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As a protester in 1989, I recognise the intent of Beijing's message: Uighur dissent will be crushed

As an ethnic Uighur, I am horrified by the riots, deaths, injuries and arrests "“ the worst military-civilian clashes in modern times "“ in Urumqi, the city my parents call home. I have lost contact with them, and so, like everybody else now, I rely on reports filtering out of Xinjiang. I have to accept the government figures of 156 people dead, more than 1,000 injured and more than 1,400 arrests. Of course I am sceptical about such figures. I was a student leader in the Tiananmen protests; I am still waiting for reliable government figures as to how many people died on 4 June 1989. It makes me wonder why today "“ when...