Commentary: Countries should join hands in combating East Turkistan terrorist forces

Amid today's increasingly severe counterterrorism situation, Britain has made the right decision recently, though a bit late, by listing the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), a group of East Turkistan terrorist forces, as an Islamic terrorist and separatist organization.

Britain's action shows that the western community has been increasingly aware that the East Turkistan terrorist forces not only jeopardize the safety and stability of China, but also endanger the whole world.

As we all know, the East Turkistan terrorist forces, led by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), have been haunting China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for almost a century. The forces first instigated violent terrorist attacks in China, causing a large number of innocent civilians dead or injured, sabotaging China's national security.

After the Cold War, the ETIM started to connect with international terrorist groups in other countries and regions in a bid to expand its influence. In as early as 2002, the United Nations Security Council as well as the United States inscribed the ETIM on their lists of terrorist organizations.

Afterwards, different separatist groups of the East Turkistan terrorist forces, including the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), have disguised themselves as non-violent, human rights or religious groups, in a bid to duck anti-terrorism strikes.

Regrettably, some western countries not only fail to recognize these East Turkistan terrorist groups as illegal, but also secretly aid them, using them as a chess piece to contain China.

Due to their own interests and geopolitics, these countries fight against certain terrorist groups while covertly assisting others, eventually drawing fire against themselves. From Paris to Brussels, from Nice to Bavaria, Europe has fallen victim to terrorism.

Terrorism is cancer to human civilization. No country can stand alone in facing its threat. Countries around the world should all join hands to fight terrorism; only then can the international community win this war.

In that sense, some western countries should rethink their double standards on the issue of anti-terrorism. No matter the TIP, or the WUC, they are the different faces of violence and terrorism. The West should abandon its discriminate treatment of terrorist organizations such as the East Turkistan terrorist forces, and work with China to fight against terrorism, the common enemy of humankind. Endi