Farmers persuaded to return home after unrest ebbs

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-20 21:52

KUNMING -- Farmers involved in a confrontation with police returned to their homes after having talks with two officials from the provincial government of Yunnan on Sunday morning.

The provincial public security bureau head Meng Sutie and vice governor Cao Jianfang spent more than one hour persuading rubber farmers, who had been in disputes with a rubber factory and sometimes had violent clashes, to go back to their homes.

After listening to the complaints of farmers, Meng suggested that a joint work team, which composed of party officials, accountants, lawyers and farmers, should be set up to solve the disputes between farmers and the rubber factory, to work out a solution for the good of the farmers.

The farmers agreed and went back to their village.

On July 15, the Menglian county government sent out a work team to deal with the conflicts between the rubber farmers and the factory.

The unrest occurred on Saturday, when police were confronted by a crowd preventing the police from taking away persons suspected of involvement in illegal activities in the conflicts.

The police were forced to use baton guns when attacked by more than 400 people, local authorities said. The shots caused two deaths of local people, while 13 others and 41 policemen were injured in the incident, and several police cars were damaged.

In a written instruction, secretary of the provincial committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Bai Enpei also demanded listening attentively to the complaints and appeal of residents, making great efforts to rescue the injured people, and consoling family members of the dead to prevent the matter from escalating.

Yunnan governor Qin Guangrong has ordered sending a work team to the unrest scene quickly to help the local government address the issue.