Conflit sur la terre : affrontements à 吴根 Wukan (广东Guangdong) après un décès en prison – 12-14 décembre 2011

Chinese villagers in standoff with riot police call on government to intervene

guardian.co.uk

Wukan village residents have barricaded themselves in over a land dispute in which one person has died

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Chinese villagers who have barricaded themselves in from a ring of riot police have called on the government to intervene in a land dispute that has claimed at least one life and prompted several bloody skirmishes.

Residents of Wukan village in Guandong province have blocked the road with trees and cars, established a rota of tree-top lookouts and put in place a warning system in case the authorities try to break the standoff.

They are demanding an investigation into the death in custody of the village butcher and chief negotiator, Xue Jinbo, who had been detained on charges of inciting a riot. They also seek the release of four other jailed villagers and fair compensation for land that they say was seized illegally for development by the local authorities.

Thousands of villagers have taken to the streets in recent days to mourn the death of Xue and press for justice. The local Shanwei city government says Xue died of a heart attack, but his family say his body showed signs that he had been beaten to death.

« The officials call us several times a day and tell us to give up, » said a relative of the dead man. « But we want them to admit that it was not a heart attack. We call on the central government to come and investigate because we don’t trust the local officials. »

Compared with the violence and mass protests of the past week, he said the situation was quiet on Wednesday. Residents had electricity, water and internet access and could travel to and from the village on back roads and paths.

But, while the standoff continued, most people were afraid to leave. Read more…

China police block access to protest village

telegraph.co.uk

12 Dec 2011

A Chinese village hit by violent protests over land grabs in September has been under police blockade for days, with internet access cut and food supplies running low, residents said on Monday.

The villagers said a man who was detained for his alleged role in the September riots had been beaten to death – a claim Chinese authorities deny. They say the man, Xue Jinbo, fell ill in custody and died in hospital.

The protests in Wukan in the southern province of Guangdong were triggered by local anger over a government land requisition and saw hundreds of demonstrators attack a police station and ransack vehicles.

Residents accused authorities of forcibly grabbing their land and not compensating them, but the government insisted the process was lawful.

Land grabs have become a hugely contentious issue in China, where authorities are accused of colluding with developers in lucrative real estate deals that have become an important source of government revenue.

On Monday a local villager whose name AFP has withheld for his protection said the roads around Wukan had been blocked by police, who he said numbered in the thousands, and that the internet had been cut off.

« People can’t come in and we can’t go out … We won’t survive if the situation keeps going, as we have no food, » he told AFP by phone in an account confirmed by another resident.

« We normally have to buy food from outside, but we are blocked, so we can’t buy it, » he said. Read more…