NYT,pg1: Military Officer Tied to (protester) Killings Is Held by China

[DeepModem Mom]

Military Officer Tied to Killings Is Held by China
By JOSEPH KAHN
Published: December 12, 2005


BEIJING, Monday, Dec. 12 - The commander of paramilitary forces who opened fire on villagers protesting land seizures has been detained by the authorities in connection with the shootings, an extraordinary response that suggested high-level concern over whether the crackdown was justified.

The official New China News Agency said in a dispatch Saturday evening that three people had been killed and eight others injured after security forces shot protesters in the village of Dongzhou in Guangdong Province on Tuesday. Villagers have given varying estimates of the death toll, including some who said as many as 20 people had been killed.

Guangdong's provincial government issued a statement Sunday saying that the "wrong actions" of the commander, who was not identified by unit or rank, were to blame for the deaths. The statement said he had been detained by civilian authorities in the area.

An earlier official account quoting local authorities laid blame for the violence exclusively on villagers. It said local residents, led by three men, first attacked a power plant at the center of a land dispute and then turned on the police, using weapons including spears, knives and dynamite, compelling security forces to put down the insurrection forcibly.

The conflicting accounts suggest continued uncertainty about what happened and may also reflect differing responses by local, provincial and national political leaders....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/international/asia/12china.html