About a dozen ethnic Mongolians were arrested and several others injured in weekend clashes with police after a herder was assaulted by a group of drunken Han Chinese in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, an overseas rights group said Monday. Hundreds of mostly ethnic Mongolian herders smashed the windows and doors of the local public security bureau of Sonid Left (in Chinese, Sunite Zuoqi) banner (county) on Sunday night, the New York-based Southern Mongolia Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC) said.
The group, citing photos and written communication from eyewitnesses, said the clashes had erupted in the banner’s capital Mandalt (Mendelete) township in Xilin Gol league (prefecture) after three Han Chinese who were drunk insulted the Mongolian herder and had him beaten up. Without punishing those who assaulted him, police arrested the herder and “tortured” him, the group said, quoting one eyewitness blogger as saying that police had beaten him further and “poured hot chili pepper oil” into his eyes.
“Seeing the extreme injustice and discrimination, hundreds of Mongolians rushed to destroy the police vehicle at the scene and proceeded to smash the windows of the Public Security building,” SMHRIC quoted another blogger as saying. A dozen ethnic Mongolians were arrested after riot police were called in from elsewhere in Xilin Gol to crack down on the crowd, it said, adding that several others were injured. An official at the public security bureau told SMHRIC on Monday that those arrested in the clash were still in custody.
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