Foreign scholars, officials denounce Urumqi riot

BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Scholars and officials from other countries have strongly denounced the July 5 riot in Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and expressed their support to the Chinese government's measures to maintain social order and stability.

In an interview with Xinhua on Friday, Bernard Boussougou Moungonga, a researcher with a Gabonese humanities institute, said he backed the Chinese government's measures to maintain stability in Xinjiang.

Moungonga condemned the separatist forces operating outside China for attempting to split China, adding that all these schemes are doomed to fail.

It is imperative for leaders of any country to brush aside intervention by external forces and guarantee the safety of their citizens' life and property, he said.

Moungonga, who has visited Xinjiang as a visiting scholar, said he was deeply impressed by the fact that all ethnic groups in Xinjiang live in harmony and their culture and traditions are fully respected.

Syrian Ambassador to China Khalaf Al-Jarad said Friday that his country supports the Chinese government in taking necessary measures to safeguard security, stability and public order in Xinjiang.

In a written interview with Xinhua, Al-Jarad said the Syrian government fully supports China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is against any interference in the country's internal affairs by finding whatever excuse.

He said he had been very much impressed by Xinjiang's prosperity when he visited China in 2003 in his capacity as editor-in-chief of a Syrian newspaper.