Torch security heavy in China's Xinjiang

KASHGAR, China (CNN) -- The Olympic torch relay came to Kasghar Wednesday in western China's Xinjiang province.

Chinese policemen on Tuesday patrol Kashgar's People's Park where the Olympic torch relay will end.
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The run is in the midst of a four-day trek through the ethnically distinct section of the country.

It is home to the Uighurs -- a people with their own language and culture.

Uighurs belong to a Turk-speaking, traditionally Muslim ethnic group, which makes up about 80 percent of the population in Kashgar.

Uighurs in Xinjiang are supposed to enjoy regional autonomy as guaranteed by China's constitution, but some seek independence.

But millions of Han Chinese, the country's dominant ethnic group, have migrated into Xinjiang during the past 60 years, prompting complaints that they dominate local politics, culture and commerce at the Uighurs' expense.

The dissatisfaction has turned violent at times, including several and sometimes deadly bus bombings in 1992 in the provincial capital, Urumqi.
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Officials blamed such incidents on Uighur groups who seek an independent Muslim state.

China insists only a small minority of Uighurs support the separatists, although helmeted soldiers had the torch route in Kashgar roped off.

Organizers feared dissidents might use the occasion to draw attention to their cause.

On Wednesday, hundreds of security personnel lined the streets of Kashgar to head off any disruption, The Associated Press reported.

Black-gloved security agents jogged alongside the torch as it wound through the streets of Kashgar, an ancient Silk Road city near the borders with Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Foreign journalists were not allowed along the route, where cheering bystanders shouted "Go China!" under sunny skies.

The relay moves to the Tibet Autonomous Region on Saturday, where violent anti-Chinese protests broke out in March. Government figures put the death toll from the violence at 18, but Tibet's self-proclaimed government-in-exile put the number at 140. View a map of the torch relay in China »

That leg has been shrouded in secrecy because of political sensitivities surrounding Tibet. The route has been criticized by Tibet activist groups who see it as an attempt by Beijing to symbolize its control over the Himalayan region.



China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, although many Tibetans say their homeland was essentially independent for much of that time. 
Tight security measures are expected for the Lhasa stop. E-mail to a friend