China arrests 'Olympic plotters'

China announced the arrests of more than 80 people they say were plotting to disrupt next month's Beijing Olympics. All of the arrests came among members of the Muslim Uighur population in Xinjiang province in the far northwest of China.

Since 9/11 China has accused the Uighur's of having ties to al-Qaeda and of planning numerous terrorist attacks in the past few years. The problem is that there is almost no basis to these claims or to any claims of Islamic militancy among the Uighurs. There is, however, a lot of very clear evidence of China oppressing the Uighur's religious faith and attempting to undermine their culture - much like China is accused of doing in Tibet, just to the south of Xinjiang. Many mosques have been closed, and many imams arrested as China regulates religion for what they claim are reasons of state security.

There are an estimated 19 million Uighurs in Xinjiang province. They adopted their Muslim faith from traders traveling from the Arabian Peninsula along the famed 'Silk Road' during the middle ages. The Uighurs tried to form an independent homeland in the late 1940's, but failed and since have been advocating for local autonomy within China - a move the Chinese government sees as subversive.

In addition to the arrests, five 'militants' were also reported killed in Xinjiang's capital city Urumqi.