abyss," according to the letter. It calls on Uygurs to eradicate crime and unite with other ethnic groups to "brace for abeautiful future of the great motherland."