Authorities require probe into rubber plant unrest

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-20 10:28

KUNMING - Authorities of southwest China's Yunnan Province has ordered quickly finding out cause of a rubber plant unrest in Menglian County, in which two people died and a few others injured, and announcing the truth timely.

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 local 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.

Local authorities have arrived at the scene of the unrest in the wee hours Sunday morning to investigate and deal with the situation.

More than 200 people, mostly rubber farmers, still gathered at the plant at 2 am Sunday in Meng'a village, Mengma Township of Menglian county after a conflict between local people and police Saturday morning.

The conflict occurred when police were confronted by a crowd preventing the police from taking away persons suspected of involving 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.

Local sources said rubber farmers had been in disputes with the rubber plant in recent years and sometimes they had violent clashes.