The religious dimension of the Uyghur Freedom Movement
__________Poet, Writer and Friend of the Uyghur People

By Oetkur Umit

Ladies and Gentlemen;
Honorable Members of the European Parliament;
Distinguished Panelists, Speakers, Members of the Press, and Guests;
M. Dupuis et les membres distingues du Partie Transnationale Radicale,
je vous remercie pour cette opportunité;
Asalam Aleikum Hormetlik Uyghurlar:



1. Thank you for this opportunity

I am grateful to the East Turkestan National Congress and to the Transnational Radical Party of the European Union for hosting this occasion and providing us with the opportunity to support the cause of freedom for the Uyghur nation of Eastern Turkestan. I am impressed by the number and calibre of individuals and organizations represented at this conference.



This meeting is a historic occasion because for the first time the European Community has invited the Uyghur community to present their case for determining the future of their existence as a people. It would be wonderful to one day hear that the Uyghur freedom movement is supported by the "collective will of the world," to quote US President George Bush Jr. The Uyghur movement is about the deepest human aspiration for freedom and self-determination; an aspiration supported by the "western values" enjoyed in Europe, the USA and the rest of the free world.



This conference, providentially, also takes place at a very significant moment in the context of human history. It is difficult to separate current world events from the situation of the Uyghurs in China. One is forced to put the Uyghur struggle for self-determination within a global context, a background that involves a deeper understanding of ethnic conflicts carried to the brink of world war, the so-called "clash of civilizations".



It is also fitting that this conference takes place in this building, the parliament of the European Union. The European Union is engaged in a social experiment of vast proportion and momentous significance. Uniting such a diverse range of cultures across a continent; peoples with distinct histories, religions, and languages, uniting under one monetary and administrative system-this is truly radical, even revolutionary.


Can I also thank the good people of Brussels for their hospitality, and the Belgians of Vlaamerden and Wallonia for inspiring us to live in harmony, despite differences in language, history and religion. You know, more than others, that a united nation, like a good marriage, requires communication, patience and hard work.


2. I am a poet of love, a writer of freedom, and a friend of the Uyghur peoples


I come to you today as a poet of love, a writer of freedom and a friend of the Uyghur peoples. I do not represent an organization, institution or group in any official capacity, though I do bring you greetings from the leaders of the Uyghur American Association, who unfortunately could not be here today.

I speak to you today under difficult circumstances, following the events of an evil day that changed the world, a world that now waits in uncertainty and apocalyptic fear for a new world order to emerge from dust and ashes. My speech is entitled "The Religious Dimension of the Uyghur Freedom Movement." I speak as a Christian who for some years now has been impressed by the high moral values and deep spiritual faith of many of my Uyghur Muslim friends and I believe this is a strength that they need to develop in their freedom movement.



NO TERROR

A few days ago I spoke to the president of the Uyghur American Association, Turdi Huji. He told me that on September 11, he had returned to the United States following his involvement at the United Nations Conference on Racism held in Durban, South Africa. On that fateful Tuesday morning his flight had arrived early in New York. On the way home his train passed the skyline of that great city and he saw the World Trade Center towers burning in the wake of the terrorist attack.



Deeply shaken, Turdi Huji and the Uyghur American Association expressed their outrage and sadness in a statement that read, "The Uyghur American Association deplores and renounces the use of violence to achieve political ends. The Uyghur American Association does not support any organization or individual that advocates violence for any purpose."



The Uyghurs also responded with more than words. The Uyghur American Association called all Uyghurs in the USA to donate blood for the survivors of the attack. This show of support from Uyghurs extended as far as Central Asia. There a young Uyghur refugee fleeing the terror of a Chinese crackdown on Uyghur students in the city of Gulja, asked to donate blood for the survivors of the New York City attack. The Uyghurs are willing to give their blood for the survivors of terrorist acts, because they have experienced first hand the effects of state-sponsored terror.



We who are citizens of the civilized world decry acts of barbarity, terror and violence against men, women and children, in whatever form that terror takes. As human beings, on the basis of religious beliefs, moral convictions, and humanitarian ideals, we must condemn acts of terror of any kind. We must say NO to terrorism, whether perpetrated by a lone individual with bombs strapped to his waist, whether conducted by a group of hijackers armed with box cutters, whether orchestrated by a shadowy international terrorist network claiming divine rights to violence, whether executed by the righteous anger of a nation that drops bunker busting bombs on villages, or whether administered by a state that conducts institutional terror, forced abortions, ethnic cleansing, and cultural genocide on its citizens. We must say NO to terror of any kind.



STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM

We do not agree with the distinction that terror can be justified on the basis of resisting foreign occupation, or that terror can be practiced on a population that resists domination. There is no justification for terror. Those who support terror or practice terror must forfeit their right to be heard in any assembly of peoples. There must be zero tolerance for terror of any kind in the world-individual, organizational or state-sponsored terror. We have God as our witness to take this stand against all forms of terrorist activity. There is no justification in any holy book of any major religion in the world that supports terrorism. Even if one distorts verses in the Bible or the Quran to support violence, these are superseded by more verses that in effect say,
"THOU SHALT NOT KILL."



In history there have been justifications for the use of force and the waging of "just war." The authority of the state to execute justice includes the penalty of death; in the same way the authority and power of a government or a revolutionary group to wage war for the sake of a right moral cause has been understood in religious and legal terms. However, it should also be understood that the waging of a "just war" also includes the proper use of ethical means to achieve a moral end. A just war cannot be waged with terror; the use of weapons of destruction must be matched against an equal and opposing force; there must be fair rules in the waging of war and the combatants in a war must be brought before impartial tribunals of war to ascertain that the rules of combat were observed. The Geneva Convention played a significant role in the waging of the 20th century world wars, and the war tribunals have been active since Nuremberg, most recently in the case of the Serbian leaders who waged genocide on Yugoslavs.



Last week, at a NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Ottawa, Canada, Mark Grossman, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, spoke the following words, "We must take steps to insure that one man's terrorist is not somebody else's freedom fighter."


I agree that the time has come to remove a relativistic perspective on terror. I would also add that we should extend this condemnation of terrorism to not only include states that support terrorism but also states who practice terror against their own people. Any government by individuals or parties that imposes a reign of terror on their subjects has lost the legitimacy to rule or impose their will on the people. Many states hide their state sponsored terrorist acts behind a curtain of national sovereignty, just as many businesses and charities hide behind a corporate veil to hide their support of terrorism. These rogue states argue that other states must respect their sovereign right to impose force on a minority ethnic group, religious movement, or opposition political party.



The problem with this argument lies in the changing nature of the world. In a global community, the rights of sovereign nations are subject to limitations. The acts of a sovereign state, even domestic acts, are no longer neutral when they impinge on the stability of other sovereign states. A sovereign state whose domestic problems affect neighbors is no longer acting within a sovereign, self-contained sphere. A sovereign state whose ethnic minorities are marginalized and whose extremists resort to acts of terror is a sovereign state that promotes terrorism. A sovereign state that refuses to dialogue with its ethnic minorities is a sovereign state that creates an environment favorable to the growth of extremism and terrorism, a state that nurtures a scourge that reaches around the world and causes global and regional instability and insecurity. Though there can be no justification for acts of terror, in a fallen world there are psychological, political and social causes that promote extremism and terrorism. These roots must be analyzed in order to eliminate the breeding ground for the desperate acts of misguided men.



COMEBACK OF RELIGION

Last Saturday I toured the area of Ground Zero, the site of the ruins of the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. We witnessed the devastation, the clouds of smoke, dust and steam, the cranes working around the clock, the policemen, firemen, soldiers, medics and volunteers working diligently to remove the rubble and recover the bodies of almost 5,000 people still missing. Along one of the side streets a choir from a church in Rome, Georgia sang hymns of praise to God. A small group of citizens, representative of New York, the defacto capital of the world, stood to listen. Among the crowd were Jews who had survived the Nazi holocaust, Palestinian women who had fled the West Bank of Israel, Sudanese Christians who had escaped the massacres of that country's civil war. As the church choir sang, I saw signs all around, "God bless America." It crossed my mind that religion is a great unifying force for a people, even in a country where there is a diversity of religious faiths. The close contact with death, terror and a common enemy brought unity to many peoples. This is a good lesson for Uyghurs who often find their movement in disunity.



Religion has made a comeback to the world stage. Ironically, the western world that had relegated religion to the private sphere is now saturated by a media-sponsored education on the religion of Islam. It is sad that Islam, one of the world's great religions, must come to be understood in this way, in reaction to an act of terrorism. There is now a new awareness that religion and politics are a volatile combination, a mix of doctrine and zeal, passion and reason, a compound like nitroglycerine that can explode with the slightest shake, a bomb capable of blowing up social stability. For this reason the church has been separated from the state in many democracies of the free world, though vestiges of national churches remain throughout Europe and Asia. For this same reason many Muslim societies, such as Turkey and Pakistan, have established secular governments.



Many westerners, as well as Uyghur intellectuals, fear the force of religious passion. Some, through lack of understanding, believe that one must combat a religion in order to eradicate extremists. Does one have to cut down the tree in order to destroy the nest? If Islam is the tree where terrorists hide, it makes more sense to let Muslims themselves climb the tree and knock down the nest than to cut the tree down.



It does no good for Osama bin Laden to refer to his enemy as infidels, pagans, and unbelievers, even though it is a trait of human nature to distinguish between "us" and "them." It also does not resolve any problems when the Chinese Communist government points to the Muslim faith of the Uyghurs and associates them with the terrorists of Osama bin Laden. These strategies only succeed in polarizing a cause and setting the stage for conflict. The Uyghur struggle is not about Muslim beliefs, it is about the gross violation of basic human rights by a recognized world power, the People's Republic of China.



RADICAL RELIGION

I noticed that "being arrested" is one of the qualifications for holding office in the Transnational Radical Party. A radical in this context is someone who holds passionately to their belief in human freedoms. A radical will storm the barricades at risk of death, handcuff herself to express her commitment, break the rules in order to get attention to a cause. Radicals are ready to be arrested and go to jail for their ideals.



Probably one of the most radical positions in the world today is to live by one's religious beliefs. A person who proclaims his Christian faith in Afghanistan will go to jail and face the possibility of a death squad. A Christian in China can be arrested if they preach biblical truth outside a state-regulated orthodoxy. A person who professes their Christian faith to a secular humanistic audience will understand the meaning of intolerance. Religious faith is a radical bomb. If I proclaim that you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins and rose again to give you eternal life, otherwise you will go to hell, I might as well be holding a live grenade in this room. In certain circles I will be arrested, jailed and put to death for making this statement.

Religion is a volatile substance and a delicate subject. There is no doubt that religious extremists are a threat to the free world. Christian extremists who kill abortionists distort the doctrines of their faith and generate terror. Muslim extremists who call for the overthrow of secular governments in order to institute a Muslim theocratic califate that rules by Sharia law, also generate terror and destabilize society. The correct response to these extremists, however, is not to respond with more terror and violence. The "Dirty War" in Argentina, the "apartheid war" in South Africa, the response of Russia to Chechnya, the Chinese response to the Tibetans and Uyghurs, the assassinations of Palestinian leaders by Israeli security forces, and the US attack on Afghanistan are overreactions that breed more terrorism. Every state-sponsored act of terror creates a new generation of potential terrorists and undermines the legitimacy of that state rule.



In China, being a Christian, a Muslim, a Tibetan Buddhist or a Falun Gong is also a radical act, despite the government's claim to protect freedom of religion. According to the Amnesty International report of April 1999, which detailed "gross violations of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region" of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Chinese government has instituted a policy of persecuting the Muslim faith of the Uyghur people. The demonstrations of 1995 in Hotan and in Gulja in 1997 both had a religious spark in the origins of the conflagration. In the case of the incident at Hotan the religious element was the right of the people to choose their own religious leader free of state intervention. In the case of the incident at Gulja the religious element was the right of the people to freely assemble to practice their faith and build strength into their community. These religious elements form part of the essential ethnic makeup of the Uyghur people. It was these religious elements that were repressed by the Chinese government and therefore presented a threat to the ethnic sovereignty of the Uyghur people.



RELIGION AND NATION BUILDING

Religion, while volatile, is also a basic building block of society. From an anthropological perspective, religion plays two significant roles in the development of human societies. In the first place, religions are involved in the formation of ethnic identity and in the process of nation building. There is a synergistic dynamic between how religions shape ethnic identity and how ethnic groups adopt and adapt religious faith to define their ethnic identity and assume a political base. Religious beliefs usually establish the moral framework that undergirds legal systems of justice, commerce, and social interaction.



In the second place, religions have unified ethnic groups and nation states into transnational movements. These movements, universal in nature, have often been anti-nationalistic and even imperialistic in their achievements. The modern phenomenon of globalization, which is accused of being a form of western imperialism, has its precedents in the Islamization of Africa and Asia, as well as the later period of European colonialism which brought the concept of nation states to local dynasties.



Religions, historically speaking, have contributed to nation building in powerful ways. In Reformation Europe, religious wars pitting Protestants against Catholics, defined boundaries that eventually emerged as the borders of nation states. European ethnic groups developed specific and particular expressions of a western Christian faith that distinguished them from other ethnic groups. In this way, the spiritual movement known as Calvinism, that began in France and French speaking Switzerland, developed into a Swiss, Dutch and German Reformed Church, as well as a Scottish Presbyterian Church. German Lutheranism found subtle shades of variation in the Lutheran churches of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In these cases ethnic nationalities appropriated religious faiths to express their unique ethnic identities. In similar ways, Buddhism found a variety of expressions in southeast Asia, Mongolia, Tibet, and Japan.



Islam has also been shaped by its encounter with various ethnicities. The first unified Arab expression of Islam later developed into a split between Sunni and Shi'a branches as Islam was shaped by the difference between Arab and Persian cultures. One can see the very particular religious expression of the Taliban as a cultural adaptation of Islamic faith by the Pashtun ethnic group that resides in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This specific religious expression of Islam is not shared by the other ethnic groups of Afghanistan, such as the Ismaili Tajiks, the Sunni Uzbeks, or the Shi'a Hazaras, the ethnic groups that make up the Northern Alliance. The Islam of Central Asia and North Africa is different culturally from the Islam of Indonesia and the Middle East, even though there are commonly held theological beliefs across the Islamic world.



We must also acknowledge that Islam has contributed great cultural riches to the world. With the fall of the corrupt Byzantine Empire to Ottoman Turks in 1453, Europe experienced a "renaissance," a flowering of science and culture brought in from Islamic centers in Persia, North Africa and the Middle East. In effect Islam saved Europe from a medieval Christianity steeped in superstition and corruption, a medieval Christianity that had resorted to the terror of the Crusades in order to right a grievance over the holy land.



THE RELIGION OF THE UYGHURS



The religious expression of the Uyghurs is also unique to their ethnic identity, reflecting their cultural and historical development. At the same time their ethnic identity has been shaped over the years by their encounter with various religious faiths. Whether religion is a substratum of ethnic identity or whether ethnic identity colors religion is a matter of perspective. The fact is religious adherence and ethnic identities have an intricately intertwined relationship.



The early shamanism practiced by the Uyghurs when they were a nomadic tribe in the Yenisey River Valley of Siberia is still seen today in the so-called "superstitions" of Folk Islam. The fire dance in the classical musical cycle of the twelve mukams expresses the encounter of the Uyghurs with the ancient Zoroastrian religion, a Persian import into Central Asia. The emergence of the Uyghurs as the leaders of a tribal confederation came at the same time as their elite adopted Manichaenism, another Persian import. This first Uyghur empire also adopted the Sogdian written script in order to read the religious scriptures of the prophet Mani and his followers.



Later, when the Uyghurs left Siberia to establish a new home in the Tarim Basin of eastern Turkestan, they adopted Buddhism, which had become the dominant faith of the Great Silk Road from Afghanistan to Japan. Uyghurs were also one of the oldest civilizations to exercise freedom of religion. In the ruins of cities found in the Taklamakan desert, there is evidence of communities from many religious faiths. The great Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, saw Nestorian churches next to mosques in the ancient city of Kashgar. At the same time that Marco Polo came to China, a Nestorian Christian Uyghur monk traveled from the court of Kublai Khan to Rome. It is an amazing fact of history that Rabban Sauma, a Nestorian "heretic" from the Mongol Empire had communion with the Pope of Rome and the kings of England and France. He must have been a very impressive Uyghur indeed.

The Uyghur freedom movement has been distinguished by its open embrace of an ecumenical spirit. The Uyghurs are well known for their Silk Road hospitality. The Uyghur freedom movement includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Jews working together for the sake of freedom and peace. Despite the proselytization of Arab and Pakistani Wahhabi missionaries, the Uyghurs in Central Asia, in the main, have not embraced the Wahhabism of Arabia, or the extremism found in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Traditionally Sunni Muslim, Uyghurs have been influenced historically by Sufi saints, especially from the Naqshbandiya sect. The Sufis, in their longing to know the personal love of Allah, have not been historically aggressive, although they were successful preservers of the faith against the communist atheism brought in during Chinese and Soviet domination.




THE ROOT OF ETHNIC CONFLICTS


If the free world truly wants to address the causes of terrorism and find a way to eradicate this scourge of western civilization, it needs to address the problem of ethnic conflict. This is why it is so significant that the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is represented here today. Ethnic conflict is at the heart of every major conflict of the twentieth century. Today, that ethnic conflict has been exploited by a global network of terrorists, seeking their own perverse, suicidal, negative goals.



Imagine if an ethnic group arrives by conquest or migration into the land of another ethnic group. After time, the newcomers claim that the land is now theirs for historical or religious reasons. In some cases, an ethnic group will claim that God had promised the land to their ancestor and now they are here to collect on that promise. What should be the reaction of the original inhabitants? This is pretty much the case of the Israelis in Palestine, or the English in Ireland, or the Chinese in Eastern Turkestan. Is there not some validity to Osama bin Laden's request to remove US troops from the holy lands of Saudi Arabia? Is there not some legitimacy to the Uyghur request for Chinese troops to leave their ancestral homeland? Sadly, the legitimate grievance has been hijacked by extremists who use violence because no one in the international community will take responsibility to address these grievances that spill over across national boundaries.



Terror is not specific to Palestinians, Arabs, or Kurds, nor does it originate in the Muslim world. Terror has been practiced by the Japanese Red Army, the Irish Republican Army, the Basque ETA, as well as by German, French and Italian anarchists in very recent history. Christian fundamentalists who murder abortion doctors, or drive trucks into federal buildings are also terrorists. An effort to undermine worldwide terrorism must address the causes of terrorism, not just the symptoms. The roots of terrorism are buried in ethnic and religious grounds, nourished by differences in worldview, resulting in cultural clashes and a war of values.



The war against terrorism, however, is not a clash of civilizations, though many paint it with those strokes; it is not a crusade or jihad in the sense of a religious war between believers of different faiths; nor is it an ideological battle between opposing philosophies or worldviews. According to the British Shadow Foreign Minister, the present conflict is simply a war against terror. This means a war between forces of hope and despair, between the cultures of life and death, between the aspirations of light and darkness; it is in the last analysis a struggle over moral decisions taken. The terrorists who committed acts of terror on September 11 may have had valid grudges, grievances, and gripes against the way the world has mistreated them. However, they chose to respond with a negative value. They sought to right injustice with terror and therefore they forfeited any voice in resolving their cause.

BAD THEOLOGY



Recently the Agence France Presse (AFP) conducted a survey of Internet chat rooms in China to determine responses to the acts of terror in the USA and the US strike against Afghanistan. Many of the Chinese and Muslim reactions expressed the idea that the terror attack on America was God's punishment for America's sins. This is of course bad theology. Are the Palestinians being punished for their sins because Israel took their land? Are the Uyghurs being punished for their sins because China has taken their land? Are the Aghans being punished because the Taliban blew up Buddhist statues? With this reasoning all the suffering of the peoples of the world are the result of God's punishment for their sins, which is biblically correct. However, from a Christian perspective God's judgment applies to the sins of all men and all suffering is therefore a consequence of sin.




Again exercising bad theology, my American friends point to the terror attacks of September 11 and say "there is the true face of Islam when the mask of piety is taken off." With this logic, the terrorism of the Ku Klux Klan and the Christian Identity movement must be expressions of Christianity's true face. All religions have had their extremists devoted to terrorism, from the Hindu Thuggees to the Jewish Zealots, from the Christian Templars to the Muslim Assassins.




Whose side is God really on? While the Taliban appeal to the divine might of Allah for their cause, the US is experiencing a renewed and profound religiosity as Congressmen sing "God bless America" on the Capitol steps. The relative world is being polarized along lines of religious, civilizational and ethical values. The polarization of a global conflict along religious lines is of course extremely dangerous and volatile. No less than the Pope called for peace between Muslims and Christians during his recent visit to Astana, Kazakhstan. His conciliatory words suggested that there is a potential for an apocalyptic show-down between the cross and the crescent and therefore a great need for reconciliation and peace between the representatives of the world's great religions.




The western world has accepted relativism and diversity as basic civilizational values. However, relativism and diversity cannot become excuses to turn a blind eye on injustices that are absolute and universal in nature. As I have said before, there can be no tolerance for the practice of terror. It's no good for me to say that China's repression of Uyghurs is state terrorism if I don't add in the same breath that the US support of Israel inflicts state terrorism on Palestinians, or Russia's war on Chechnya is nothing less than genocide, or the US strikes in Afghanistan are inhumane if they kill civilians. In a global community that shares the resources of one small planet, there must be an absolute value and foundation for universal human rights applied equally to all nations.



Perhaps that absolute value can be found in a universal recognition that we are all creatures of a Creator and therefore all created equal, with liberty, justice and dignity for all. Such a concept was introduced by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which reads in Article I: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. " Although the UN Declaration does not acknowledge a "higher power," religious people can read this into the idea of equality and brotherhood of all men.



RECOMMENDATIONS



What then must we do today in the case of the Uyghurs and their legitimate grievance?
To ignore the problem is to foment the type of unrest and breed the kind of terror that afflicts the world.



Recently I interviewed a young Uyghur radical who claimed to have trained in the Afghan Taliban camps. He was young and sad, a man with little hope but with a deep and long fuse of anger that was lit against the Chinese regime that oppressed his people. His justification for waging war or jihad against China was taken from a passage in the Koran that gave him the religious right to pick up a Kalashnikov rifle, a Katyusha rocket launcher or a Sidewinder missile. When I asked him if he had gone into China to fight, he said that the Taliban had promised them access into China through the Wakhan Corridor, which at the time was loosely held by the Northern Alliance. However, after months of waiting for the order to enter into China, the Taliban changed their minds and commanded the Uyghur militants to fight the Northern Alliance before releasing the Uyghurs into China. The Uyghurs, according to this young man, did not want to fight fellow Muslims so they decided to disband until the way was open for them to fight the "infidel Chinese" that had invaded their homeland. It was gratifying to me to know that these few frustrated Uyghurs were indeed few and relatively impotent. I was gratified not because I value the Chinese "empire's" hold on Eastern Turkestan, but because I abhor terror and violence.



A few years ago, when I first met Erkin Alptekin, he spoke with great concern that the isolation of the Uyghur nation was producing a generation of radicalized youth. This generation was being alienated from their elders and beginning to choose the way of violence against their oppressor. I was greatly saddened by this young Uyghur man who had chosen violence. But I also know that had he stayed in China he would have been imprisoned or executed out of frustration and desperation. My prayer is that God will have mercy on a generation of disaffected Uyghur youth and restore hope to them.




1. Message to the International Community



What should be our response then?
First of all, speaking as a religious person I am convinced that terrorism must be answered with understanding, forgiveness and compassion-balanced by fair justice and strict discipline. The culture of hate must be answered with love. The values of death must be countered with life. The legitimate grievances of a people must be addressed in dialogue and compromise. Any resort to terror must forfeit the right to speak, with no exceptions. All legal means must be used to bring punishment on both individual criminals and renegade states.



Second, the world is a global village. The world must include the Uyghurs in any solutions for Central Asia. I encourage the European Community to follow up the $1 billion pledged by the US government to rebuild Central Asia, but please, you must include the Uyghurs in this rebuilding program. When you invest in business ventures in Xinjiang, make sure you include Uyghurs in your companies as directors and managers, following the guidelines of the Sullivan Agreement.



You must not let America become the bully on the block, chasing grasshoppers on top of elephants, making right by might. The international community must act courageously to condemn all forms of terrorism and take action to eliminate this threat to world stability. To a certain extent this joint action took place in the UN initiatives in Iraq, Somalia, and the NATO offensives in Bosnia and Kosovo. However the aerial bombing of Yugoslavia gave license to Russia to raze Chechnya, and offered justification to China to deal with her internal ethnic problems in a violent way. Remember that the domestic ethnic problems of the nations are no longer domestic. They spill over into neighboring regions, destabilizing other nation states.



2. Message to the Uyghur Community

Thirdly, I need to address a message to my friends the Uyghurs-you are at a crossroads. The world's media spot lights are now focused on Central Asia. The world is looking at this stage and there on the sidelines, waiting for their cue are the Uyghurs. On what side of the stage will you enter? What will be your role? Will you side with Osama bin Laden or with the international community? Will you turn in bitterness against the world because the world has ignored your plight for so long? Will the fundamentalists hijack the Uyghur freedom movement and slam your people into the great wall of China? I must speak to my Uyghur friends these words of warning. Be careful which side you choose in this global conflict.



Of course political choice, like religious belief, is also a volatile issue. If I recommend that the Uyghur movement should align with the West, I ask them to side with those who have too often chosen greed over justice. The west has occasionally been a fair weather friend to freedom movements, often choosing dictators who offer economic stability. If I recommend to the Uyghurs that they must fight for their rights in the model of the American Revolution, I commit them to a path of extremism that may lead to violence and terror. If I say suffer the repressive policies of the Chinese Communist government in silence I submit them to ethnic suicide, to the loss of their homeland and to a modern tragedy.



Following the September 11 incident, I noticed some of my Uyghur friends showed respect for Osama bin Laden. Justin Jon Rudelson in his book "Oasis Identities" wrote that Uyghurs like a strong leader and are looking for one to lead their movement. To some Uyghurs, Osama would fit the bill if he promised to lead the Uyghurs on a jihad against yet a fourth colonial power and deliver them from their Chinese oppressors. Strangely enough, Osama bin Laden's holy rage is very selective. He seems to be fixed on the United States and his cause seems to be restricted to the Palestinians, Afghans, Iraquis and Saudis. His Al Qaeda statements don't mention the Chinese occupation of Eastern Turkestan, for example, or the cause of the Acehnese Muslims against the repressions of the Indonesian government, or the dilemma of the Kurds divided under Turkish, Iraqi and Russian rule. Osama bin Laden is obviously a pragmatist rather than an idealist, and he finds it easier to wage war on America than on China. He probably understands that if he loses to the US he will get a fair trial, but not so if he loses to China.



I know that my friends will not take the decision to fight terror with terror, no matter how desperate their struggle against oppression. The choice to strike in terror against their oppressors is not a choice but a submission to defeat. The Uyghurs must choose the side of faith in God, finding freedom first in their spirits. They must develop a representative democracy in their communities, educate their youth to succeed in the world and change from the inside the systems of tyranny practiced by the Communist Party in China or by the Muslim theocracies of Iran and Afghanistan. Search your religious roots and beliefs to draw strength for your struggle and carry out your struggle with the weapons of spiritual power and with the force of moral right and not with the destructive weapons of this world.



The choice of which side the Uyghurs should take will have long consequences. According to Linda Benson in her book, "The Ili Rebellion," Isa Yusuf Alptekin chose to back the Chinese in 1945, fearing the power of the Soviets and their ambition to dominate Central Asia. It is curious to think what would have happened if the Uyghur leaders had chosen to back the imperialistic Soviets against Nationalist Chinese. The Uyghurs would now be in possession of their own homeland of Uyghuristan, together with the other Turkic Central Asian Republics.



The consequences of choosing the wrong side is a lesson that is being learned here in Belgium, with the fallout from the Nazi era still dividing the Flemish and Walloon populations of this peaceful country. According to some reports 30,000 Flemish Nazi sympathizers were hunted down and rounded up after the war, with some 300 executed. The Uyghur movement can take a chapter from European and Belgian history to understand the momentous crossroads it now faces.



The Uyghurs themselves must decide which side best serves their interests, which path leads to their secured future as a people. This will be the subject of their deliberations in the next few days here in Brussels when they meet in their annual kurultai. Consider a new direction in your movement, embrace a new identity that retains your heritage as Uyghurs and yet is open to change. Exercise your legendary creativity to reinvent yourselves as a people, adapt to positive globalizing forces, develop community as victors and not as victim. Your religion has been hijacked by terrorists. Will you wrestle with the hijackers and take control of your own movement?


Your challenge lies in the attempt to preserve and develop a distinctive Uyghur ethnic identity with religious, cultural and historical depth, in the face of an aggressive and dominating Chinese culture. You also face a culturally sterile globalization filtering in through western commercial interests that favor the Chinese. You also face the militant politicization of Islam through an international terrorist network. You face many trials, but you who have tamed the desert and conquered the mountains, you will prevail.



CONCLUSION



We in the international community who claim to represent the cause of freedom, or who claim to have religious revelation, we can speak out for the Uyghur people in public forums, we can refuse to be intimidated by their opponents who would silence us and them, we can enlist the support of the free press and free governments to bring the Communist Chinese into dialogue with the Uyghurs and Tibetans. We can help the Uyghurs rebuild their community, educate their youth, and develop their culture according to their own leading.

If we have faith we can also pray that God will bring justice through peace in the world.

God Bless the Uyghurs. Hudaiga Amanet.

Thank you for your attention.


From:http://www.uygur.org/etnc/Oetkur%20The%20religious%20dimension%20of%20the%20Uyghur%20Freedom%20Movement.htm

Terrorist Actions of the Chinese Gavernment in East Turkistan
___________In the Area of Mass Media Channels

By Korash Atahan

In the present fast changing world the role of the mass media has grown drastically. The Red Communist Chinese regime is doing everything possible to restrict the Internet access in East Turkistan in order to keep the Uyghur people off the feedback and meaningful information about the real situation in the world.

The Uyghurs, who also wanted to free themselves from foreign domination, staged numerous uprisings against Nationalist Chinese rule, particularly in recent years the new ideas of democracy and national independent has spread among the Uyghurs. The 30 million ethnic groups have developed elaborated religious, cultural and scientific concepts over this long period. The Chinese are trying their best to smother their culture, language and civilization. One of the strongest attacks was led against the national press and news agencies.All present mass media channels in East Turkistan work under the Chinese control with the aim of refuting every national ideas, be it religious, cultural, linguistic or educational ideas. The ultimate purpose of these actions is to destroy the national culture.

We have had talked with our compatriot, Ertughrul Atihan, who worked in the mass media system for many years in East Turkistan:
Q: Is it true that you worked in the Homeland in the Chinese East Turkistan press and news agency?

A: Yes.

Q: Why did you immigrate?

A: I could not stand the unfair policies in the Homeland; I wanted to let the world know about the terrorist Chinese policies directed against my people.

Q: What was exactly your job in East Turkistan?

A: Editorship.

Q: What do you mean by “unfair” policies?

A: The mass media is a means of distributing information among people. My Motherland was occupied by the fascist regime; however the Chinese invaders try to deceive the world community about the nature of its oppression. If they meant to provide genuine conditions for Uyghurs they had to create all necessary provisions for true independence and self-government. This did not happen. The Chinese led the policy of assimilation, in the economic field – they depleted our natural resources. Under the pretext of DECREASING POLLUTION IN THE WORLD the Chinese brought in environment polluting facilities. They conducted nuclear tests in this region, and generally speaking, the Chinese regime did everything possible to lower the living standard of our people to the base degree by low budgeting doctors and medical centers, by selling the human organs, by spreading infectious diseases etc.
They hold control of primary education and upbringing the children. The task of passing to secondary school from primary school, to university after secondary school etc. became very difficult for our children. Farmers are constantly forced to work overtime with no pay and do all kind of prohibited work to their masters. The national literature, education, cultural and other centers were closed in big numbers. Writers and journalists have been imprisoned for just expressing their views and beliefs. They were tortured, murdered and brought to insanity. If this is not unfairness then what is unfairness?

Q: We have heard that publishing books in the Uyghur language is now completely prohibited. Is it true? In reality they say there are many published books. How do you explain this fact?

A: It is true that still there are many books published in Uyghur language. However, 95% of these books are of Communist nature. These books hail the history of the Communist Chinese regime, eradication of national culture and values, religious concepts, democratic principles and so forth. Published books glorify the Chinese language and culture, and aim at cutting off the Uyghur civilization from the West and other Turkic people. We cannot publish books dedicated to the national culture. All published materials undergo strict preliminary Chinese censorship.

Q: How do they control published materials?

A: That’s quite easy. Previously the Chinese Communists deceived us Uyghurs with the socialist propaganda. Nowadays they bribe people so that they send their children to Chinese schools. Students undergo a thorough propaganda brainwashing. The Uyghur collaborationists serve their Chinese masters with awe; and inform them about anything going on among the Uyghurs. These mean people do not hesitate even to sell their relatives’ lives off the Chinese invaders. Let me underline one thing: the Chinese society came along through its political and philosophical development. It is now searching new ways and look for innovations. Some of their administrative workers do their best for the sake of the Uyghur people, however, most of them only cause harm on our nation.They have no choice of acting otherwise since they risk losing their precious positions. Let me give an example: One day I brought a brilliant novel of the young Uyghur writer to one of the censor agencies for approval. The official told me: “The author is quite young, if we publish his book with a picture of the 30 years of age, what would the people in their 50s and 60s think?” The Chinese block the young intellectuals’ chances of expressing themselves in public work. They are simply envious of the young writers’ talents. We tried for many years to help young writers to publish their books. The Chinese regime does not give any financial support to them. The official whom I showed the manuscript to told me that it was full of bourgeois ideology.


The Chinese regime calls the black as white and the white as black.
Any literal work undergoes a 6 month long censorship and is sent from one censor to another in order to be labeled at the end as the separatist propaganda. The idea of portraying Sawut Damolla would make one think of the Uyghur national state, they say. The Chinese oppression is even stronger in the radio and television.


The government even restricts usage of the words such as Uyghur, Turkish, national education, East Turkistan etc. Every little Uyghur program undergoes big scrutiny. If the Uyghurs mention in their films any “wrong ideas” the film producers face serious punishments.


Editors lose their jobs, and producers face all kinds of allegations even weak image of party organs. The mass media are only supposed to glorify the Chinese Communist party. They serve as a tool of assimilation and degrading the national culture and civilization.

Q: What is the role of Uyghur language materials published in East Turkistan? How many magazines and journals published per annum?


A: Not more than 10 items. In each regional district there is one journal published included magazines in Kirghiz and Kazakh languages, however, most publications are in Chinese. This year around one thousand books and magazines were published. About 30-40% of all Uyghur materials get rejected due to censorship problems that I mentioned to you. Main mass media organs have been taken over by the Chinese. In the biggest publishing house there are nearly 500 employees where there are only 47 Uyghur associates. It is easy to calculate the ratio of Uyghurs involved in the process.

Q: What is the financial standing of the Uyghur language press in East Turkistan? What kind of book our people like?


A: The Uyghur language press is in dire straits. Over the last years the Chinese regime has put the Uyghur national press in extremely difficult situations. The number of national Uyghur magazines has been cut. All media organs fell under the Chinese control and censorship.In many magazines many articles were prohibited and many topics were banned. The articles which mention richness of natural resources, of national culture and civilization are not permitted to be published. The media organs cannot publish their literary works and get sufficient financing. When one journal asked the local government for financial support, officials replied that they should not bother them with such problems and should rather use their savings more economically. It is actually a dangerous signal to the learned man. This regime has grown fat with robbing our natural resources and exploiting our people, however, they happily spend extra money supporting the national culture! Robbing our natural resources is not enough for them – they want to rob our national culture! Materials in Uyghur language with true information do exist, it’s true. However, good books have to be translated – this is where problems arise. Our books in history, culture and arts have been many times falsified and distorted. Only then can they be published.

Q: We heard that the UN allocated a certain amount of money for development of the Uyghur culture, it that true? Were any books published from this money?


A: Yes, it’s true. But only a small part of the allocated money was spent on publishing books and materials. The rest disappeared. Generally, the funding was of no use for the following reasons:
1) The Chinese regime conducted the program of “renovation” the Uyghur textbooks. Old good textbooks published in 80s were banned and destroyed, they were replaced by the new textbooks, which glorify the Chinese Communist party.

2) Money was spent on developing ideas of socialism, communism, and “national unity” that is imperialism.

3) Money was spent not on literature for children but rather on Russian, Chinese and Uyghur Communist writers’ books with the ideas of “red rebel”, “steel hardening”, “Le Pin soldier”, “Ludungyi”, and other books of this sort.

4) This money is spent on bribing our brethren Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz – to turn them against us and to gain their support in oppressing our drive for independence.

5) Most of the finances allocated to the development of national culture are spent on Chinese literature. The Chinese regime publishes textbooks for us to spread their ideas. Other ethnic groups like Kazakhs, Mongols, Kyrgyz, Shive are used as a force against the Uyghurs.

Q: What kind of books do our people like? Is the number of published books sufficient to our people? How do you value the Uyghurs’ interest in books?


A: Our rich and ancient culture did not get much progress under the Chinese oppressive system.


The current ideological system of national education and culture serves the principles of the Communist regime. Teaching at schools, technical colleges, universities and institutes do not meet contemporary requirements.

Teaching such important subjects in social sciences like history, art, literature and national civilization is not carried out at adequate levels. Most books are of low level. Available materials do not provide modern knowledge and ideas.


The Communist oppressors promote literature with rusted ideology and outdated quotes. Official literature lies a lot about Islam, Uyghur history, history of East Turkistan revolution. There are few good books in technical sciences, but good ones are rarely available. The Chinese oppressors have rather published many books with lies about the Uyghur history. Many people were forced to scratch money from their own low incomes to buy these propagandist materials.


The government imposed a special “book tax” on publishing houses. That’s how they make money!


The presses for youngsters promote Chinese and Communist values, atheism and party documents. Let me mention one strategy that happened in Kiriye Hotan. The brother and his sister had to pay 20 yuan each for their school expenses. Their parents, who worked arduously from dawn to dusk all year round, could offer only 20 yuan after paying off all kinds of fees and fines. The 13-year-old brother gave the money to his 10-year-old sister and said: ‘Study hard, my sister, you take the money and buy your books.' After sending his sister to the school, he went out of the village. Later, in the evening, people found his body hanging on a date tree. This is a real story published in the magazine: “Xinjiang Civilization” 5, (2001) in the article: “When the poet was suffering from the illne”. I also wept when I heard this story – in our potentially richest place in the world people live in such poverty! "This is what has happened to poor East Turkistan people over the last 50 years. The Uyghurs’ natural resources are stolen from them and they remain poor and miserable.These atrocities also take place in the 21st century. How can these people afford money for reading books? Their culture is destroyed, their wealth is stolen, and their health is ruined by pollution, their lives broken by oppression.

Q: Are books not yet published in your Homeland?


A: Over 6 thousand years the Uyghurs have developed a rich culture and literature. We are proud of our culture and national roots. However under the Chinese ruling we cannot benefit from our ancestors’ rich cultural heritage.

Books and art pieces get confiscated, banned, locked in archives so our people get deprived of their national roots. All old books were inspected and many pages have been ripped off. The Chinese regime intentionally wants the local people be retarded and culturally backward. Our national culture might well cease to exist if such policies continue. We have to draw the world community’s attention to this fact. It is a crime against the whole of humanity.The Chinese have ruled over our nation for 2 centuries. Our writers Nizari, Meshrep, Molla Musa Sayrami, Molla Bilal and others wrote great books; Then also Tejelliy, Qutluq SHewqi, Abduqadir Damolam, Abliz Mehsum, Abduhaliq Uyghuri, Memtili Ependi, Memtimin Bughra, Quddus Hujam Yarof, Ziya semidi, Turghun Almas, Abdushkur Memtimin, Murat Hemrayof, to mention a few prominent writers.Our writers suffer all kind of oppressions; many of them have been put in jail. We will continue our fight for national independence.

Q: How do you find the national officials who work in the field of culture and education in East Turkistan?


A: Whether one is hero, or traitor, or a regular man, any Uyghur has to submit to the rebels. There are traitors among rebels and rebels among traitors. Some part of Uyghur people is mean type of collaborationists. However, 90% of Uyghurs who work for the Chinese regime are in reality patriots who do their best for their people.

We cannot regard all Uyghur workers in the Chinese service in the same way; we have to draw the line between a minority of traitors and majority of true patriots. Patriots rejected the Chinese’s plan to eradicate our national alphabet. They play an important role in saving our culture and language. They do their best to create objective conditions for developing the national literature.

The Chinese invaders always treated these cadres with suspicion and censored them. Now they also create financial problems to them and their families. Uyghur employees cannot sustain their families regardless of how hard they work.Now they lose their jobs. The government does not allow them to publish good books. Writers have to submit to government 85% of earnings otherwise they would lose their jobs.

The Chinese officials restrict publishing materials in Uyghur language, lay off national cadres, and force the publishing houses to close.

Q: We constantly hear of great interest by our foreign friends in our rich national culture especially in relation to and overall to East Turkistan. Why not publish books on various topics about East Turkistan and improve the financial standing?


A: Good question. We wanted to do so. But we have no right of using freely our ancestors’ heritage. Again, the whole issue is tied to the question of national education system. First, there is no systematic teaching of our children of national values at schools. Second, we don’t have a sufficient number of national scientists. Thirdly, we lack national cadres. Fourthly, researche conducted by our scientists has been strictly controlled by the Chinese regime. Fifthly, many books and art pieces were not returned to Homeland from foreign libraries and museums. Sixth, the Chinese simply steal our national values. One example is when I was in Turpan in 1998 on a business trip. The regional government was selling the historical valuables to gain some finances. We went to the Donghuang (“Thousand Houses”) historical site, but we were not permitted to the site by an official. We joined a group of foreigners. This time we were cordially greeted with false smiles.


Our guide who spoke English with a strong accent revised the Uyghur history 180 degrees around. He stated that these historical values were created by the Chinese in ancient times. These “examples of the rich Chinese civilization” were supposed to be “destroyed by the barbarians”. I was really upset and felt sorry for wasted money. At the end of the excursion I went to the other side – this place had a sign “No entrance” in English and Chinese languages. I went inside the site anyway. I saw a Chinese worker who was scratching with a scoop the paint from the ceiling. I looked more carefully and I saw that he was scratching an ancient painting from the ceiling. I shouted at him in Chinese:" what are you doing?” The guy was scared and looked with suspicion at a “foreigner” who spoke Chinese, and then he replied unwillingly “we are doing restoration work”. I told him “This is the way of doing things. I came here from Urumchi, I worked in the press, and I’ll publish an article about what’s going in here. The worker immediately realized that I was Uyghur and replied with no fear this time” OK, go and write!" I had no choice but to leave this place. I was humiliated like an animal.


I could not tell this story to anyone because I was afraid that it would reach the Chinese bosses. I told this story to one Uyghur scientist who said: “This happens all the time. They bring Chinese articles and bury them in East Turkistan. Then Chinese historians announce about “sensational findings”. They provide proof in this way that the Chinese lived in this region 2 thousand years ago.
In Aqsu they conducted this plot in order to claim that Aqsu always was a Chinese territory. If you wrote about this the government would simply annihilate you.”


Talking about our subject. The Chinese do want the Uyghurs to conduct historical research and to learn about their culture. They make use out of the general interest to the history of this region and got rich by selling invaluable pieces of our religious, scientific, poetic, historical, literature treasury. And the true possessors get only poverty and oppression.


The false propaganda books are published on glossy paper with color pictures. The amount of money spent on this trash literature is so big that Uyghurs could have bought instead the books published in Europe. If the government spent the money allocated by UN on publishing national literature, the great work of safekeeping the national culture and literature would be done to some extent.
Here is the list of some masterpieces: two thousand years old “Maytiri samit”, “Golden light”, “Avesta”, “Shahname”, “Dictionary of Turkic languages”, “Kudatgu bilik”, 300-500 year old “Hemse”, “Tarihi Reshid"; "Ezizane Kashigar", "Tarihi Hemidiye"; "Qisesul Enbiya” and other great works. These works were the basis of literature of Turks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and other 20 nationalities.

Al Farabi, Yusup Has Hajib, Mahmut Kashgari, Alsher Nawayi, Akhmad Yassavi and other renowned writers, poets, philosophers, linguists brought fame to our Motherland and our people. The Communist Chinese regime is working at the outset of 21st century to destroy this old and rich culture.
We have suffered all kinds of injustices. This will not last forever. The oppressors will ripe what they planted. Our sacred Book says: “I will fulfill my promise so that you will know”. We are not people that can easily be eradicated regardless of what the Chinese might think. We are entitled to the history and civilization not less rich than that of China. We will have a chance to get liberated.


Q: Do you know of any worthy books under process of publishing? Do you think the Chinese might abolish our alphabet? Will this really take us out of the world history scene?


A: Scientist Abdushukur Memtimin published “History of Turan” (ancient Central Asia), “Uyghur mukam treasure”, “Kudatgu bilik treasure”, “Overview of the Uyghur philosophy”, “Farabi and his philosophical system”, “Uyghur metallurgical art”, “Uyghur medicine and pharmacology”. Scientist Turghun Almas published, “Brief history of the Huns”, “History of the Uyghur classical literature”, “Uyghurs” and other books. There also bright works in the writing process. These work cover issues of great importance. The high style of authors confuses the Chinese censors who cannot understand many things. Authors use Greek, Russian, Arab and Chinese sources. They use archeological findings to prove their concepts.


It is not easy to destroy the collectivist spirit of our people. The Chinese try to destroy this spirit but to no avail. Our intellectuals have great responsibility upon their shoulders. They face all kind of hardships in using mass media organs for informing the public about their ideas. They can pretend to be working for the oppressors but they do an important job in maintaining our cultural values.


There are few good books published in China available to Uyghur readers. However, generally it is hard to publish books because it should get approval from: 1) chief editor, 2) administrative manager, 3) department manager. Then the meeting of managers is called which lasts for several days with big disputes about whether or not to publish the book. The books get “amended and corrected” seriously. Some get cut in the waiting list. The Chinese supervisors write their comments about the contents of the books.

New “corrections” are made continuously. At the end the last version is prepared. Books get translated into Chinese and sent to publishing houses. The books are held on waiting list for several months.


This is not yet official process of publishing. There are 2 following steps: 1) it undergoes strong censorship of chief editor, 2) overall censorship of the office, 3) a competent employee reads this book, 4) sometimes the censors’ bosses read the books, 5) publishing house’s editor reads and comments on the book, 6) a trusted government person reads the book and comments on it, 7) the book goes to the secret police for “inspection”, 8) the book returns to the publishing house in the dead status, 9) after the editor signs his approval, the book goes to the factory for publishing, 10) political supervisors watch very closely the process of typing and publishing books. Then the book goes to the factory.


After the book is published this is what happens during the next 1-3 months: following government offices checks 1) ministry of Xinjiang, 2) secret police of Xinjiang, 3) local agents, 4) literature office, 5) Academy of Social Sciences, 6) public security organs. If any problem arises the publishing and distributing of the book immediately stops. Responsible officials get executed. Instructions are published in thousands of pages and sent to all government workers who speak Uyghur language.


These instructions warn of possible political mistakes and have a very detailed list of required terms and phrases. They are disseminated among high-ranking party officials, security officers, chiefs of mass media, and government offices. They all watch closely for any published materials. The whole idea here is to weaken our national values to eventually assimilate us. Our society is turned into the prison beneath the open skies. From outside things seem to be going well, however, there is a mass human rights violation going on in China. We have prepared a report to the United Nations, European Union, and international organizations with a detailed count of all violations and abuses from the Chinese side.The Chinese government lies about its actions. This is what the great and fascist Chinese regime is doing. In my opinion they want to deprive us of our rich culture, philosophy, history, literature and art.
The Chinese have restricted publishing good books of Uyghur authors. Now they are trying to deprive us of our national alphabet. They are really irritating a dangerous and angry wolf by doing so. Eastern Turkistan people have faced over 50 years of hardship that they do not intend to minimize. Intensified oppression only leads to stronger resistance.


If the Chinese continue their policies of replacing Uyghur language with the Chinese tongue, our people will not be able to educate their children in the national spirit. They will simply not educate their children. The reasons for this: 1) our people do not want their children to grow up into the Chinese, 2) our people are so poor they will not be able to afford sending their children to higher schools, 3) even if part of our children grow up amongst the Chinese they will have a moral trauma in their hearts which they will pass to their children, 4) our civilization beats the values and concepts expressed in the Chinese language. That is why the Chinese have bad thoughts of “outstripping in 5 years UK or US”.


They made up plans of assimilation the Hotan Uyghurs. So they opened mixed Chinese-Uyghur schools where Chinese now this time tried to “get Uyghurs”.

Why have the Chinese not accepted the Russians’ experience? What happened to the Russians policies of Russification of West Turkistan at the end? Wrong policies lead to failures. The Chinese regime chose wrong policies and caused themselves great troubles.


Their strategy always loses great battles. The Chinese regime’s anti-Uyghur terrorist policies and actions will eventually lead to its great failure. They will pay a great price for all their atrocities made against our nation and our people. They will face international tribunals. There is no time limitation for calling for responsibility for grave crimes. The world community and our nation for their crime and brutality will hold them.

18/05/2002, Germany/Halberstadt

From:http://www.uygur.org/enorg/h_rights/etic_report_june_2002.html

Please note, the Human Rihts in Uyghuristan!



C. by Korash Atahan


The Chinese government pursues a policy of systematic assimilation on Uighur People. Chinese is the official language. Officially, the two-child policy for national minorities, in practice means a second child often the dismissal. Also, to reduce the birth rate forced abortions and forced sterilizations. For this purpose, even mobile clinics set up in which abortions even in the country should be carried out.

About 100,000 young Uighur girls from 14 to 18 years of farming families were forced into the interior of China spent, at best, to work on real minimum wages, but also to many dubious "work" in the Vergnügungsindustrie. Despite a general education in PR China can be many children in East Turkestan not attend the school. Many children need help in agriculture, also can be very many families spending for the school not afford. In addition, the parents often no prospect that another school would justify because Uyghur hardly any work. This remains predominantly Chinese. In the year 2007 year the massacre of Gulja for the tenth time, the background is for the host country of the Olympic Games 2008 remarkable.

A group of young Uyghur in the city of Gulja met frequently for sports and recreational activities. My mistake: That was not state-organized and has been described as "dangerous" for the internal security and watched forbidden. On the other hand, demonstrated the youngsters. Police and secret service about 10 demonstrators shot dead, and hundreds were arrested. Overall, more than 6,000 young Uyghur with reference to these riots came into prison.

There were hundreds of death sentences, many disappeared without trace. To this day, thousands still sit in prison. The events have triggered an exodus movement. To the Uighur refugees and dissidents abroad to lay claim were agreements with neighboring countries on cooperation in the fight against terrorism, the fight against separatism and extremism ".


Result: Uighur refugees will be delivered and in PR China imprisoned or even executed. Some of the interned in Guantanamo Uyghur than unsuspicious freigekommen, but were expected because of unfair treatment is not the PRC.

Five of them have received temporary Albania (having no other state wanted), but they are constantly under threat of deportation. After 11 September 2001, the PRC partially successful attempt, the policy of oppression of the Uyghur Muslim with the "fight against terrorism" to justify. Terrorist after Chinese interpretation is, for example, Everyone within the meaning of the right to self-determination of peoples to peacefully seeking independence, or even a referendum on the whereabouts Eastern Turkestan in the People's Republic propagated. Terroristisch are also all information that is not the official reading. For example Thus, the Munich-based Eastturkestan-Informations Center also described as a terrorist enterprise, but the German authorities rejecting. 1st On the occasion of the 11th Anniversary of the Chinese government raid of inhuman Barin uprising in Aktu County, East Turkistan. 2nd To require the full and immediate release of Uyghuren historian Tohti Muzat, author Nurmehemmet Yasin, Memet Tohtimetruzi and publisher Korash Huseyin. 3rd To require the full and immediate release of the Uyghur businesswoman, Rabiye Kadeers children Ablikim Abdureyim, Alim Abdureyim, Kahar Abdureyim. In the 5th April 1990, oppressed Uyghur farmers in Barin Village stand against the Chinese government brutal dictatorship to claim their rights to survive. , With whom they strongly armed forces and the government were ruthlessly crushed by the PLA. Many of them lost their lives in this tough.


The CCP launched a nationwide campaign to clean up Uyghurs under the pretext of "Barin separatist" and arrested 5000 innocent people in a year after that event. Most of them are still in prison, without any judicial procedure.

Tohti Muzart (Uyghur)


Mr.Tohti Tunyaz (pseudonym: Tohti Muzart) (b.1960), a Uighur historian and writer graduated from the Central Institute of Nationalities History Department, Beijing (1984), later in the work for the China National Standing Committee; And for the study a Ph.D. Uyghur in the history and ethnic relations in the nineteenth and twentieth century history at the China University of Tokyo, Japan (1995) - was established in Urumqi, Xinjiang, to return to China to visit his relatives and research. His historical research on Uyghur history, a book published in China and in a number of newspapers published in Japan. In April 1998, he was arrested for instigating separatism "because he was allegedly a book in Japan in 1998 with the title The Inside Story of the Silk Road, supports the" ethnic separatism "- although Japanese scientists that no such book and" Illegal purchase of state secrets for foreign persons "because he copied a list of the 50-year-old documents provided by an official librarian.


In March 1999 Tohti was tried and sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment and two years' deprivation of political rights, a sentence of the court of appeal confirmed in March 2000. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WORLDWIDE Appeal-AUGUST 2002: UYGHUR historian behind bars Tohti Tunyaz, an ethnic Uighur from Eastturkistan (The autonomous region of Xinjiang Uyghur ) in northwest of China, is a service eleven years in prison because his research into Uighur history. He is a prisoner of conscience.


Tohti Tunyaz (Muzart)who is a Writer. He is a postgraduate student in Japan specializes in the history of Chinese government policy towards minorities. He was in February 1998 during a visit to the Eastturkistan (XUAR) to research his thesis.

He was arrested for instigating separatism "and" illegally acquiring state secrets ". Tohti Tunyaz was convicted in March 1999 by the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court, and his conviction and the sentence was confirmed on appeal in March 2000. During his trial the court documents, which he in the Eastturkistan(XUAR), and endorses a book "ethnic separatism", he was accused of publishing in Japan. His professor in Japan, Sato Tsugitaka, has claimed that the so-called "state secrets" consisted of a list of 50-year-old documents provided by an official librarian, and that Mr.Tunyaz not published any book advocates "ethnic separatism".

The detention of Mr.Tunyaz(Muzart) comes at a time of increased government repression in the Eastturkistan(XUAR), particularly in the predominantly Muslim Uighur population. Following the attacks of 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, China has its political cracking through the closure of mosques, burning Uyghur books and branding supporters of independence for the region as "ethnic separatists" or "terrorists". In May 2001, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Tohti Tunyaz arrest was arbitrary and in violation of his right to freedom of thought, expression and opinion.


Tohti Muzart, a well-known historian Uyghur in Urumchi by the Chinese authorities in 1998 on his way back to Japan after a visit to his family in Aksu. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison next year on false charges of allegedly historical documents in a foreign country. It is not known where he is serving his prison sentence. Before his arrest, he was a Ph.D. student at the University of Tokyo. He is the author of the popular history book, "Uyghur history and culture", which was banned after his arrest. In March of the year 2006, Chinese courts sentenced in Urumchi Rebiya Kadeers children up to 8-9 years in prison for alleged state secrets to foreign institutions. The charges against Rebiya Kadeers children are unfounded, and their right to due process was violated.


Memed Tohti Metrozi (Uyghur)


Mr.Muhammed Tohti Metrozi fled Eastturkistan (The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region) northwest of China to seek refuge in Pakistan. A pro-independence activist and a member of the Uighur ethnic minority, had for two months in detention in China in the suspicion of "separatist". While in detention, he reported that he was beaten with wooden sticks.

Muhammad was as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR, and is awaiting resettlement in Sweden in July 2003, when he reportedly went to a Pakistani government official. He is not seen. Reportedly, Muhammed was forcibly returned to China, where he was arrested. According to some reports, he was tried on charges in connection with his application for refugee status, and its work will help Uyghur refugees in Pakistan.


Mohammed case is typical for several Uyghur thoughts were forcibly returned to China from neighboring countries in recent years. The Chinese government seems to be with the international "war on terror" as a pretext for international support for its policy of oppression of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority. Each Uyghur suspected of involvement in the "separatist" and the return to China is at risk of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, unfair trials, torture and even execution.

The Chinese government uses "of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism" to prepare for a wide range of activities, which are often no more than peaceful opposition or dissent, or the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of religion. Take Action! You can help Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers with a written request to the Chinese authorities by the letter as an example.


Korash Huseyin (Uyghur)



Mr.Korash Huseyin, 40, is chief editor at Kashgar Literature Journal, according to several sources in Eastturkistan (XUAR), spoke with RFA's Uyghur service on the condition of anonymity. He and his wife have three children. A court in the southern Eastturkistan city of Kashgar has sentenced him to three years in prison because of the publication of the original short story "Wild Pigeon" by Nurmuhemmet Yasin, currently 10 years sentence for incitement Uyghur separatism by the letter.

Fable as a criticism of China Both Yasin and Huseyin belong to the Muslim Uyghur ethnic group, which accounts for most of the population in Eastturkistan, a vast territory rich in mineral resources and of great strategic importance to Beijing on its northwestern borders. No further information about the case was immediately available, and a police official contacted by telephone declined to comment Thursday.

"This kind of matter, we do not outwards," the official said. Asked whether the police had arrested Huseyin, the officer replied: "We do not know" and hung up the phone. The Kashgar Literary Journal "Wild Pigeon" in late 2004. Apparently reading the story as a tacit criticism of Chinese rule in the region, Kashgar police arrested Yasin, November 29, 2004.


At the time of his arrest, authorities confiscated Yasin's personal computer, in which an estimated 1600 poems, comments, stories and an unfinished novel, according to sources in the region. Narrator committing suicide Yasin, born on 6 In March 1974, is married and has two young sons. His story, entitled "Yawa Kepter" in the Uyghur language, translates literally as "wild, or feral pigeon" or "wild pigeon," as Uyghur uses the same word for both species.



The story is the first person fictional story of a young pigeon, the son of a pigeon king - who is captured and imprisoned by humans when he ventures far from home. In the end the narrator commits suicide by swallowing a poisonous strawberry rather than sacrifice his freedom, just as his own father committed suicide under similar conditions as for the years before. "The poisons from the strawberry flow through me," the unnamed pigeon remarks to himself at the end. "Now, finally, I can die freely. Me, I feel as if my soul is on fire-soaring and free."

Nurmemet Yasin (Uyghur)


Mr.Nurmuhemmet Yasin was in Kashgar, 29 November 2004, shortly after the publication of his short story "Wild Pigeon" (Yawa Kepter) in the in uigurischer language appearing Kashgar Literature Journal, were arrested.


They confiscated the authorities Yasins computer on which the 1600 poems, comments, stories and an unfinished novel were. He was arrested the editor of the Kashgar Literature Journal, Korash Huseyin, which is currently a three-year Freiheitsstrafte absitzt.

The trial, the defendants and without the exclusion of the public place, resulted in a ten-year prison sentence for "incitement to uigurischen separatism". An appeal of the ruling changed nothing, and Yasin was on 19 In May 2005 to prison in Urumqi transferred. Until today, he was there every visit prohibited. Probably the claim is based on the publication of the short story "Wild Pigeon", in which the Ich-Erzählerin, a young pigeon, from people trapped in a locked cage and committing suicide rather than give up their freedom. "The Gift of strawberry flows through my body," says the nameless dove at the end. "Now I can finally die.


It is as if my soul is on fire-then it floats freely. " Yasins story was on one of the largest websites in Eastturkistan (The Uigurischen Autonomous Region) for a major literary prize suggested, but the Chinese authorities apparently viewed as a criticism of the government in Eastturkistan(the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang). Nurmuhemmet Yasin, 32 years old, is award-winning freelance writer and honorary member of English PEN.

He has in recent years many of the critics acclaimed works published. He is married and has two children. PEN believes that both Yasins as well Huseyins condemnation against the Article 19 of the International Covenant on civil and political rights, which China has signed.


In order for the immediate and unconditional release Nurmuhemmet Yasins and publisher Korash Huseyin to ask, please write to the Chinese embassy in London.

Abdughéni Memtimin (Uyghur)

Mr.Abdughéni Memtimin is 1964 in Eastturkistan born. Profession: writer, teacher and translator from Eastturkistan(The Uyghur Autonomy Region of Xinjiang ). Date of arrest: 26 In July 2002 sentence: 9 years in prison.

Expires: 25 In July 2011 details of the arrest: Reported in August 2004 were held in July 2002 on charges of "sending secret state information from the country". Reportedly arrested Kashgar on 26 July 2002.

Since 1999 Memetemin had the information on a voluntary basis in the East Turkistan Information Center (ETIC), a Uyghur rights and pro-independence group of Uyghur living in exile in Germany and China as a terrorist group, although the group is not known , have opted for violence. Details of the study: Convicted in June 2003 by the Kashgar Intermediate People's Court "breach of state secrets, and sending them outside the country". Sentenced to nine years in prison.

Charges against him believed to have translated into state news from the Uighur, forwarding to the official speeches ETIC, which is banned in China and execution reporting for the ETIC. Also accused of recruiting other reporters for the ETIC. Said was denied legal representation during his trial and has access to his wife and his children since his arrest. Reportedly tortured in detention. He is an honorary member: German PEN.


Huseyin Celil (Uyghur)

Mr.Huseyin Celil is a member of western China's Uighur minority. He has been a Canadian citizen since November 2005. He fled persecution in China because of his campaigning on behalf of his community.

The Chinese authorities routinely Uighur activists accuse of "terrorism" without providing credible evidence for such charges. In March 2006 Huseyin was picked by Chinese police in Uzbekistan while on holiday visiting his wife's family. He was extradited to China to face trial, and was held in secrecy without access to a lawyer, his family, or consular assistance.

He was subjected to threats that he would be 'disappeared' or 'buried alive' unless he signed a confession. China does not recognize Huseyin's status as a Canadian citizen, and Canadian officials were barred from attending the trial. On April 19th Huseyin Celil was handed a sentence of life imprisonment in a Chinese jail.

Ablikim Abdiriyim (Uyghur)


Mr.Ablikim Abdiriyim (33 years old), the third son of uigurischen Menschenrechtsverteidigerin Rebiya Kadeer, was on 17 April 2007 because of "incitement to and involvement in separatist activities" to nine years in prison.

The court also ruled him in the wake of the imprisonment of his prison term political rights for three years to escape. This may in fact mean house arrest, without the possibility of communicating with the outside world to communicate. Moreover, the Chinese authorities began apparently in early April of this year so that the assets of the family Kadeer to evaluate their business and disband.

According to Chinese state media has Ablikim Abdiriyim in the process stood, "separatist articles on the Internet, the public against the Chinese government aufgehetzt and to have written articles in which China's human rights and minority policy has been misrepresented."

The ruling by the Middle People's Court in Urumqi (chinese: Wulumuqi), the capital of Eastturkistan (The Uyghur Autonomy region of Xinjiang), like it was, as they say, that Ablikim Abdiriyim the uigurischsprachigen webmaster of the Internet provider Yahoo asked two articles with the title "topics, which you should be aware and the Jihad are prohibited" and "struggle for independence" to be published.

Nach Kenntnis von amnesty international gibt es jedoch gar keine uigurischsprachige Yahoo-Website. Next, the court's decision argued that the defendants had intended to circulate written material to bring, "public protests against the local authorities to stir."

Also, it was an article about the policies of the People's Republic of China in respect of human rights and ethnic minorities have made. According to his family members had Ablikim Abdiriyim in the trial did not have a lawyer. Even the family was not notified in advance of the trial date of the trial, on 22 In January 2007 have taken place, informed. It is not clear whether Ablikim Abdiriyim against the acquittal debt right to appeal and whether it after the verdict was delivered from the Tian Shan prison to a prison has been transferred.

On 2 April 2007, the "Working Kadeer," by the Chinese authorities has been formed to tackle the family and their companies to coordinate on public notice boards known that with the liquidation of the assets has begun to family-imposed fines to eradicate. Accordingly, the authorities Rebiya Kadeers oldest son Kahar Abdiriyim forced the settlement. In the event of his refusal to cooperate with the authorities, they threatened him with arrest. Allen family members who publicly opposed the confiscation of property should pronounce, law enforcement measures were promised. Regarding the health status of Ablikim Abdiriyim are no new insights. Amnesty International remains concerned that it is urgently necessary medical care is denied, and he consequently in danger of life floats.


According to reports from reliable sources March of this year, his health due to the constitution of beatings and ill-treatment in detention herrührenden violations seriously deteriorated. On 26 November 2006 had eyewitness observed, as the prisoner on a stretcher from the Tian Shan prison had been taken away. Since his arrest in June last year were his family members Ablikim Abdiriyim not attend.

Alim Abdiriyim (Uyghur)



Mr.Alim Abdiriyim, the son of the prominent, the exiled Uighur Human rihts activst Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, by the Chinese authorities has been made a crime. Alim Abdiriyim be on 1 In July 2006 his alleged crime of "tax evasion" and "separatism" and the commitment to the independence Easttürkistan(The Uyghur Autonomy region of Xinjiang) have confessed under torture. According to the non-human rights organization "Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), which is based in the United States was Alim Abdiriyim after the" confession "in the district prison of Tian Shan in Urumqi (chinese: Wulumuqi), the capital of Xinjiang, transferred.


Perhaps he needed him because of the torture inflicted injuries urgent medical care. Alim Abdiriyim came together with her sister Rushangul Abdiriyim, and six other family members (including four children), 29 May 2006 in prison who wanted the Chinese authorities apparently to prevent a U.S. contact, which was commissioned by the Human Rights Center of the United States Congress at the invitation of the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang, and traveled the next day to meet with them.

According to the state-controlled press in China, the arrests, however, with financial irregularities in the company of Rebiya Kadeer linked. With the exception of one company, all companies of the family of Rebiya Kadeer, on the initiative of the Chinese authorities of its business operations.


On 1 In June 2006, Alim and Ablikim Abdiriyim front of the eyes of their children and her sister Rushangul of policemen beaten. One of the police officers, then Rushangul Abdiriyim a mobile phone in his hand and pressed it to Rebiya Kadeer in the United States to call her mother and tell them what is happening. Later had Rushangul Abdiriyim due to stress and shock in a hospital. It is currently together with her uncle Mamat Kadeer, the brother of Rebiya Kadeer, in house arrest.


The four grandchildren of Rebiya Kadeer, the first man also arrested, but later released had to be on leaving their homes prevented, so that they do not go to school. Regarding Kaysar and Rayila, which together with the four children had been arrested, there are no new findings.


Abdulla Jamal (Uyghur)


Mr.Abdulla Jamal (m) aged 42, teacher, writer. Abdulla Jamal, an ethnic Uighur from the Eastturkistan (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) in the north-west of China, was reportedly arrested in early April for a book to write, the authorities accuse of inciting "separatism". Amnesty International believes he may be a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for the exercise of his right to freedom of expression. His whereabouts is unknown, and he is at high risk of torture and ill-treatment.


Abdulla Jamal, which reportedly teaches at the No. 1 Middle School of Poskam County in the city of Kashgar, is in the region known for his writing. He was Imprisoned after being the manuscript of his book, in the disaster preparedness Oil Well, to a publisher in Kashgar. The book was not published. The exact charges against Jamal Abdulla has not been made public, but the Chinese authorities have reportedly accused him of incitement "separatism" in the book.


NOTES Amnesty International has reports of serious and widespread human rights violations against the mainly Muslim Uighur community in northwest China since the early 1990s. In 1996, a "strike hard" campaign against crime was prosecuted whole China, and in Eastturkistan and Tibet has been accompanied by a political campaign to combat the "separatists".


The raid on the political So-called "three evil forces" of "separatist, terrorist and religious extremists" has changed since the attacks of 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, as China takes advantage of the international "war on terror" as a pretext to justify its policy of repression in the region. For many years, authorities have been arresting Uyghur who have expressed criticism, dissent or dissatisfaction with the policies of the government.


People who explicitly Such opinions are often accused of "separatist, terrorist or illegal Religious," and can be arbitrary and illegal detention as political prisoners of conscience, torture and other grave violations of human rights, including the death penalty. In May this year, the "strike hard" campaign against the "three evil forces", the Eastturkistan(XUAR) was renewed. According to an official announcement published Regional Newspapers, "The whole region must continue to deepen the implementation of any central government policy on safeguarding the stability the Eastturkistan (XUAR) and fully recognize the long-term, sharp and complicated nature of the struggle against separatism… striking, when and where it appears. "

Ismail Semed (Uyghur)

Mr.Ismail Semed, a member of turksprachigen minority derIsmail Semed Ismail Semed, a member of turksprachigen minority of Eastturkistan (The Uyghur Autonomous region of Xinjiang) in the north-west of China, is in immediate danger, to be executed after he indictments because with a political background has been sentenced to death.

Ismail Semed was on 31 In October 2005 from Middle People's Court in Urumqi (Wulumuqi) of the "attempted split of the fatherland" and other offenses in connection with the possession of firearms and explosives found guilty. According to the uigurischen human rights organization "Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), which is based in Washington DC have unconfirmed reports suggest that his appeal process to the exclusion of the public place. Death sentences are in the People's Republic of China usually shortly after the conclusion of the appeal court enforced.


Given the political implications in this case against Ismail Semed imposed death sentence possibly by the Supreme People's Court. According UHRP, Ismail Semed him for alleged offenses during the questioning confessed, but the confession in court withdrawn. Perhaps you have a confession from him through torture ransom. The charges of firearms possession apparently was based on previous statements other Uyghur, some of which 1999 executed have been. It is not ruled out that her incriminating statements were forced by torture. The charges of "splitting the motherland" refers to testimony that Ismail Semed member of the "East Turkestan Islamic Movement" (ETIM), and to the Assembly of the ETIM 1997 in Rawalpindi Pakistan participated. His alleged ETIM-Mitgliedschaft and participation in the meeting, however, is disputed by persons who participated in the meeting. The Chinese government has ETIM as a ostturkestanischen "terrorist organizations".


After repeated pressure from the Chinese side, the United States and the United Nations 2002 ETIM as a "terrorist organization". The rationale for this decision but devoid of any credible evidence.


In the 1990s, Ismail Semed reportedly because of the participation in demonstrations in Eastturkistan( XUAR) involving two prison sentences. After a demonstration in February 1997 in Gulja (Yining), he fled to Pakistan. According to local information sources, the demonstration was peaceful by growing repression against the culture and religion of the Uyghur in Gulja and triggered environment.


The protest rally was by the Chinese security forces forcibly dissolved, many people are killed or seriously injured. In the ensuing riots were hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of people killed or seriously injured, as the following day, thousands took to the streets to counter the actions of the security forces to protest. Subsequently, other police units in the city sent the messages that the roads durchkämmten and people, including children, festnahmen beat.


In some places, the police should demonstrators and Chinese residents of the village and attacked shops and vehicles on fire.


The security forces reportedly widespread opened fire on the protest participants and innocent passers-by. The exact number of fatalities was unclear until today, and an unknown number of people is in the context of the events nine years ago remains in prison Ismail Semed was 2003 by the Pakistani authorities in the PRC deported.


From the Eastturkistan (Uyghur Autonomy of Xinjiang) in the north-west of China, is in immediate danger, to be executed after he indictments because with a political background has been sentenced to death. Ismail Semed was on 31 In October 2005 from Middle People's Court in Urumqi (Wulumuqi) of the "attempted split of the fatherland" and other offenses in connection with the possession of firearms and explosives found guilty.

According to the uigurischen human rights organization "Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), which is based in Washington DC have unconfirmed reports suggest that his appeal process to the exclusion of the public place. Death sentences are in the People's Republic of China usually shortly after the conclusion of the appeal court enforced.

Given the political implications in this case against Ismail Semed imposed death sentence possibly by the Supreme People's Court. According UHRP, Ismail Semed him for alleged offenses during the questioning confessed, but the confession in court withdrawn. Perhaps you have a confession from him through torture ransom. The charges of firearms possession apparently was based on previous statements other Uyghur, some of which 1999 executed have been.

It is not ruled out that her incriminating statements were forced by torture. The charges of "splitting the motherland" refers to testimony that Ismail Semed member of the "East Turkestan Islamic Movement" (ETIM), and to the Assembly of the ETIM 1997 in Rawalpindi Pakistan participated.

His alleged ETIM-Mitgliedschaft and participation in the meeting, however, is disputed by persons who participated in the meeting. The Chinese government has ETIM as a ostturkestanischen "terrorist organizations".


After repeated pressure from the Chinese side, the United States and the United Nations 2002 ETIM as a "terrorist organization". The rationale for this decision but devoid of any credible evidence. In the 1990s, Ismail Semed reportedly because of the participation in demonstrations in Eastturkistan(XUAR) involving two prison sentences. After a demonstration in February 1997 in Gulja (Yining), he fled to Pakistan.


According to local information sources, the demonstration was peaceful by growing repression against the culture and religion of the Uyghur in Gulja and triggered environment. The protest rally was by the Chinese security forces forcibly dissolved, many people are killed or seriously injured. In the ensuing riots were hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of people killed or seriously injured, as the following day, thousands took to the streets to counter the actions of the security forces to protest.

Subsequently, other police units in the city sent the messages that the roads durchkämmten and people, including children, festnahmen beat. In some places, the police should demonstrators and Chinese residents of the village and attacked shops and vehicles on fire. The security forces reportedly widespread opened fire on the protest participants and innocent passers-by. The exact number of fatalities was unclear until today, and an unknown number of people is in the context of the events nine years ago remains in prison Ismail Semed was 2003 by the Pakistani authorities in the PRC deported.

27-November 2007 Germany/ Frankfurt

Uyghur People (Gallery-6)