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19-07-09, 03:24
Qazaq Xelqighe Rexmet! Uyghur Bilen Qazaqning Qan Bilen Yughurulghan Qerindashliqini Xitaylar Menggu Buzalmaydu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...
Kazakh Uighurs hold mass protest
Today | Uyghur Related
Washington Post
By PETER LEONARD
The Associated Press
Sunday, July 19, 2009; 8:56 AM
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- More than 5,000 ethnic Uighurs rallied in Kazakhstan's largest city on Sunday to protest China's use of deadly force to quash Uighur protests this month.
The show of solidarity was the largest in any of the former Soviet republics - home to a half-million Uighurs - since the July 5 violence in Xinjang that authorities say claimed almost 200 lives.
"We have come out to protest today because of the events of July 5 and because the Chinese authorities are continuing to deprive people of their human rights," said Khakhriman Khozhamberdi, a leading Uighur activist in Kazakhstan.
Much of the far-flung Uighur diaspora in Central Asia are descendants of refugees that escaped Xinjiang during the Chinese conquest of that region in 1870s. Like many other Central Asian peoples, Uighurs speak a Turkic language and most are Muslims.
About 300,000 ethnic Uighurs live in Kazakhstan, the largest population outside China. They had been reluctant to protest until now, fearing similar crackdowns by Kazakh authorities.
Hundreds of Uighurs were bused into Kazakhstan's commercial capital, Almaty, from around the vast country and thousands of locals assembled in and outside a central theater hall wearing armbands and lapels in pale blue. Many held aloft the pale blue flags of the Uighur breakaway republic, which briefly existed in China in the 1930s.
Speaking in Uighur, youth activist Abdrashid Turdiyev concluded his speech with the slogan "Freedom for Uighurstan!" prompting people inside the packed hall to rise to their feet, shouting and pumping their fists. The hall holds 3,500 people and the crowd spilled into the lobby and outside the building.
Thousands of people rallied this month in a square in Istanbul, Turkey. Hundreds of people have rallied in other cities.
Sunday's gathering had the tacit approval of the Kazakh government, which has historically denounced separatist movements.
"What is happening here in Kazakhstan is a historic event," Turdiyev told The Associated Press. "This is the first time in Kazakhstan that we have been given official permission to hold a peaceful demonstration."
A banner hanging on stage in the theater hall bore a quote by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev: "There is one single strength that enables us to defeat all our adversities - our unity."
Uighurs in Kazakhstan complain of official discrimination, but reaction to the violence in China among Kazakhstan's Uighurs had been muted and limited to low-key memorial services.
China's influence on Kazakhstan has grown in recent years, as Beijing plunges billions of dollars into expanding its presence in the energy-rich Central Asian nation.
Kazakh Uighurs hold mass protest
Today | Uyghur Related
Washington Post
By PETER LEONARD
The Associated Press
Sunday, July 19, 2009; 8:56 AM
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- More than 5,000 ethnic Uighurs rallied in Kazakhstan's largest city on Sunday to protest China's use of deadly force to quash Uighur protests this month.
The show of solidarity was the largest in any of the former Soviet republics - home to a half-million Uighurs - since the July 5 violence in Xinjang that authorities say claimed almost 200 lives.
"We have come out to protest today because of the events of July 5 and because the Chinese authorities are continuing to deprive people of their human rights," said Khakhriman Khozhamberdi, a leading Uighur activist in Kazakhstan.
Much of the far-flung Uighur diaspora in Central Asia are descendants of refugees that escaped Xinjiang during the Chinese conquest of that region in 1870s. Like many other Central Asian peoples, Uighurs speak a Turkic language and most are Muslims.
About 300,000 ethnic Uighurs live in Kazakhstan, the largest population outside China. They had been reluctant to protest until now, fearing similar crackdowns by Kazakh authorities.
Hundreds of Uighurs were bused into Kazakhstan's commercial capital, Almaty, from around the vast country and thousands of locals assembled in and outside a central theater hall wearing armbands and lapels in pale blue. Many held aloft the pale blue flags of the Uighur breakaway republic, which briefly existed in China in the 1930s.
Speaking in Uighur, youth activist Abdrashid Turdiyev concluded his speech with the slogan "Freedom for Uighurstan!" prompting people inside the packed hall to rise to their feet, shouting and pumping their fists. The hall holds 3,500 people and the crowd spilled into the lobby and outside the building.
Thousands of people rallied this month in a square in Istanbul, Turkey. Hundreds of people have rallied in other cities.
Sunday's gathering had the tacit approval of the Kazakh government, which has historically denounced separatist movements.
"What is happening here in Kazakhstan is a historic event," Turdiyev told The Associated Press. "This is the first time in Kazakhstan that we have been given official permission to hold a peaceful demonstration."
A banner hanging on stage in the theater hall bore a quote by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev: "There is one single strength that enables us to defeat all our adversities - our unity."
Uighurs in Kazakhstan complain of official discrimination, but reaction to the violence in China among Kazakhstan's Uighurs had been muted and limited to low-key memorial services.
China's influence on Kazakhstan has grown in recent years, as Beijing plunges billions of dollars into expanding its presence in the energy-rich Central Asian nation.