UAA
26-02-05, 07:45
The Human Rights Violation of the Uyghur People after September 11, 2001
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the Foundation for China in the 21st Century for inviting me to speak at this conference. As introduced, I will speak on the human rights violations of the Uyghur people from September 11, 2001.
First of all, I’d like to give you a brief summary on the nature of China’s fight against “terrorism†since 9/11. In the words of Amnesty International, "China has repackaged its repression of Uyghurs as a fight against 'terrorism’ …Since the September 11 2001 attacks on the USA, the Chinese government has been using "anti-terrorism" as a pretext to increase its crackdown on all forms of political or religious dissent in XUAR."
Over the last three years, tens of thousands of people are reported to have been detained on grounds of "anti-terrorism" in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). This is despite the claim by the head of the regional government in April 2004 that "not one incident of explosion or assassination took place in the last few years".
Following the attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001, the Chinese authorities have actively sought to justify their crackdown in the region as part of the international “war on terror†in an attempt to get international support for their actions. Since then, the Chinese authorities have widely publicized a few explosions and other violent activities attributed to certain Uyghur groups during the 1980s and 1990s and used this as a pretext to justify the its crackdown in the region."
In other words, the human rights situation of the Uyghur people in East Turkestan became worse day by day after the terrorist attacks on the United States of America on September 11, 2001. I will explain the current situation of East Turkestan in three parts:
I. China’s International Approach on the East Turkestan Question
a. Claiming itself a “victim†of ET terrorism
Speaking at the 56th General Assembly of the United Nations exactly two months after September 11 attacks on America, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan condemned terrorism as a "common scourge to the international community" and stressed that China is the victim of terrorism.
Tang said, "The Eastern Turkestan terrorist forces are trained, equipped and financed by international terrorist organizations," he said. "The fight against the Eastern Turkestan group is an important aspect of the international fight against terrorism."
This is the first time China took the East Turkestan Issue before the international community asking its help to eliminate the freedom struggle of the Uyghur people. Before the terrorist attacks on America, China never admitted the existence of the East Turkestan Issue. Apparently, China saw 9/11 as an opportunity to justify its persecution of Uyghur people by claiming itself a victim and their struggle “international terrorism.â€
On September 14, 2002, three days after the first anniversary of terrorist attacks on America, Tang Jiaxuan once again addressed the United Nations General Assembly and claimed that “China is also a victim of terrorism.†Tang made the same claim that, “The “Eastern Turkestan†terrorist forces are trained, equipped and financed by international terrorist organizations. The fight against the “Eastern Turkestan†terrorism groups is also an important aspect of the international campaign against terrorism.â€
The Chinese government, through the statements of their Foreign Minister, implies that there are ''East Turkestan terrorist forces." This phrase has been carefully crafted, but when examined closely, becomes a vague, useless generalization. The obvious aim of the statement is to flatly state the Chinese government’s position that:
a. Anyone connected with the name 'East Turkestan' is a terrorist,
b. That there is an organized 'force' involved in this effort, and
c. That there is a conspiracy that links two or more of these 'forces' and they are engaged in organized campaign of terror.
The Chinese government's implication that any group that recognizes the right of self-determination for the people of East Turkestan is a 'terrorist force' is an outright distortion and patently untrue. Likewise, the implication that a large-scale conspiracy links these groups into terrorist cells is simple nonsense. The Chinese government's claim that there are 'terrorist forces' threatening China is an overexaggerated, pointless generalization. The idea supports the Chinese government's goals to vilify and condemn any support for the right of the East Turkestan people for self-determination, and obscures the truth.
In fact, just nine days before September 11, Xinjiang regional government chairman Abdulahat Abdurixit told the Chinese paper Ta Kung Pao that “by no means is Xinjiang a place where violent and terrorist accidents take place very often.†He was speaking to the paper in order to encourage Hong Kong investment in the region and ensure the investors that Xinjiang is a secure place to make huge investments.
b. Claiming all the Uyghur organizations are “terroristâ€
After Tang Jiaxuan internationalized the East Turkestan Issue in the United Nations by stating that “Eastern Turkestan†terrorism forces are also an important aspect of the international campaign against terrorismâ€, the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeatedly used this statement as a justification to include all the Uyghur organizations in the world as “terrorist†organizations despite the fact that most of them never advocated terrorism or engaged in violence but advocated a peaceful solution to the East Turkestan Issue.
China continues such demonization of Uyghur organizations in the world until today. Besides demonizing the Uyghur organizations, China decided to discredit the Uyghur political leaders in associating them with “terrorism†so as to eliminate those Uyghur organizations legally and openly operating in the West.
c. Listing Four Organizations & 11 Individuals “terroristâ€
In December 2003, Chinese authorities issued a list of organizations they regarded as terrorist and 11 specific individuals they regarded as terrorist leaders, not only in China but also overseas. China identified four Uyghur organizations and eleven individuals as "terrorist" in its first batch of "Eastern Turkistan" terrorist groups and individuals. The four organizations identified are the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Eastern Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO), the World Uyghur Youth Congress (WUYC), and the East Turkestan Information Center (ETIC).
Although, after U.S. designation of ETIM as a terrorist organization, China trumpeted a lot of charges of terrorism on the other organizations and eleven individuals, not a single country in the world accepted China’s terrorist claims regarding them and recognized China’s designations. Since such strategy didn’t work in the world, China stopped further pushing these fictitious claims and charges against the organizations and its leaders.
After its failure to garner international support on the East Turkestan Issue, China decided to use its diplomatic muscle to pressure those countries that the Uyghur political organizations operated and prevent their legitimate activities and gatherings. In February, 2002, China pressured Turkey, a country that traditionally sympathized with the Uyghur people’s freedom struggle, to cancel a conference on East Turkestan held at Hacetepe University. In December the same year, China again pressured Turkey to prevent the Commemoration of Mr. Isa Yusuf Alptekin’s Death in Istanbul. Turkey caved in.
In April, 2003 the East Turkestan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress in Germany decided to merge into one unified organization to organize Uyghurs from around the world to promote the East Turkestan Issue. Prior to the conference, China did everything it could to get the meeting cancelled, arguing that its aim was separatist and terrorist. However, the German authorities did not force the cancellation of the meeting, which went ahead as planned.
During the memorial weekend in late May 2004, the Uyghur American Association decided to hold a Uyghur Cultural Evening and its Fourth Congress, inviting American politicians, think-tanks, academics, and human rights activists as well as Uyghur political leaders all over the world. China again did everything it could to prevent and interfere with the successful closure of these two important events.
First, a Chinese delegation told the U.S. State Department that certain “terrorists†including Erkin Alptekin would attend and speak at these two events. Second, they said that the UAA purposefully chose a hotel less than a mile away from the Chinese Embassy. Third, they said the Uyghurs could march down to the embassy and create disorder after their gatherings. Finally, allowing such gathering was not conducive to the U.S.-China relations. However, China’s attempt to prevent our gatherings miserably failed because they were perfectly legal in the United States. We successfully held our cultural evening and congress. Two Chinese embassy officials came to them uninvited. Although China learned its limits in pressuring foreign governments but it has never stopped to justify its claims and discredit the Uyghur’s freedom struggle.
d. Issuing a White Paper on “Xinjiangâ€
To bolster its claims that “Xinjiang is part of China since ancient times†and “the fight against the Eastern Turkestan forces are an important aspect of the international fight against terrorismâ€, China issued its first White Paper on XUAR on May 26, 2003. By whitewashing the historical reality of East Turkistan with vague and confusing claims, China once again attempted to demonize the Uyghur freedom struggle and discredit the Uyghur organizations in the world.
This white paper was probably released to serve the following two purposes:
First, it attempted to convince the international community that the Uyghur people who have been demanding freedom and independence from China do not have a legitimate cause since “Xinjiang†is an “inseparable part of China since the ancient timesâ€. This message is sent to mislead foreign governments and those foreigners who support the Uyghur people to believe that the Uyghurs don’t have a legitimate ground to demand anything from China, and they should be happy with the status quo. This is aimed at cutting off foreign support and sympathy toward the Uyghur cause and people. This is the way to further isolate Uyghurs in the world and justify Chinese crackdown in the name of fighting against so-called three evils, “separatism, extremism, and terrorismâ€. According to the Chinese government, all of these “evil†labels are applied to the Uyghurs only.
Second, the white paper seemed to perpetuate the notion that the Chinese have always been the ruling class in what is now the People’s Republic of China and all the minorities have been their subjects who have no rights to rule or separate their countries from China by any means. This is to justify contemporary Chinese nationalism and create a Chinese nation state, a country of, by, and for the Chinese, not minorities. That is why China claims all the glories of history as exclusively “Chineseâ€.
The White Paper was seen by the Uyghur people and organizations around the world as a preemptive measure of the Chinese government aimed at delegitimizing the freedom struggle of the Uyghur people in the world. This paper, besides making bogus claims, didn’t generate any international interest or support for China’s positions.
Obviously, China didn’t just stop there. China pressured all the neighboring countries to return Uyghur dissidents who criticized the Chinese persecution of the Uyghur people in East Turkestan and held joint military exercises with them to show that nobody supported the Uyghur struggle around the periphery of the Middle Kingdom.
II. China’s Peripheral Approach on the East Turkestan Question
a. Pakistan
i. Repatriation of Uyghurs
In July 2003, Pakistan, under Chinese pressure, forcibly returned Muhammed Tohti Metrozi to China. At the time, he had been recognized as a refugee by the UNHCR in Pakistan, and was awaiting resettlement to Sweden. He was reportedly tried in Urumqi in April 2004. The charges against him reportedly related to the peaceful exercise of his fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and association. Pakistan also forcibly returned several other Uyghurs to China after September 11, 2001.
ii. Joint military exercises.
Also, Voice of America reported on August 6, 2004 that more than 200 Chinese and Pakistani soldiers participated in the exercises called “Friendship 2004†in East Turkestan. Chinese state media said the exercises were aimed at improving both armies' anti-terror capability and "to contain and crack down" on separatism, extremism and terrorism. This was the first land-based military exercise the two allies have held, and followed joint naval exercises last October. In fact, the joint military exercises are a symbol of Chinese power, showing China’s willingness and ability to suppress all signs of so-called terrorism and separatism in East Turkistan.
b. Nepal – repatriation of Shir Ali and others
Following China’s demands, Nepal forcibly returned Shir Ali to China in spite of his refugee status conferred by UNHCR in Katmandu. He was executed after being forcibly returned from Nepal to China. Shir Ali, a Uyghur dissident from Khotan, had been imprisoned and tortured in China in 1994 in connection with his political activities. He fled to Nepal via Tibet in November 2000 and applied for recognition as a refugee with UNHCR. He was recognized as a refugee in May 2001. In spite of this, he was detained by the Nepalese immigration authorities in December 2001 and extradited to China.
In mid-2002, Nepal also forcibly returned Kheyum Whashim Ali to China. He was recognized as a refugee by UNHCR in October 2001, but was arrested and taken to the office of the Chief District Officer in Kathmandu on 23 May 2003 before being taken away again to an unknown location. It is not known exactly when Kheyum Whashim Ali was forcibly returned to China, but in February 2003, Amnesty International received reports that he was detained in Michuan prison, around 40km outside Urumqi.
Nepal also forcibly returned Abdulla Sattar around the same time Keyum Washim Ali was returned. At present, there are fears that these two individuals are at risk of torture and even execution.
c. Kazakhstan – repatriation of Uyghurs and closure of Uyghur orgs.
In 1999, Kazakhstan forcibly returned Kasim Mahpir, Ilyas Zordun, Zulfikar Memet), and Saydakhmet Memet to China in violation of international law against refoulement. The following year, China sentenced them to death and reportedly executed them on charges of “separatism.†After international human rights organizations and governments criticized Kazakhstan for forcibly returning Uyghur refugees to China, Kazakhstan stopped directly repatriating Uyghur refugees. But according to Uyghur organizations in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh authorities began to quietly repatriate Uyghurs to China.
d. Kyrgyzstan – repatriation of Uyghurs and joint-military exercises
China has also expanded its influence substantially in Kyrgyzstan. Late in 2002, China and Kyrgyzstan carried out joint military exercises along the Chinese-Kyrgyz border. Besides military exercises, Kyrgyzstan often quietly sends Uyghur refugees fleeing Chinese persecution back to China violating its obligations under international laws. According to the Uyghur organizations, for fear of international criticism, Kyrgyzstan deports the Uyghur refugees secretly back to China. Upon Chinese demands, Kyrgyzstan has also closed down Uyghur paper and radios in that country, and banned the Uyghurs to form political organizations.
e. Uzbekistan – bilateral agreement on cracking down Uyghurs
Colin Mackerras, one of the leading scholars on China and the Uyghur issue, writing for Asia Times, said, just before the June 2004 SCO meeting, Chinese President Hu Jintao held formal meetings with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and signed an agreement to cooperate in combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, including against the so-called Uyghur separatists and terrorists in Xinjiang.
He said, the friendship China has developed diplomatically with the countries of Central Asia has one other implication. In order to conciliate China and to further their own interests, the governments of Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have sent back to China those Uyghurs trying to flee region as refugees.
Recently, China has also signed anti-terrorism treaties with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in order to curtail the legitimate activities of the Uyghur political organizations in their respective countries, creating a dangerous situation for the Uyghur people to protect their human rights. Today any Uyghur suspected of involvement in “separatist†activity and returned to China is at risk of serious human rights violation, including arbitrary detention, unfair trials, torture, and even execution.
According to Stephen Blank, professor of Strategic Studies Institute at U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, at present there is little doubt that doing everything possible to consolidate Beijing’s hold over XUAR is one of the drivers of Chinese policy in all dimensions in Central Asia. Thus increasing amounts of bilateral military assistance are going to these states and the signs of coordination in intelligence on terrorism are multiplying as they crack down on Uyghur movements in their homelands to retain China’s friendship. Indeed, for Beijing such crackdowns have increasingly become preconditions for any kind of friendly relationship with Central Asian states and the provision of desperately needed aid.
f. Syria – eviction of Ahmatjan Osman
In February 2004, Radio Free Asia reported that Ahmatjan Osman, a Uyghur poet well-known in the Arab world for his command of the classical Arabic poetic tradition has applied to the United Nations for refugee status after Syria expelled him despite his 15 years residence in the country and marriage to a Syrian national.
Syria expelled Mr. Osman after China pressured Damascus that his presence in this Arab country would hurt the relations between China and Syria. When Osman was expelled, he was not a member of any Uyghur political and religious organization. He was and has been a writer who happened to live in Syria and had great reputation in the Arab world.
III. China’s Domestic Approach on the East Turkestan Question
a. Vague definition of “terrorism and separatismâ€
In the Chinese Criminal Law, “terrorism†and related offences are vaguely defined giving the authorities wide leeway to interpret such crimes in a broad manner. According to the Economist, China now defines a terrorist in Xinjiang as anyone who thinks “separatist thoughtsâ€. Even some American officials are beginning to realize that China's definition of “terrorism†simply means anyone who opposes Beijing.
Following the September 11 2001 attacks in the USA, China has intensified its political crackdown against the Uyghur people, branding those in favor of independence as "ethnic separatists" or "terrorists". The Chinese authorities make little distinction between acts of violence and acts of peaceful dissent.
The Chinese government’s use of the term “separatism†refers to a broad range of activities, many of which amount to no more than peaceful opposition or dissent, or the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of religion. Over the last three years, tens of thousands of people are reported to have been detained for investigation in the region and hundreds, possibly thousands, have been charged or sentenced under the Criminal Law; many Uyghurs are believed to have been sentenced to death and executed for alleged “separatist†or “terrorist†offences, although the exact number is impossible to determine.
A report by the Human Rights Watch said, “In January 2002, pressure to follow the official ideological line was explicitly extended to include artists, writers, performers, and historians, among others, when Abulahat Abdurixit, the region’s chairman, made clear that ‘all who openly advocate separatism using the name of art’ would be purged.â€
“The search for dissenters through the same type of campaign was extended in early 2002 to other sectors of society in the region, including cultural and media circles. Official sources made clear that the ‘struggle against separatism’ is wide-ranging and encompasses repressing all potential dissent and opposition activities, including the peaceful expression of views via poems, songs, books, pamphlets, letters, or the Internet,†the report explained.
In January 2003, a young Uyghur poet was arrested after he read a verse during a performance at a concert hall in Kashgar. He was accused of "attacking official policy regarding ethnic minorities" and "destroying the unity between Uyghur and Han", something which the authorities regarded as "terrorism in the spiritual form". No further information has become available about his fate, but AI is concerned at this apparent use of "terrorism" to justify the arrest of a peaceful poet with dissenting views.
b. Step up arrest and execution of Uyghurs linking terrorism
Despite the fact that Ismael Tiliwaldi, Chair of the XUAR government, said on April 12 2004, "In Xinjiang, not one incident of explosion or assassination took place in the last few years....Last year Xinjiang’s public security situation was very good,†China continued the pace of arrest and execution of Uyghurs allegedly involved in terrorism.
Radio Free Asia reported on September 16, 2004 that Chinese authorities have sentenced more than 50 people to death in East Turkistan this year in what government officials say is a war on terrorism.
Xinjiang Communist Party leader Wang Lequan said, “Due to the fact that the activities of international terrorist forces are rampant, we believe our fight against the crime of violent terrorists will continue for a long time to come.†Wang’s claim directly contradicts the earlier statement of Ismail Tiliwaldi that not once such incident took place last year.
Wang also said, the government had cracked 22 groups involved in separatist and terrorist activities and meted out the 50 death sentences in the first eight months of the year. But none of those sentenced to death had yet been executed, Wang said without explaining.
Wang also rejected criticism from abroad that Beijing's crackdown has been, to some extent, racially motivated. "In Xinjiang's efforts to fight violent terrorist crimes and separatism since the 1990s, there has been no racial or ethnic problem," he claimed.
"Most of the ethnic splittists are Uyghurs, that is not false, but they do not represent the Uyghurs," he said. Wang gave no hint of any let-up in China's crackdown. Such is the official attitude of the Chinese government in further persecuting the Uyghur people in the name of fighting against terrorism since September 11, 2001.
RFA reported on July 13, 2004 that Kuerban Tudaji was sentenced to death by the Chinese government on June 30 after being convicted of "attempting to split the country," and "organizing terrorist training" between 1998 and 2000.
Amnesty International strongly condemned the reported execution, voicing concern that Kuerban Tudaji did not receive a fair trial." The human rights group urged the Chinese authorities to make public the nature of the evidence against him and whether he had full guarantees for his defense. Apparently, China never made anything public regarding Kurban Tudaji’s trial and execution.
According to the East Turkistan Information Center based in Germany, China executed Idris Kadir, 29, on July 19th, 2004. An additional 20 Uyghurs from the ages of 15 to 30 were sentenced to jail terms of between three and 10 years.
On July 28, 2004—RFA reported Abdulghani Memetemin, was handed a nine-year jail term by the Intermediate People's Court in Kashgar. According to a copy of the court judgment sent to RFA, it said "Abdulghani Memetemin is accused of threatening the integrity of the state by separatist means, violating state secrets and sending them outside the country."
On August 13, AFP reported that China executed two Uyghurs who were among 18 Uyghurs convicted of separatism in Xinjiang. The group, all alleged members of the little-known East Turkestan People’s Party, was sentenced on July 21 by the Intermediate People’s Court in Aksu city, said Ma Lin, deputy director of the court. The other 14 Uyghur defendants were sentenced to five to 20 years in prison.
c. Official warning and condemnation of ET organizations and dissidents
On January 17 2004, Zhang Xiuming, deputy secretary of the XUAR committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said, “We need to take the initiative and go on the offensive, crack down on gangs as soon as they surface and strike the first blow. We must absolutely not permit the three vicious forces to build organizations, have ringleaders, control weapons and develop an atmosphere. We need to destroy them one by one as we discover them and absolutely not allow them to build up momentum.â€
China Daily reports on September 16, 2004 that Wang Lequan, Secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Autonomous Regional Committee, says there is absolutely no room for the extremely small number of national splittists and terrorists in Xinjiang as nationalities unite, border defense is strengthened and people's living standards keep rising. He said the Chinese government relies on the broad masses of people to safeguard the country's unification, social stability and the happy lives of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang by cracking down on extremists, splittists and international terrorists.
d. Strengthening of XJ Production & Construction Corp.
On October 10, 2004, Xinhua reported that a grand meeting was held in Urumchi to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, transformed from a military troop 50 years ago.
State Councilor Hua Jianmin attended the meeting and read a letter of congratulations from the central authorities. The letter speaks highly of the contributions made by the corps to the development and stability in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, northwest China, over the past half century and called on it to make further contributions.
Zhang Qingli, commander-in-chief of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp, an offshoot of the People’s Liberation Army that was established in the ethnic Uyghur-dominated region 50 years ago to ensure Chinese rule, made the call. “The corps should not be weakened but be enlarged in the new era with the main task to develop the economy, maintain the stability of Xinjiang, promote unity among ethnic groups and consolidate border defense.â€
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed during a recent visit to Xinjiang to reinforce the role of the corp for similar reasons, Xinhua said. The 2.54-million strong corp staffs 186 regimental farms and more than 1,500 industrial, construction, transport and commercial enterprises in Xinjiang, Xinhua said. It does not form a part of China’s 2.5-million-strong People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing army.
Nonetheless it “plays an irreplaceable role in smashing and resisting internal and external attempts at sabotage and infiltration, and maintains the stability and safety of the borders of the country,†Xinhua said.
e. Conducting anti-terror and anti-hijack drill
i. Controlling East Turkestan
According to a Reuters report the exercises conducted in August by the People's Liberation Army practiced surround-and-annihilate tactics and field operations, 10 strategies for controlling East Turkestan and increasing the army's strength. These exercises followed closely on joint Sino-Pakistani military "anti-terrorist" exercises conducted in August which Beijing used to re-inforce to the Uyghur population that they were truly 'friendless" in the region. In an unmistakably clear warning to the Uyghur people because China has recently conducted military exercises in Xinjiang ominously called "Controlling East Turkistan".
ii. Anti-hijacking Drill
China also conducted its 2004 anti-hijacking drill in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, October 20 morning. The drill consists of blitz on hijackers and rescue operations for wrecked planes. More than 600 people from departments of civil aviation, public security, foreign affairs, safety, health and fire fighting, as well as the air force and armed police, took part in the drill.
Wang Lequan, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and secretary of the CPC regional committee, observed the drill at the scene and urged great efforts must be made to beef up precautionary measures and resolutely crack down on all hijacking of civilian aircraft.
By choosing Urumchi as the location for the drill, China clearly sent a message to the international community that Uyghurs, as Muslims, were prone to terrorism, thus, they were highly likely to hijack airplanes like the 9/11 terrorists.
f. Banning Uyghur Language and Assimilating the Uyghur People
Since September 11, 2001, China has sped up the cultural assimilation of the Uyghur people by sending more Uyghur children to study Chinese culture and language in Mainland and at the same time by banning the use of Uyghur language in the elementary and middle school, and university level throughout East Turkistan.
Beginning in September 2003, China banned the use of Uyghur language as the official language of instruction and even forced Uyghur teachers and professors to teach their subjects to Uyghur students in the Chinese language. Those Uyghur educators who could not teach in Chinese were disqualified and suspended from their teaching positions. They were replaced by the Chinese teachers. As a direct consequence of such policy, today the Uyghur language education is practically obliterated by the Chinese government.
In a similar fashion, China has also sped up the cultural assimilation of the Uyghur children by sending them to mainland Chinese schools to be educated in the Chinese culture and language. People's Daily reported on October 13, 2004 that high schools in twelve more cities in coastal areas in east and south China will recruit students from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
According to Nur Bekri, vice secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China, said that with the approval of the China’s Ministry of Education, 12 cities in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces will open special school programs for students from Xinjiang. Thus, 24 cities in Mainland China have "Xinjiang Classes".
In 2000, 12 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen opened the special classes.
With the expansion, the program is expected to be able to enroll 5,000 students every year from 2007. The programs target children from farming and herding families of the autonomous region. Nur Bekri said that the promotion of special school programs for Xinjiang children in inland cities is a significant step for the country to boost the social development of the region.
In fact, this policy paves the way for China to further the goal of assimilating the Uyghur people into the greater Chinese culture by depriving the Uyghur children of Uyghur education and forcibly placing them into eastern China where there is no Uyghur cultural environment. When these Uyghur children grow up and finish their education in China, they will not be able to read, write and speak the Uyghur language fluently and learn Uyghur values and traditions. They will practically lose their Uyghurness.
g. Closure of Uyghur mosques, Forbidding minors to attend religious schools, and Restricting the Pilgrimage to Mecca
According to Forum 18, a Norwegian human rights organization, in addition to the other prohibitions, the Chinese authorities prohibit the Uyghurs from using religion to intervene in administrative, judicial, education, marriage, and birth planning matters; using religion to promote views such as "pan-Islamism" and "pan-Turkism"; holding "private" religious classes and acquiring "private" students in religious venues and by religious professionals; and promoting "superstitious thoughts".
Voice of America reported on October 1, 2004 that John Hanford, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, said that in China, “the government continues to repress Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, Catholics faithful to the Vatican, underground Protestants, and Falun Gong†practitioners.
One way the Chinese government tries to limit the growth of religious groups is by making it difficult for young people to worship. Ambassador Hanford says this is especially true in Muslim areas, such as China’s Xinjiang province:
“. . . there are signs posted on the mosques, which say, ‘No one under eighteen allowed.’ Now, the Chinese government has promised . . . to change this policy and that people of faith of all religions are going to be able to have their children involved in their places of worship and in religious instruction. But in Xinjiang, this is certainly not the case.â€
At the same time, the government has increased restrictions on the religious rights of the Muslim population in the region, banning some religious practices during the holy month of Ramadan, closing many mosques and independent religious schools, increasing official controls over the Islamic clergy, and detaining or arresting religious leaders deemed to be “unpatriotic†or “subversiveâ€. Regional authorities have also launched political campaigns to “clean up†cultural and media circles and some government departments in Xinjiang to rid them of “undesirable elements.â€
RFA reported last year that Police in China's Xinjiang region are restricting Muslim Uyghurs from undertaking the annual pilgrimage to Makka. In recent days up to 43 Uyghur pilgrims have been detained in Artux and Akto, cities near Kashgar, after preparing for pilgrimages.
Together with human rights organizations like Amnesty International, we are extremely concerned that the high levels of repression in ET are narrowing the space for any independent expression of Uyghur ethnic, cultural or religious identity. Such expression, particularly when it takes the form of peaceful criticism, dissent or dissatisfaction, is often deemed by the authorities to constitute “separatistâ€, “terrorist†or “illegal religious†activities, leading to arbitrary detention, torture and other serious human rights violations.
The crackdown on “separatists, terrorists and religious extremists†has continued over the last three years, even though there have been no official reports of attacks by “terrorist†groups. According to a Chinese government report published on January 21 2002, which listed “terrorist†incidents in the region over the past ten years, the most recent explosion allegedly carried out by a “terrorist†group took place in April 1998.
China's true intention is to link any Uyghur organization that opposes Beijing's heavy-handed rule in East Turkestan to terrorism and even international terrorism in order to justify its hard-line policies such as the Strike Hard campaigns against the Uyghur people. For China any Uyghur organization is a terrorist organization even if it peacefully advocates the freedom of Uyghur people and independence of East Turkestan without ever committing any acts of violence. Such hard-line Chinese crackdown will only strengthen the resistance of the Uyghur people against the authoritarian regime in Beijing for crackdown has never been a solution to the East Turkestan Issue since 1949 when China occupied the independent nation of the Uyghur people.
Alim A. Seytoff
General Secretary,
Uyghur American Association
1700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-321-2388
Fax: 202-349-1491
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the Foundation for China in the 21st Century for inviting me to speak at this conference. As introduced, I will speak on the human rights violations of the Uyghur people from September 11, 2001.
First of all, I’d like to give you a brief summary on the nature of China’s fight against “terrorism†since 9/11. In the words of Amnesty International, "China has repackaged its repression of Uyghurs as a fight against 'terrorism’ …Since the September 11 2001 attacks on the USA, the Chinese government has been using "anti-terrorism" as a pretext to increase its crackdown on all forms of political or religious dissent in XUAR."
Over the last three years, tens of thousands of people are reported to have been detained on grounds of "anti-terrorism" in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). This is despite the claim by the head of the regional government in April 2004 that "not one incident of explosion or assassination took place in the last few years".
Following the attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001, the Chinese authorities have actively sought to justify their crackdown in the region as part of the international “war on terror†in an attempt to get international support for their actions. Since then, the Chinese authorities have widely publicized a few explosions and other violent activities attributed to certain Uyghur groups during the 1980s and 1990s and used this as a pretext to justify the its crackdown in the region."
In other words, the human rights situation of the Uyghur people in East Turkestan became worse day by day after the terrorist attacks on the United States of America on September 11, 2001. I will explain the current situation of East Turkestan in three parts:
I. China’s International Approach on the East Turkestan Question
a. Claiming itself a “victim†of ET terrorism
Speaking at the 56th General Assembly of the United Nations exactly two months after September 11 attacks on America, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan condemned terrorism as a "common scourge to the international community" and stressed that China is the victim of terrorism.
Tang said, "The Eastern Turkestan terrorist forces are trained, equipped and financed by international terrorist organizations," he said. "The fight against the Eastern Turkestan group is an important aspect of the international fight against terrorism."
This is the first time China took the East Turkestan Issue before the international community asking its help to eliminate the freedom struggle of the Uyghur people. Before the terrorist attacks on America, China never admitted the existence of the East Turkestan Issue. Apparently, China saw 9/11 as an opportunity to justify its persecution of Uyghur people by claiming itself a victim and their struggle “international terrorism.â€
On September 14, 2002, three days after the first anniversary of terrorist attacks on America, Tang Jiaxuan once again addressed the United Nations General Assembly and claimed that “China is also a victim of terrorism.†Tang made the same claim that, “The “Eastern Turkestan†terrorist forces are trained, equipped and financed by international terrorist organizations. The fight against the “Eastern Turkestan†terrorism groups is also an important aspect of the international campaign against terrorism.â€
The Chinese government, through the statements of their Foreign Minister, implies that there are ''East Turkestan terrorist forces." This phrase has been carefully crafted, but when examined closely, becomes a vague, useless generalization. The obvious aim of the statement is to flatly state the Chinese government’s position that:
a. Anyone connected with the name 'East Turkestan' is a terrorist,
b. That there is an organized 'force' involved in this effort, and
c. That there is a conspiracy that links two or more of these 'forces' and they are engaged in organized campaign of terror.
The Chinese government's implication that any group that recognizes the right of self-determination for the people of East Turkestan is a 'terrorist force' is an outright distortion and patently untrue. Likewise, the implication that a large-scale conspiracy links these groups into terrorist cells is simple nonsense. The Chinese government's claim that there are 'terrorist forces' threatening China is an overexaggerated, pointless generalization. The idea supports the Chinese government's goals to vilify and condemn any support for the right of the East Turkestan people for self-determination, and obscures the truth.
In fact, just nine days before September 11, Xinjiang regional government chairman Abdulahat Abdurixit told the Chinese paper Ta Kung Pao that “by no means is Xinjiang a place where violent and terrorist accidents take place very often.†He was speaking to the paper in order to encourage Hong Kong investment in the region and ensure the investors that Xinjiang is a secure place to make huge investments.
b. Claiming all the Uyghur organizations are “terroristâ€
After Tang Jiaxuan internationalized the East Turkestan Issue in the United Nations by stating that “Eastern Turkestan†terrorism forces are also an important aspect of the international campaign against terrorismâ€, the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeatedly used this statement as a justification to include all the Uyghur organizations in the world as “terrorist†organizations despite the fact that most of them never advocated terrorism or engaged in violence but advocated a peaceful solution to the East Turkestan Issue.
China continues such demonization of Uyghur organizations in the world until today. Besides demonizing the Uyghur organizations, China decided to discredit the Uyghur political leaders in associating them with “terrorism†so as to eliminate those Uyghur organizations legally and openly operating in the West.
c. Listing Four Organizations & 11 Individuals “terroristâ€
In December 2003, Chinese authorities issued a list of organizations they regarded as terrorist and 11 specific individuals they regarded as terrorist leaders, not only in China but also overseas. China identified four Uyghur organizations and eleven individuals as "terrorist" in its first batch of "Eastern Turkistan" terrorist groups and individuals. The four organizations identified are the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Eastern Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO), the World Uyghur Youth Congress (WUYC), and the East Turkestan Information Center (ETIC).
Although, after U.S. designation of ETIM as a terrorist organization, China trumpeted a lot of charges of terrorism on the other organizations and eleven individuals, not a single country in the world accepted China’s terrorist claims regarding them and recognized China’s designations. Since such strategy didn’t work in the world, China stopped further pushing these fictitious claims and charges against the organizations and its leaders.
After its failure to garner international support on the East Turkestan Issue, China decided to use its diplomatic muscle to pressure those countries that the Uyghur political organizations operated and prevent their legitimate activities and gatherings. In February, 2002, China pressured Turkey, a country that traditionally sympathized with the Uyghur people’s freedom struggle, to cancel a conference on East Turkestan held at Hacetepe University. In December the same year, China again pressured Turkey to prevent the Commemoration of Mr. Isa Yusuf Alptekin’s Death in Istanbul. Turkey caved in.
In April, 2003 the East Turkestan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress in Germany decided to merge into one unified organization to organize Uyghurs from around the world to promote the East Turkestan Issue. Prior to the conference, China did everything it could to get the meeting cancelled, arguing that its aim was separatist and terrorist. However, the German authorities did not force the cancellation of the meeting, which went ahead as planned.
During the memorial weekend in late May 2004, the Uyghur American Association decided to hold a Uyghur Cultural Evening and its Fourth Congress, inviting American politicians, think-tanks, academics, and human rights activists as well as Uyghur political leaders all over the world. China again did everything it could to prevent and interfere with the successful closure of these two important events.
First, a Chinese delegation told the U.S. State Department that certain “terrorists†including Erkin Alptekin would attend and speak at these two events. Second, they said that the UAA purposefully chose a hotel less than a mile away from the Chinese Embassy. Third, they said the Uyghurs could march down to the embassy and create disorder after their gatherings. Finally, allowing such gathering was not conducive to the U.S.-China relations. However, China’s attempt to prevent our gatherings miserably failed because they were perfectly legal in the United States. We successfully held our cultural evening and congress. Two Chinese embassy officials came to them uninvited. Although China learned its limits in pressuring foreign governments but it has never stopped to justify its claims and discredit the Uyghur’s freedom struggle.
d. Issuing a White Paper on “Xinjiangâ€
To bolster its claims that “Xinjiang is part of China since ancient times†and “the fight against the Eastern Turkestan forces are an important aspect of the international fight against terrorismâ€, China issued its first White Paper on XUAR on May 26, 2003. By whitewashing the historical reality of East Turkistan with vague and confusing claims, China once again attempted to demonize the Uyghur freedom struggle and discredit the Uyghur organizations in the world.
This white paper was probably released to serve the following two purposes:
First, it attempted to convince the international community that the Uyghur people who have been demanding freedom and independence from China do not have a legitimate cause since “Xinjiang†is an “inseparable part of China since the ancient timesâ€. This message is sent to mislead foreign governments and those foreigners who support the Uyghur people to believe that the Uyghurs don’t have a legitimate ground to demand anything from China, and they should be happy with the status quo. This is aimed at cutting off foreign support and sympathy toward the Uyghur cause and people. This is the way to further isolate Uyghurs in the world and justify Chinese crackdown in the name of fighting against so-called three evils, “separatism, extremism, and terrorismâ€. According to the Chinese government, all of these “evil†labels are applied to the Uyghurs only.
Second, the white paper seemed to perpetuate the notion that the Chinese have always been the ruling class in what is now the People’s Republic of China and all the minorities have been their subjects who have no rights to rule or separate their countries from China by any means. This is to justify contemporary Chinese nationalism and create a Chinese nation state, a country of, by, and for the Chinese, not minorities. That is why China claims all the glories of history as exclusively “Chineseâ€.
The White Paper was seen by the Uyghur people and organizations around the world as a preemptive measure of the Chinese government aimed at delegitimizing the freedom struggle of the Uyghur people in the world. This paper, besides making bogus claims, didn’t generate any international interest or support for China’s positions.
Obviously, China didn’t just stop there. China pressured all the neighboring countries to return Uyghur dissidents who criticized the Chinese persecution of the Uyghur people in East Turkestan and held joint military exercises with them to show that nobody supported the Uyghur struggle around the periphery of the Middle Kingdom.
II. China’s Peripheral Approach on the East Turkestan Question
a. Pakistan
i. Repatriation of Uyghurs
In July 2003, Pakistan, under Chinese pressure, forcibly returned Muhammed Tohti Metrozi to China. At the time, he had been recognized as a refugee by the UNHCR in Pakistan, and was awaiting resettlement to Sweden. He was reportedly tried in Urumqi in April 2004. The charges against him reportedly related to the peaceful exercise of his fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and association. Pakistan also forcibly returned several other Uyghurs to China after September 11, 2001.
ii. Joint military exercises.
Also, Voice of America reported on August 6, 2004 that more than 200 Chinese and Pakistani soldiers participated in the exercises called “Friendship 2004†in East Turkestan. Chinese state media said the exercises were aimed at improving both armies' anti-terror capability and "to contain and crack down" on separatism, extremism and terrorism. This was the first land-based military exercise the two allies have held, and followed joint naval exercises last October. In fact, the joint military exercises are a symbol of Chinese power, showing China’s willingness and ability to suppress all signs of so-called terrorism and separatism in East Turkistan.
b. Nepal – repatriation of Shir Ali and others
Following China’s demands, Nepal forcibly returned Shir Ali to China in spite of his refugee status conferred by UNHCR in Katmandu. He was executed after being forcibly returned from Nepal to China. Shir Ali, a Uyghur dissident from Khotan, had been imprisoned and tortured in China in 1994 in connection with his political activities. He fled to Nepal via Tibet in November 2000 and applied for recognition as a refugee with UNHCR. He was recognized as a refugee in May 2001. In spite of this, he was detained by the Nepalese immigration authorities in December 2001 and extradited to China.
In mid-2002, Nepal also forcibly returned Kheyum Whashim Ali to China. He was recognized as a refugee by UNHCR in October 2001, but was arrested and taken to the office of the Chief District Officer in Kathmandu on 23 May 2003 before being taken away again to an unknown location. It is not known exactly when Kheyum Whashim Ali was forcibly returned to China, but in February 2003, Amnesty International received reports that he was detained in Michuan prison, around 40km outside Urumqi.
Nepal also forcibly returned Abdulla Sattar around the same time Keyum Washim Ali was returned. At present, there are fears that these two individuals are at risk of torture and even execution.
c. Kazakhstan – repatriation of Uyghurs and closure of Uyghur orgs.
In 1999, Kazakhstan forcibly returned Kasim Mahpir, Ilyas Zordun, Zulfikar Memet), and Saydakhmet Memet to China in violation of international law against refoulement. The following year, China sentenced them to death and reportedly executed them on charges of “separatism.†After international human rights organizations and governments criticized Kazakhstan for forcibly returning Uyghur refugees to China, Kazakhstan stopped directly repatriating Uyghur refugees. But according to Uyghur organizations in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh authorities began to quietly repatriate Uyghurs to China.
d. Kyrgyzstan – repatriation of Uyghurs and joint-military exercises
China has also expanded its influence substantially in Kyrgyzstan. Late in 2002, China and Kyrgyzstan carried out joint military exercises along the Chinese-Kyrgyz border. Besides military exercises, Kyrgyzstan often quietly sends Uyghur refugees fleeing Chinese persecution back to China violating its obligations under international laws. According to the Uyghur organizations, for fear of international criticism, Kyrgyzstan deports the Uyghur refugees secretly back to China. Upon Chinese demands, Kyrgyzstan has also closed down Uyghur paper and radios in that country, and banned the Uyghurs to form political organizations.
e. Uzbekistan – bilateral agreement on cracking down Uyghurs
Colin Mackerras, one of the leading scholars on China and the Uyghur issue, writing for Asia Times, said, just before the June 2004 SCO meeting, Chinese President Hu Jintao held formal meetings with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and signed an agreement to cooperate in combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, including against the so-called Uyghur separatists and terrorists in Xinjiang.
He said, the friendship China has developed diplomatically with the countries of Central Asia has one other implication. In order to conciliate China and to further their own interests, the governments of Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have sent back to China those Uyghurs trying to flee region as refugees.
Recently, China has also signed anti-terrorism treaties with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in order to curtail the legitimate activities of the Uyghur political organizations in their respective countries, creating a dangerous situation for the Uyghur people to protect their human rights. Today any Uyghur suspected of involvement in “separatist†activity and returned to China is at risk of serious human rights violation, including arbitrary detention, unfair trials, torture, and even execution.
According to Stephen Blank, professor of Strategic Studies Institute at U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, at present there is little doubt that doing everything possible to consolidate Beijing’s hold over XUAR is one of the drivers of Chinese policy in all dimensions in Central Asia. Thus increasing amounts of bilateral military assistance are going to these states and the signs of coordination in intelligence on terrorism are multiplying as they crack down on Uyghur movements in their homelands to retain China’s friendship. Indeed, for Beijing such crackdowns have increasingly become preconditions for any kind of friendly relationship with Central Asian states and the provision of desperately needed aid.
f. Syria – eviction of Ahmatjan Osman
In February 2004, Radio Free Asia reported that Ahmatjan Osman, a Uyghur poet well-known in the Arab world for his command of the classical Arabic poetic tradition has applied to the United Nations for refugee status after Syria expelled him despite his 15 years residence in the country and marriage to a Syrian national.
Syria expelled Mr. Osman after China pressured Damascus that his presence in this Arab country would hurt the relations between China and Syria. When Osman was expelled, he was not a member of any Uyghur political and religious organization. He was and has been a writer who happened to live in Syria and had great reputation in the Arab world.
III. China’s Domestic Approach on the East Turkestan Question
a. Vague definition of “terrorism and separatismâ€
In the Chinese Criminal Law, “terrorism†and related offences are vaguely defined giving the authorities wide leeway to interpret such crimes in a broad manner. According to the Economist, China now defines a terrorist in Xinjiang as anyone who thinks “separatist thoughtsâ€. Even some American officials are beginning to realize that China's definition of “terrorism†simply means anyone who opposes Beijing.
Following the September 11 2001 attacks in the USA, China has intensified its political crackdown against the Uyghur people, branding those in favor of independence as "ethnic separatists" or "terrorists". The Chinese authorities make little distinction between acts of violence and acts of peaceful dissent.
The Chinese government’s use of the term “separatism†refers to a broad range of activities, many of which amount to no more than peaceful opposition or dissent, or the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of religion. Over the last three years, tens of thousands of people are reported to have been detained for investigation in the region and hundreds, possibly thousands, have been charged or sentenced under the Criminal Law; many Uyghurs are believed to have been sentenced to death and executed for alleged “separatist†or “terrorist†offences, although the exact number is impossible to determine.
A report by the Human Rights Watch said, “In January 2002, pressure to follow the official ideological line was explicitly extended to include artists, writers, performers, and historians, among others, when Abulahat Abdurixit, the region’s chairman, made clear that ‘all who openly advocate separatism using the name of art’ would be purged.â€
“The search for dissenters through the same type of campaign was extended in early 2002 to other sectors of society in the region, including cultural and media circles. Official sources made clear that the ‘struggle against separatism’ is wide-ranging and encompasses repressing all potential dissent and opposition activities, including the peaceful expression of views via poems, songs, books, pamphlets, letters, or the Internet,†the report explained.
In January 2003, a young Uyghur poet was arrested after he read a verse during a performance at a concert hall in Kashgar. He was accused of "attacking official policy regarding ethnic minorities" and "destroying the unity between Uyghur and Han", something which the authorities regarded as "terrorism in the spiritual form". No further information has become available about his fate, but AI is concerned at this apparent use of "terrorism" to justify the arrest of a peaceful poet with dissenting views.
b. Step up arrest and execution of Uyghurs linking terrorism
Despite the fact that Ismael Tiliwaldi, Chair of the XUAR government, said on April 12 2004, "In Xinjiang, not one incident of explosion or assassination took place in the last few years....Last year Xinjiang’s public security situation was very good,†China continued the pace of arrest and execution of Uyghurs allegedly involved in terrorism.
Radio Free Asia reported on September 16, 2004 that Chinese authorities have sentenced more than 50 people to death in East Turkistan this year in what government officials say is a war on terrorism.
Xinjiang Communist Party leader Wang Lequan said, “Due to the fact that the activities of international terrorist forces are rampant, we believe our fight against the crime of violent terrorists will continue for a long time to come.†Wang’s claim directly contradicts the earlier statement of Ismail Tiliwaldi that not once such incident took place last year.
Wang also said, the government had cracked 22 groups involved in separatist and terrorist activities and meted out the 50 death sentences in the first eight months of the year. But none of those sentenced to death had yet been executed, Wang said without explaining.
Wang also rejected criticism from abroad that Beijing's crackdown has been, to some extent, racially motivated. "In Xinjiang's efforts to fight violent terrorist crimes and separatism since the 1990s, there has been no racial or ethnic problem," he claimed.
"Most of the ethnic splittists are Uyghurs, that is not false, but they do not represent the Uyghurs," he said. Wang gave no hint of any let-up in China's crackdown. Such is the official attitude of the Chinese government in further persecuting the Uyghur people in the name of fighting against terrorism since September 11, 2001.
RFA reported on July 13, 2004 that Kuerban Tudaji was sentenced to death by the Chinese government on June 30 after being convicted of "attempting to split the country," and "organizing terrorist training" between 1998 and 2000.
Amnesty International strongly condemned the reported execution, voicing concern that Kuerban Tudaji did not receive a fair trial." The human rights group urged the Chinese authorities to make public the nature of the evidence against him and whether he had full guarantees for his defense. Apparently, China never made anything public regarding Kurban Tudaji’s trial and execution.
According to the East Turkistan Information Center based in Germany, China executed Idris Kadir, 29, on July 19th, 2004. An additional 20 Uyghurs from the ages of 15 to 30 were sentenced to jail terms of between three and 10 years.
On July 28, 2004—RFA reported Abdulghani Memetemin, was handed a nine-year jail term by the Intermediate People's Court in Kashgar. According to a copy of the court judgment sent to RFA, it said "Abdulghani Memetemin is accused of threatening the integrity of the state by separatist means, violating state secrets and sending them outside the country."
On August 13, AFP reported that China executed two Uyghurs who were among 18 Uyghurs convicted of separatism in Xinjiang. The group, all alleged members of the little-known East Turkestan People’s Party, was sentenced on July 21 by the Intermediate People’s Court in Aksu city, said Ma Lin, deputy director of the court. The other 14 Uyghur defendants were sentenced to five to 20 years in prison.
c. Official warning and condemnation of ET organizations and dissidents
On January 17 2004, Zhang Xiuming, deputy secretary of the XUAR committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said, “We need to take the initiative and go on the offensive, crack down on gangs as soon as they surface and strike the first blow. We must absolutely not permit the three vicious forces to build organizations, have ringleaders, control weapons and develop an atmosphere. We need to destroy them one by one as we discover them and absolutely not allow them to build up momentum.â€
China Daily reports on September 16, 2004 that Wang Lequan, Secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Autonomous Regional Committee, says there is absolutely no room for the extremely small number of national splittists and terrorists in Xinjiang as nationalities unite, border defense is strengthened and people's living standards keep rising. He said the Chinese government relies on the broad masses of people to safeguard the country's unification, social stability and the happy lives of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang by cracking down on extremists, splittists and international terrorists.
d. Strengthening of XJ Production & Construction Corp.
On October 10, 2004, Xinhua reported that a grand meeting was held in Urumchi to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, transformed from a military troop 50 years ago.
State Councilor Hua Jianmin attended the meeting and read a letter of congratulations from the central authorities. The letter speaks highly of the contributions made by the corps to the development and stability in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, northwest China, over the past half century and called on it to make further contributions.
Zhang Qingli, commander-in-chief of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp, an offshoot of the People’s Liberation Army that was established in the ethnic Uyghur-dominated region 50 years ago to ensure Chinese rule, made the call. “The corps should not be weakened but be enlarged in the new era with the main task to develop the economy, maintain the stability of Xinjiang, promote unity among ethnic groups and consolidate border defense.â€
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed during a recent visit to Xinjiang to reinforce the role of the corp for similar reasons, Xinhua said. The 2.54-million strong corp staffs 186 regimental farms and more than 1,500 industrial, construction, transport and commercial enterprises in Xinjiang, Xinhua said. It does not form a part of China’s 2.5-million-strong People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing army.
Nonetheless it “plays an irreplaceable role in smashing and resisting internal and external attempts at sabotage and infiltration, and maintains the stability and safety of the borders of the country,†Xinhua said.
e. Conducting anti-terror and anti-hijack drill
i. Controlling East Turkestan
According to a Reuters report the exercises conducted in August by the People's Liberation Army practiced surround-and-annihilate tactics and field operations, 10 strategies for controlling East Turkestan and increasing the army's strength. These exercises followed closely on joint Sino-Pakistani military "anti-terrorist" exercises conducted in August which Beijing used to re-inforce to the Uyghur population that they were truly 'friendless" in the region. In an unmistakably clear warning to the Uyghur people because China has recently conducted military exercises in Xinjiang ominously called "Controlling East Turkistan".
ii. Anti-hijacking Drill
China also conducted its 2004 anti-hijacking drill in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, October 20 morning. The drill consists of blitz on hijackers and rescue operations for wrecked planes. More than 600 people from departments of civil aviation, public security, foreign affairs, safety, health and fire fighting, as well as the air force and armed police, took part in the drill.
Wang Lequan, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and secretary of the CPC regional committee, observed the drill at the scene and urged great efforts must be made to beef up precautionary measures and resolutely crack down on all hijacking of civilian aircraft.
By choosing Urumchi as the location for the drill, China clearly sent a message to the international community that Uyghurs, as Muslims, were prone to terrorism, thus, they were highly likely to hijack airplanes like the 9/11 terrorists.
f. Banning Uyghur Language and Assimilating the Uyghur People
Since September 11, 2001, China has sped up the cultural assimilation of the Uyghur people by sending more Uyghur children to study Chinese culture and language in Mainland and at the same time by banning the use of Uyghur language in the elementary and middle school, and university level throughout East Turkistan.
Beginning in September 2003, China banned the use of Uyghur language as the official language of instruction and even forced Uyghur teachers and professors to teach their subjects to Uyghur students in the Chinese language. Those Uyghur educators who could not teach in Chinese were disqualified and suspended from their teaching positions. They were replaced by the Chinese teachers. As a direct consequence of such policy, today the Uyghur language education is practically obliterated by the Chinese government.
In a similar fashion, China has also sped up the cultural assimilation of the Uyghur children by sending them to mainland Chinese schools to be educated in the Chinese culture and language. People's Daily reported on October 13, 2004 that high schools in twelve more cities in coastal areas in east and south China will recruit students from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
According to Nur Bekri, vice secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China, said that with the approval of the China’s Ministry of Education, 12 cities in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces will open special school programs for students from Xinjiang. Thus, 24 cities in Mainland China have "Xinjiang Classes".
In 2000, 12 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen opened the special classes.
With the expansion, the program is expected to be able to enroll 5,000 students every year from 2007. The programs target children from farming and herding families of the autonomous region. Nur Bekri said that the promotion of special school programs for Xinjiang children in inland cities is a significant step for the country to boost the social development of the region.
In fact, this policy paves the way for China to further the goal of assimilating the Uyghur people into the greater Chinese culture by depriving the Uyghur children of Uyghur education and forcibly placing them into eastern China where there is no Uyghur cultural environment. When these Uyghur children grow up and finish their education in China, they will not be able to read, write and speak the Uyghur language fluently and learn Uyghur values and traditions. They will practically lose their Uyghurness.
g. Closure of Uyghur mosques, Forbidding minors to attend religious schools, and Restricting the Pilgrimage to Mecca
According to Forum 18, a Norwegian human rights organization, in addition to the other prohibitions, the Chinese authorities prohibit the Uyghurs from using religion to intervene in administrative, judicial, education, marriage, and birth planning matters; using religion to promote views such as "pan-Islamism" and "pan-Turkism"; holding "private" religious classes and acquiring "private" students in religious venues and by religious professionals; and promoting "superstitious thoughts".
Voice of America reported on October 1, 2004 that John Hanford, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, said that in China, “the government continues to repress Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, Catholics faithful to the Vatican, underground Protestants, and Falun Gong†practitioners.
One way the Chinese government tries to limit the growth of religious groups is by making it difficult for young people to worship. Ambassador Hanford says this is especially true in Muslim areas, such as China’s Xinjiang province:
“. . . there are signs posted on the mosques, which say, ‘No one under eighteen allowed.’ Now, the Chinese government has promised . . . to change this policy and that people of faith of all religions are going to be able to have their children involved in their places of worship and in religious instruction. But in Xinjiang, this is certainly not the case.â€
At the same time, the government has increased restrictions on the religious rights of the Muslim population in the region, banning some religious practices during the holy month of Ramadan, closing many mosques and independent religious schools, increasing official controls over the Islamic clergy, and detaining or arresting religious leaders deemed to be “unpatriotic†or “subversiveâ€. Regional authorities have also launched political campaigns to “clean up†cultural and media circles and some government departments in Xinjiang to rid them of “undesirable elements.â€
RFA reported last year that Police in China's Xinjiang region are restricting Muslim Uyghurs from undertaking the annual pilgrimage to Makka. In recent days up to 43 Uyghur pilgrims have been detained in Artux and Akto, cities near Kashgar, after preparing for pilgrimages.
Together with human rights organizations like Amnesty International, we are extremely concerned that the high levels of repression in ET are narrowing the space for any independent expression of Uyghur ethnic, cultural or religious identity. Such expression, particularly when it takes the form of peaceful criticism, dissent or dissatisfaction, is often deemed by the authorities to constitute “separatistâ€, “terrorist†or “illegal religious†activities, leading to arbitrary detention, torture and other serious human rights violations.
The crackdown on “separatists, terrorists and religious extremists†has continued over the last three years, even though there have been no official reports of attacks by “terrorist†groups. According to a Chinese government report published on January 21 2002, which listed “terrorist†incidents in the region over the past ten years, the most recent explosion allegedly carried out by a “terrorist†group took place in April 1998.
China's true intention is to link any Uyghur organization that opposes Beijing's heavy-handed rule in East Turkestan to terrorism and even international terrorism in order to justify its hard-line policies such as the Strike Hard campaigns against the Uyghur people. For China any Uyghur organization is a terrorist organization even if it peacefully advocates the freedom of Uyghur people and independence of East Turkestan without ever committing any acts of violence. Such hard-line Chinese crackdown will only strengthen the resistance of the Uyghur people against the authoritarian regime in Beijing for crackdown has never been a solution to the East Turkestan Issue since 1949 when China occupied the independent nation of the Uyghur people.
Alim A. Seytoff
General Secretary,
Uyghur American Association
1700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-321-2388
Fax: 202-349-1491