KASHGAR, China - China was poised Sunday to reopen a border crossing with Kyrgyzstan as the political turmoil which culminated in the collapse of the Soviet-era government appeared to calm.
China closed one of its two border crossings with Kyrgyzstan Friday after street protests and riots caused by disputed parliamentary elections toppled president Askar Akayev.
The other crossing, which connects China's westernmost city of Kashgar with the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, is always closed at weekends.
Both crossings were expected to reopen Monday, local border patrol officials told AFP.
"On Friday, both countries agreed to close the crossing leading to the Kyrgyz city of Osh to avoid trouble," said a border official.
"The original plan was to reopen the border crossing tomorrow, but if there are any changes to the situation in Kyrgyzstan, then we'll have to see what the leaders say."
Many Uighur Muslims in Kashgar were aware that Akayev had been toppled. But few knew details or were willing to discuss the issue for fear of renewed crackdowns in the region by Beijing, which has long sought to eradicate Muslim separatists in its Xinjiang region.
"Akayev has been ousted," said Alishanjon, a meat trader at Kashgar's busy Sunday Bazaar.
"We have heard this news. It is good news, but we don't know the details of what happened. It is too dangerous to talk about this."
Chinese traders in the Xinjiang region said they were more concerned that the riots and the attacks on Chinese businesses in Bishkek would hamper business in the region.
"There are a lot of Kyrgyz people in Kashgar who are following the events but I don't think the Uighurs are concerned with this at all," said a Chinese shop owner named Li.
"The people who are most concerned are the business people. Cross-border trade has been increasing and now the road is blocked so trade has stopped."
According to the 2000 census, some 160,000 ethnic Kyrgyz live in China, with 90 percent residing in the Kezilesu Kyrgyz autonomous county between Kashgar and the border.
Turkish-speaking Uighurs make up the biggest ethnic minority group in Kashgar, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border.
Analysts have said Beijing fears instability in Kyrgyzstan may present opportunities for Uighur separatists, who have used Kyrgyzstan as a base in their efforts to create an independent state in Xinjiang.
China enjoyed good relations with Akayev, who strongly supported Beijing's anti-separatism efforts, and had been seeking greater influence in Kyrgyzstan.
It had given Akayev's government generous loans and reportedly hundreds of police vehicles.
Uighur-language newspapers in Kashgar were slow in reporting the events which led to Akayev fleeing the country and prompted the Kyrgyz parliament to call for new presidential elections in June and appoint opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev as acting president.
Uighurs in Kashgar, once a thriving oasis market town on the legendary Silk Road, have had an uneasy relationship with the Chinese Han, who renewed governance over the Xinjiang region following the establishment of the communist People's Republic in 1949.
Relations remain sensitive especially since a new influx of Han Chinese has increased the Han population from about 30 percent in 2002 to between 50 and 70 percent at present, locals said.
According to the Xinjiang Economic Daily, several hundred trucks and cars were turned back at the border crossing to the Kyrgyzstan opposition stronghold of Osh on Saturday, while long distance bus transport was also suspended.
Flights between Bishkek and Xinjiang's main city Urumqi have not been interrupted.
Around 10,000 Chinese nationals live in Kyrgyzstan, according to Chinese television.
03/27/2005 11:47 GMT