UAA Statement of the Chinese Government plans for Western Development
December 2000
The Uyghur American Association is concerned about Chinese government plans to develop the so-called 'western regions of China.'
'Western China,' comprised of Eastern Turkestan (the so-called Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region), historical Tibet and Inner Mongolia are occupied nations that will have no voice in the proposed development plans.
In Eastern Turkestan, 'western development' is a code-word for building the infrastructure so that Chinese firms with Chinese labor can extract our natural resources and send them back to China. There will be no funding for new schools for Uyghur children to learn their language and culture, clinics to help the infirm, or jobs to allow non-Chinese speakers to raise their lot in life.
A large part of the money invested (if not thrown after graft and corruption), will be spent on security concerns, such as building and housing garrisons of PLA, Chinese Bureau of State Security or BingTuan. These troops will be used against the occupied peoples to enforce colonialist policies and will be funded by business investments.'
Not only do the people in the 'western regions of China' have no voice in the development and will not share in it's rewards, but they will endure the added security to ensure that they say nothing as their inheritance is shipped to a foreign country, China.
The Uyghur American Association:
BOD
Uyghur American Association
Uyghur American Association statement on Violence
December 13, 2000
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 Uyghur American Association notes the overwhelming evidence of arbitrary detentions, torture, and extrajudicial killings being used to control the people of Eastern Turkestan, the so-called Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by Chinese government police, military and paramilitary forces. In addition, the use of weapons of war against peaceful demonstrators has also been evidenced, such as in Baren in 1995 and Ghulja City in 1997.
These weapons of intimidation, coupled with public executions in stadiums and the maintenance of ultimate control by the Chinese Communist Party, the people of Eastern Turkestan have no voice in the future of their nation. There is no avenue to discuss jobs for non-Chinese speaking people, there is no redress for plundering of the national resources, there are no discussions about remedies to the drug and alcohol problems among the youth of Eastern Turkestan.
Eastern Turkestan is a hotbed of anger and resentment because the people of Eastern Turkestan feel that they have been treated as a Chinese colony for far too long. The Chinese government blames the unrest on 'Islamic Fundamentalism,' but should examine it's own behavior and contribution to the crisis.
The Uyghur American Association decries the desperate violent acts conducted by individuals who have been driven, as a direct result of Chinese governmental rule and policies, to commit these acts. The vast majority of the people of Eastern Turkestan, as are most peoples of the world, abhor violence, but when backed into a corner they strike out at the face covering the corner.
The Uyghur American Association:
signed,
Uyghur American Association
BoD
UAA Statement on State Sponsored Terrorism
December 2000
The Uyghur American Association recognizes the continuing terrorist campaign against the people of Eastern Turkestan.
As outlined in Chinese Communist Party document #7, "Record of the Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party concerning the maintenance of Stability in Xinjiang" dated March, 1996, the Communist Chinese leadership is determined to increase the propaganda campaign and crackdown on any hint of non-Chinese Communist Party thought or expression.
Quoted from Document #7:
"Mobilize every power possible to defend the unity of motherland and the unity of ethnic groups.
"When choosing students for study abroad, pay great attention to their attitude and their actual behavior. Do not send those without a good attitude."
"Tightly control the media market. Books, journals, audio and video tapes which twist the history and inspire ethnic separatism and illegal religious ideas should be prohibited and confiscated without exception; the involved personnel have to be investigated."
"Strengthen the democratic dictatorship organizations, such as Public Safety and National Security, and fully utilize their functions in fighting separatism and sabotage activities."
The Uyghur American Association calls attention to this grave situation where the millions of people of Eastern Turkestan live with constant, undying threats to their personal safety and surrounded by an atmosphere of fear.
The well-known case of Rebiya Kadeer, sentenced to eight years for sending public newspapers to the United States. Her son and secretary were subjected to non-judicial punishment for being associated with her, three years in Reform Through Labor camps, without a trial or chance for appeal.
The organizers of the peaceful demonstration in Ghulja City in Feb. 1997, are either dead or have escaped the country. The tens of thousands that were rounded up after the incident will remember the months they spent in concentration-like camps. Chinese government authorities recently buried Abdulelil Abdumegit and insist his death was caused by illness, but they have not allowed the family to see the body or visit the grave. Was this to coverup the more than three years of beatings and torture? If he was indeed sick, then the family should have been able to see the body.
Immediately after the Ghulja incident, to further intimidate the people of Eastern Turkestan, the Chinese government paraded the suspects in the back of a stake truck through the city streets. Witnesses talk about how they looked drugged, their hands and legs bound fast with wire and the eventual public executions in the stadium in front of a large audience.
UAA Statement on State Sponsored Terrorism (continued)
Also in early 1997, the Eastern Turkestan national flag was hung from Mao's statute in Kashgar. Twenty people were arrested and five were executed for this 'crime.'
The Chinese government is guilty of organizing and perpetuating a campaign of terror and intimidation against the people of Eastern Turkestan. Under the guise of 'maintaining stability,' the Chinese government engages in mass jailings, torture, and extrajudicial executions. This insidious campaign to silence the people of Eastern Turkestan is cold and calculated and is undertaken without regard to value of human life or the terrible consequences to the millions of people of Eastern Turkestan.
The Uyghur American Association:
signed,
BOD
Uyghur American Association
Uyghur under state terror
On December 4, just five days before the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at a time when people around the world is getting ready for the celebration, China executed 15 Uyghurs for the crimes of conscience, putting the total officially acknowledged numbers of executed Uyghurs to 79 since last years Ghulja uprising. Unofficial sources claim, however, that hundreds of more people were killed, many from extreme tortures, behind the closed doors. Based on the official number, China has killed an average of one political prisoner every week. For a minority with a population of 8.5 million, this is nothing less than a genocide. These people whose only crime on most cases was speaking their mind and wishing for self-determination for themselves and their people were summarily executed without proper trials. How many more Uyghurs will have to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of opinion and expression before the atrocity committed against them get noticed?
On February 5, 1997, the Uyghur youths of Ghulja city rallied on a peaceful demonstration demanding respect for human rights. The peaceful demonstration was turned into a bloody conflict as the Chinese authorities preferred a brutal suppression of the young men instead of listening to their concerns.
Showing blatant disregard and contempt for the young people's demands, the police poured cold water on the demonstrators from fire trucks in the freezing winter weather, and then fired on them with automatic guns, resulting in the death of 10 people by official figures. Independent reports say 103 people including several Chinese were killed. Shortly after the incident, the Chinese authorities launched in retaliation an intimidation and terror campaign towards the entire Uyghur population of East Turkistan.
Tens of thousands of the Uyghurs have been labeled as "nationalists", "separatists" and arbitrarily arrested. Torture was widely used against them.
East Turkistan is a colonized land no matter how we look at it. East Turkistan people have a totally different history, culture, tradition, language, religion, and even the appearance than the Chinese people. Even the Chinese name "Xinjiang" which means "New Territory" in Chinese suggests that it is an occupied land. The communist China crushed the East Turkistan Republic in 1949 and illegally occupied our country. Despite China has been implementing a typical colonial rule in East Turkistan by forceful mass immigration of 6.5 million Chinese settlers there since 1949, China's veto in the Security Council prevents the United Nations from recognizing China's rule there as colonial. Meanwhile, countries are afraid of offending Asia's emerging superpower, turning a blind eye to Beijing's persecution of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Mongols and other minorities in its vast empire.
As a result of mass Chinese immigration, Uyghurs has become a minority on their own land. The sudden increase of population has decreased water resources available for the local farmers, causing hunger and unemployment. The heavy demand on the land and other natural resources caused wide-spread ecological and environmental disasters, further deteriorating the living conditions of local people.
Aggravating an already dismal situation, China has built its biggest labor-camp in East Turkistan to put serious criminals from all over China. All the criminals are forced to settle in Eastern Turkistan after they have served their term. As a result, the crime rate in Eastern Turkistan has become very high.
While the Chinese people are encouraged to settle into the region, a coercive birth control policy is being carried out among the local inhabitants.
Uyghur under state terror (continued)
Uyghur people do not have the same access to education as the Chinese settlers. At school, Uyghur kids are not taught Uyghur history and traditions. The Uyghur language are gradually being replaced by Chinese as the instructional language at Uyghur schools. Only a very small percentage of high school Uyghur students can go to college. But after graduation from college, many of them face difficulty finding a job while their Chinese classmates have no problem securing a good job.
Thousands of new jobs are being created in the developing industrial and business sectors, but all of them are set aside for the Chinese settlers from China proper. Government incentives give Chinese migrants salaries 50 percent above those they earn at home. Meanwhile, one half of the working age Uyghur population is unemployed or underemployed. For example, the petroleum industry in Eastern Turkistan hires close to half a million people, but it hires almost exclusively Chinese workers. Even for the governmental jobs in the Uyghur countryside where virtually no Chinese reside the government sends Chinese soldiers or militiamen from the Bin Tuan, all of whom are at most high school graduates, along with assigned college graduate Uyghur translators to guide them. While many Uyghur college graduates are better qualified for the positions, they can not find a job.
Since 1961, China has exploded 45 nuclear bombs at the Lop Nur testing site of Eastern Turkistan. But the government has never studied or even mentioned the effects of nuclear testing. There are no official figures for nuclear fallout, but it has been estimated that the nuclear pollution has claimed more than 200,000 lives in Eastern Turkistan.
Although religious freedom is allowed by law, Chinese authorities is pushing a vicious anti-religion campaign in Eastern Turkistan where most of the people believe in Islam. All the religious schools are strictly banned. Many Mosques have been closed and the building of new mosques is restricted. Government trained Imams have been sent to every mosque. Communist doctrines are taught during religious services. Religious services themselves can not be held without the permission of the local Communist party organizations.
Freedom of speech does not exist. This can be best exemplified by the fact that we are not allowed to refer to our homeland in our own language. The Chinese name "Xinjiang" of our homeland can not be properly pronounced by the Uyghurs who do not speak Chinese, but calling it by its own name "Eastern Turkistan", is a very serious crime under Chinese law.
Eastern Turkistan is very rich in natural resources. The petroleum and coal production of Eastern Turkistan provides one third of the total energy output of China. Gold, Uranium, and other precious metals are also very abundant. Eastern Turkistan is also the biggest cotton producer of China. It is also a significant meat producer. Despite the wealth of Eastern Turkistan, 90% of the Uyghur population still lives below the poverty line without access to safe drinking water, sanitation, electricity or health care. Because the economy favors only the Chinese, the natural resources serve only the needs of the exploding Chinese population. It does not benefit the Uyghurs at all.
China has launched a massive cultural genocide campaign against Uyghurs. Most of the major Eastern Turkistan cities have been transformed into typical Chinese cities, losing all the traces of historical Uyghur traditions and culture.
Uyghur under state terror (continued)
We are delighted at the great achievements by the United Nations in the field of human rights since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, however, we are still waiting for the UN to open its eyes to the blatant violations of human rights in Eastern Turkistan.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a special opportunity for the international community to look over the progress, and take effective measures to ensure the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples who are still struggling for their most basic human rights which are taken for granted by the people in democratic countries.
What Uyghurs want is freedom from China and an end to the colonial rule and daily racial discrimination. We request UN to ask the Chinese government:
East Turkistan National Research Center
International Taklamakan Uyghur Human Rights Association
Uyghur American Association
UAA Statement on Ghanjiakou Uyghur Villag
eIn February, Beijing City authorities began demolishing the Uyghur village in Beijing's Ganjiakou district. The owners and workers at more than 30 Uyghur restaurants there have been ordered to leave by the end of January. There was no compensation proposals attached with the order that was issued less than three weeks before the deadline. The village famed for the Uyghur stores, restaurants and homes as the "Xinjiang Village" for the past 15 years is about to become a history. Hundreds of Uyghurs lost their homes, businesses, jobs and properties accumulated by hard work and savings over the years. The Chinese authorities have moved about 10 million Chinese into ET since its take over of the region in 1949, but they do not allow a few hundred Uyghurs to conduct legal businesses in Beijing and in other Chinese cities.
After China started the market economy policy in early 80s, some Uyghurs came to Beijing in search of a better way of making a living. They quickly made the Uyghur shish kebab a household name in Beijing. Within two years, Uyghur kebab stalls and restaurants spread all over the city. But a little street named Ganjiakou boasted the most restaurants because of its proximity to Xinjiang Center where most of the Uyghur visitors stay. Beijing people begin to call the street Xinjiang Village"or "Uyghur Village".
After a long day work, Uyghur merchants, shish kebab sellers and other businessmen would come to the village to have dinner and hangout with other fellow Uyghurs. For them, it became a place to feel at home in a foreign land 2,000 miles away from home. In the past 15 years, the Ganjiakou Street had been transformed into a self-sufficient Uyghur town that supports the Uyghur community in Beijing in many ways. The village even had its own committee formed from the Uyghur residents. The committee oversees the daily business of the village, making sure everything goes in line with the government policy.
According to the officials, the reason for the order was "to repair the road which runs through the village." However, the real reason behind it becomes clear if we look at the whole situation. Another smaller Uyghur neighborhood in the Weigongcun district of Beijing also has been ordered to be demolished. All the hotels in the Chinese cities are ordered by the authorities to refuse Uyghur customers. Most Cities restricted Uyghurs to conduct legal businesses. According to recent reports Xian city restricted shish kebab selling, allegedly to reduce the air pollution. In the Shijiazhuang City, 11 Uyghurs, 7 men and 4 women who sell raisin were thrown into jail for no reason, their raisins were confiscated. These and numerous other incidents indicate that government has intensified its ruthless anti-Uyghur racial discrimination policy.
After the February 5, 1997, Ghulja uprising, Communist regime has intensified its terror campaign to obliterate the religious, national and cultural identity of East Turkistan people. They have publicly executed at least 114 Uyghurs since then. Unofficial sources claim, however, that hundreds of more people were killed, many from extreme tortures, behind closed doors. Tens of thousands of the Uyghurs have been labeled as "nationalists", "separatists" and arbitrarily arrested. Torture was widely used against them.
When a bus bombing rocked the capital city of China in March 1997, authorities pointed their finger at Uyghurs immediately. Later, investigations showed that a Chinese farmer who was angry with the government was responsible for that bombing. As China is still trying to recover from that shock, a wave of bombing terrors is rippling through the whole country. The international media reported at least seven bomb blasts and explosions in January alone in various parts of China. As
UAA Statement on Ghanjiakou Uyghur Village (continued)
China furthers its economic reform, millions of people find themselves out of job. Some of these people resort to violence to express their anger against the government.
Naturally, the growing social tension is making the authorities nervous, especially as they prepare for some important anniversaries, such as the 50th anniversary of communist China, the 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre of pro-democracy students. However, we regret to see that Chinese authorities picked the Uyghurs as the scapegoat even though not a single bombing in the Chinese Cities is carried out by Uyghurs. If China really considers Uyghurs as its citizens, it should then protect their legal rights and properties. It is an open racial discrimination to criminalize the entire Uyghur population based on imagination.
China has succeeded getting away with numerous atrocities committed against Uyghurs because of East Turkistan's isolation from outside world. However, it is more dismaying to see that it is also getting away with blatant racial discrimination acts such as the demolishing of the Uyghur Village in its capital under the nose of the international community. Nobody seems to pay attention to this serious matter. Those Uyghurs who have been thrown out from their homes could not dare to ask for compensation for their property, because they know the consequences of that. We hope United Nation Human Rights Commissioner will remind Beijing that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights it has signed covers all human families including Uyghurs. The covenant stipulated that recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. What China has been doing to Uyghurs is a direct contradictory to this principal.
We appeal to the International community to break the silence and show some compassion for the suffered. We ask you to request the Chinese government:
We need your help to put an end to the sufferings of Uyghurs!
BOD
Uyghur American Association
Contact: Turdi Ghoja, Secretary
Tel: (609) 585-3904
Email: Tudih@aol.com
UAA Statement on Abduhelil Abdumijit
October 28, 2000
The Uyghur American Association is shocked and deeply saddened by the recent report concerning Abduhelil Abdumejit, a community activist from Ghulja City in northern Eastern Turkestan, also known as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Abduhelil was known as a warm, kind and gentle person, father of three, with an abiding faith in his religious beliefs. His commitment to the happiness and wellbeing of his fellow citizens was evident in his activities, such as teaching traditional values and working to lower the incidence of drug and alcohol abuse. His family, his three children and the people of Eastern Turkestan suffer the consequences of his absence. In February 1997, Abdilelil, as a leader committed to non-violent change, served as the greatest hope for a reconciliation of the tensions between the Chinese government and the people of Eastern Turkestan. The violence perpetrated by the Chinese government on the peaceful assembly of concerned citizens and subsequent suppression destroyed the will and atmosphere for peaceful change and squandered an opportunity for a solution.
Abduhelil's only crime was that his efforts were not approved or sponsored by the Chinese Communist Party and for this, he was incarcerated for greater than three years, finally succumbing to the beatings and torture. Although the Chinese government placed him in a shallow grave, his memory shall burn bright in our minds and his sacrifice on behalf of the people of Eastern Turkestan has formed a monument that shall outlast the Chinese Communist Party.
The Uyghur American Association;
Signed, the 28th day of October, 2000
Board of Directors
Uyghur American Association
UAA Statement on Jur'at and Abduhalik's Execution
January 12, 2001
The Uyghur American Association is shocked and deeply saddened by the recent report concerning the execution of two young Uyghur men, from Ghulja City in northern Eastern Turkestan, also known as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China
According to Amnesty International and other sources, Jur'at Nuri, age 27 and Abduhalik Abdurechit, age 24, were executed on the 9th of January 2001. Official Chinese government documents reveal that the accusations against the men were largely unfounded, and the sentences were passed after grossly unfair judicial proceedings, based on confessions extracted under torture. Neither man was convicted of a violent act, but suffered the supreme penalty for their difference of opinion with Chinese government officials.
The Uyghur American Association joins Amnesty International in:
Further, the Uyghur American Association:
Signed, the 12th day of January 2001
Board of Directors
Uyghur American Association
Remembering the Ghulja incident
Saturday, February 5, 2000
Today is the third anniversary of the Ghulja incident. This is a day to remember our brave brothers and sisters who sacrificed their young lives for freedom and justice.
On February 5, 1997, the Uyghur youths of Ghulja city held a peaceful demonstration to protest Chinese religious and political persecution of Uyghurs, and demand the release of Uyghurs who were detained by the authorities for no reasons. The Chinese authorities ended the peaceful demonstration with a bloody massacre by choosing the brutal suppression of the demonstrators instead of listening to their concerns. The Armed police poured cold water on the demonstrators from fire trucks in the freezing winter weather, and then fired on them with automatic guns, resulting in the death of 10 people by official figures. But, according to Uyghur eye witnesses, 103 people were dead, 184 people were critically injured under the police fire.
After the massacre, the Chinese government moved an army combat corps from Gansu province to Xinjiang and implemented martial law in entire Ili valley, the capital city of Urumchi and some other major Eastern Turkistan cities.
In the months that followed, thousands of Uyghurs were arrested for their suspected involvement in the demonstration. According to reports by international media, Uyghur prisoners were frequently tortured. Amnesty International recorded 210 death sentences and 190 executions in East Turkistan in the two years followed the Ghulja massacre. The Human rights group said in a 92 page report that those people were executed often after unfair and often summary trials. According to witnesses from the area, many more people were executed secretly behind the scenes.
Persecution for involvement in the Ghulja protests and any political activity whatsoever by the Uyghur people continue to this day and recently have been accelerating. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch/Asia and the U.S. Department of State have all expressed their concern. China's harsh occupation of East Turkistan is in direct violation of all applicable norms of international law and human rights.
It is sad to remember that so many young lives were brutally cut short in Ghulja. However, it is consoling that their lives are not wasted. Their sacrifice brought the plights of Uyghurs to the attention of international community. They will live forever in the heart of Uyghur nation!
Turdi Ghoja
Uyghur American Association
Many Uyghurs Tortured to Death in Chinese Prisons
December 2000
In October, it was reported that 31-year-old Uyghur activist Abduhelil Abdumijit was tortured to death at the Chapchal prison in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China and his body was taken to a cemetery in Qapqal under heavy police guard and buried in a shallow grave on October 17. The report said the family of Abdumijit was denied access to the body. His relatives and friends were not allowed to visit his grave. His family was not allowed to contact him since he was arrested on February 5, 1997 for leading a street demonstration in Ghulja
At first the Chinese officials denied his death. An official at Qapqal prison told Associated France Press that he knew nothing about the case. An official at regional police headquarters in Yining said: "This person is not in this prison. We know nothing about this issue." Next day, a detention center official told Associated Press that Abdumijit died from pneumonia at the central prison in Yining.
A witness who left the region a month ago said Abduhelil Abdumijit's death was not an isolated incident. It reflected a state sponsored terror campaign against Ghulja protest organizers and participants. He has estimated that more than 100 young Uyghurs who participated in the Ghulja protest were murdered in prison in similar way. He attended funerals of many those tortured to death.
Salam Kari, another organizer of the Ghulja protest, was arrested in May 1997. A few days later, his body was returned to his family. The police claimed he committed suicide in prison (His case was reported by Amnesty: ASA 17/18/99, page 50). But, one of his former religious students who now lives in US said it would not have been a suicide, because he was a very religious person, and suicide is against his religious believe. Witnesses said his body was full of signs of torture and Armed Police guarded his body during the funeral.
Kiremjan, a young Uyghur man from the Yengiyer Town of Ghulja County was crippled in prison when he was released. He died after 2 months.
An Uyghur refugee in Norway recently said an Uyghur young man named Tay Abhan was arrested by Chinese police on December 11, 1999, and two days later his body was sent out of jail and he was quickly buried without any opportunity for his family to take part in the ceremony.
A witness said: "Many Uyghurs were released from prison with severe brain damage. Other than the few that the government can file open charges were publicly executed, most of the rest of the protesters were silenced one way or another. There were funerals for those people every other day. I attended many funerals myself. In every ceremony the body was guarded by Armed Police until it was buried safely. The ones who were killed in prison were categorically claimed by the prison officials that they died from poor health. But, everybody in Ghulja knew that the police killed them."
It is simply impossible for so many healthy young men in their twenties die from health problems. Their relatives were forced to claim that they had poor health. The reason Abduhelil Abdumijit was not killed long time ago could have been his well-established reputation among Uyghur people and his case obtained certain publicity outside of China."
Uyghur American Association demands Chinese government to publish the list of the Uyghurs killed in prison.
Uyghur American Association asks International community, UN and other Human Rights organizations to call on the People's Republic of China to stop state murder.
BOD
Uyghur American Association
Uyghur American Association Letter to Colin Powell
September 16, 2001
Honorable Colin Powell Secretary of State Washington, DC
As representatives of the Uyghur people in the United States, may we express our sorrow at the tragic loss of life that happened on September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington. The small Uyghur community in the United States was affected by this act as well, being that one of our member was employed at the World Trade Center and has been reported missing since the senseless acts were committed.
We are deeply shocked at these cowardly acts upon innocents and support any actions proposed to punish the perpetrators. Terrorist acts of this nature are crimes against all the people of the world and we welcome and encourage the consensus of world governments in this latest struggle.
The Chinese government, as part of their propaganda campaign against the freedom loving people of East Turkestan, have maintained that the Uyghur people's struggle against Chinese Communist rule is a religious struggle, planned and executed by militant Islamic fundamentalists. This characterization of the Uyghur people's aspiration for freedom and self-determination is a deception, for just like the vast majority of Muslim peoples, the people of East Turkestan value human life and dignity and abhor violence. It is certainly a sad state of affairs when peace-loving people, to escape the undeserved attention of a righteous cause, must compose letters such as this.
We pledge our support and cooperation in the coming days, weeks, months and even years to eradicate the terrorist threat and look forward to a brighter future, free from fear and uncertainty. We trust that all state-sponsored terrorism will be eradicated, even that being forced upon the occupied peoples of East Turkestan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia.
Enclosed is the Uyghur American Association statement on Violence issued on December 3, 2000. Our position on violence is and has been clear, we do not support it in any form.
Your truly, (signed)
UAA BoD
Media Alert
September 17, 2001
Uyghur American Association
For Immediate Release September 17, 2001
Several comments on the 9PM EST broadcast of "Larry King Live" make mention of the terrorist threat in the People's Republic of China. Notable among these esteemed guests were UN Sec-gen. Kofi Annan and Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig.
We are appalled that this vague generalization concerning the Muslim majority of the Xinjiang was not corrected. There is very little evidence to connect the legitimate aspirations for self-determination to the senseless acts of a terrorist campaign, unless you consult the Chinese government. We have outlined our reasons why we believe the Chinese government conducts it's own state-sponsored terrorism. We call on all journalists to investigate the situation in the land that was originally named East Turkestan and do not accept the Chinese government's version without examination.
The Uyghurs of East Turkestan are the only people that face execution for political crimes as documented by Amnesty International in an April 1999 report, part of which is on our website. The voice of a freedom-loving people will be crushed in the subsequent campaign unless the truth is revealed. Please commit yourself to find the truth.
Turdi Ghoja
President, Uyghur American Association
http://www.uyghuramerican.org/
Uyghur American Association Statement
October 1, 2001
The Uyghur American Association, as representatives of the Uyghur people wish to acknowledge the recent statements by President George W. Bush concerning the conflict in Chechnya. President Bush clearly differentiated and acknowledged the differences between the aspiration for self-determination and terrorist activity in Chechnya.
The Uyghur American Association condemns and rejects the use of violence as a meaningful mechanism to create peace and stability. The Uyghur people of occupied East Turkestan are well aware of state-sponsored violence as the Chinese government has been inflicting the same on our people for greater than 50 years. The recent Strike-Hard campaigns against both the Uyghur and Tibetan peoples have been devastating in their ferocity and scale. Recent reports from Kashgar indicate that two Uyghur men were fed alcohol with their last meal as a final insult to their faith, paraded through the streets on the backs of trucks, and executed in front of a stadium full of people on Sept 25
(http://uyghuramerican.org/mediareports/2001/alcoholinsult.html).
Five men suffered a similar fate for hanging the flag of East Turkestan from the statute of Mao in the same city in 1997
(http://uyghuramerican.org/HumanRights/executions.html).
As noted by Amnesty International, Xinjiang (East Turkestan) is the only place in China where political dissidents are known to be executed
(http://www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/index/ASA170181999).
The Uyghur American Association supports the Bush administration's efforts to rid the world of terrorism and wishes Godspeed to his efforts to create a safer world.
The Uyghur American Association is relieved that innocent Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Taiwanese will be spared the 'terrorist' label, for just as the aspirations for self-determination cannot be confused with terrorism in Chechnya, neither can those that disagree with the Chinese government be considered terrorists. China is trying to take advantage of the current war on terrorism to portray Uyghurs as terrorists and fundamentalists. China often refers to the few Uyghurs in Afghanistan as a proof. But, as a recent New York Times report showed even those Uyghurs in Afghanistan who are supposed to be the most radical Uyghurs are against terrorism and readily blamed the attacks in New York.
(http://uyghuramerican.org/mediareports/2001/talibanrecruits.html)
The Uyghur American Association calls on the Chinese government to recognize East Turkistan people's right to self determination. We also call on good faith negotiations between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama for the purpose of immediately recognizing the right to self-determination owed to the people of Tibet. Likewise, we ask the Chinese government to allow the Taiwanese people to determine the future of Taiwan themselves.
May God Bless America
signed
UAA BoD, Oct 1, 2001
Uyghur American Association Statement
Oct 15, 2001
For Immediate Release
Contact: Uyghur American Association Turdi Ghoja 609-585-3904
The Uyghur American Association, representatives of the Uyghur people living in the United States, are concerned about recent statements and actions of the Peoples Republic of China.
1. In recent statements, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has declared war on the Uyghur people by equating terrorism with the struggle for self-determination and insisting that by oppressing Uyghurs, it is a part of the 'international struggle against terrorism.' We call on responsible journalists and analysts to recognize that a right to self-determination exists for every people and this right, granted under UN instruments, when peacefully pursued, is not a crime in any sense of the word.
2. Recent Chinese government statements have invented 'thousands of terrorist acts' that were committed by the Uyghur people. We call on responsible journalists and analysts to examine these figures carefully and ask for details instead of taking the figures for granted. Many incidents were initially inaccurately portrayed as 'terrorists acts committed by Islamic fundamentalists' and subsequent investigation revealed disgruntled unemployed Chinese workers to be the source. The largest reported loss of life was in Urumchi where last September (2000) a Chinese military truck exploded in an Uyghur neighborhood, killing 60 and injuring hundreds more. A complete report of the investigation has not been released, something expected if the military was responsible and not separatists.
3. Yet another violent crackdown has been inflicted on the Uyghur people in recent days. The second campaign this year has been announced and every dissident voice is to be crushed. The Chinese government is using it to show that it stands against terrorism, when in fact, their crackdown campaigns can be categorized as such.
The Uyghur American Association asks:
UAA BoD