Society

China completes evacuation of nationals in Kyrgyzstan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-17 16:44

BISHKEK/BEIJING - A ninth chartered plane carrying Chinese nationals from riot-hit Kyrgyzstan landed in the northwestern city of Urumqi early Thursday, ending China's largest overseas evacuation, in which 1,299 people were airlifted.

The arrival of the flight from the Central Asian nation brought relief and excitement for family members waiting at the airport and those evacuated from the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, where deadly ethnic clashes erupted last week and escalated over the weekend.

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My mother and my wife "were in tears," said a middle-aged businessman who, upon his arrival in Urumqi, made a phone call to his family at Kax, a city in the south of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"I was running a feedstuff business there (in Kyrgyzstan). I am so proud that our home country sent chartered flights," he said.

"Thank you all. I think I shall never forget this for the rest of my life," said a man who gave his name as Ahmat.

Several thousand Chinese nationals were in the region affected by violence in Kyrgyzstan. Many of them were business people from Xinjiang.

There were no more Chinese nationals waiting to be evacuated at the Osh airport after the departure of the ninth chartered flight Thursday.

China initiated the evacuation on June 12, after deadly clashes erupted in Osh and spread to the Jalalabad region. The violence has left at least 187 dead and many others injured.

The Chinese government tasked a team with leading the evacuation that involved the Foreign Ministry, the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, China Southern Airlines, Chinese organizations in Kyrgyzstan as well as Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry and border defense.

Members of the team braved the violence to complete the evacuation, said Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Wang Kaiwen.

It was tough to take the Chinese from the city to the airport of Osh and ensure their safety, said Li Qinghai, an official at the Osh-based representative office of the Kirgiz autonomous prefecture of Kizilsu, Xinjiang.

Most of the Chinese requesting evacuation were escorted by armored vehicles from the Kyrgyz border defense on the road to the airport.

But members of the evacuation team sometimes had to put on bullet-proof vests to find the Chinese nationals scattered around the city.

"The Foreign Ministry was overseeing and coordinating efforts of various governmental departments in China and the embassies in Kyrgyzstan and neighboring countries," said Huang Ping, director of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Foreign Ministry.

Chinese organizations in Kyrgyzstan played a vital role, too, by taking part in the communication and organization of the evacuation.

"We sure want our compatriots to be able to go back home safely as soon as possible," said a leader of the Chinese chamber of commerce in Osh.

"I am really pleased to see the emergency response of our government," said a businessperson surnamed Li, who came back aboard a chartered flight.

The Chinese team also helped with the evacuation of others stranded in Kyrgyzstan, including nationals of Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Russia and Tajikistan.

Liu Hong, a member of the team, helped secure the efforts of Kyrgyz border defense forces to escort 450 Turkmen students out of Kyrgyzstan after they had been stranded at the airport for four days.

"We truly thank him," one of the students said.