After the September 11th events, the Chinese government has stepped up its oppressive policies against the Uighur people and the crackdown of the Uighur independence movement. For instance, just one week after the September 11th events, on September 20th during the meeting of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, it was announced that “the current international situation creates the best opportunity ever to eliminate national terrorists in the region”, that “Strike Hard” campaign launched in April should be intensified, and that the security organs should follow the directive “first arrest then charge”. During a telephone conversation on January 8th, the regional Chinese communist party chief, Wang Lequan, repeatedly stated: “National separatists, religious extremists, and terrorists are main three enemy forces, and we should not ease down our strikes on them and should expect this battle to be a long one”.
     According to the information obtained by East Turkistan Information Center, during three months from September to December of 2001, more than 3,000 Uighurs were arrested on political charges. Twelve open trials of “splittists and illegal religious elements” took place in East Turkistan, and twenty people received death sentences and their executions were carried out on the same day.
     The following information was obtained in East Turkistan with great difficulties by the East Turkistan Information Center. A confidential Chinese newspaper for public security officials dated September 24th reported that 210 separatists were arrested in the month of September month alone. The October 27th issue of “Urumchi’s Evening Newspaper” mentions the arrest of 150 separatists, religious extremists, and terrorists. A popular regional “Xinjiang’s Newspaper” dated from November 14th, reported that “in the first quarter of the previous month, the additional 121 national separatists were arrested”. Railways Office’s newspaper reprinted an article from a Chinese language original which states the arrest of 181 people in the second quarter of November suspected in separatism and terrorism. “Aqsu’s Evening Newspaper” dated from December 6th, reported arrests of “30 national separatists and terrorists” in the region of Aqsu in December. The Chinese government officially announced these numbers, but the actual numbers of the arrested people are, without doubt, far greater.
     After the 9-11th events, Chinese courts have been very busy and generous with issuing death and long-term imprisonment sentences. For instance, according to the East Turkistan Information Center’s source in East Turkistan, in the district of Shayar on September 24th, a Uighur man, Erkin Talip, was sentenced to death, and other eight people were given different imprisonment sentences. In Kashgar on September 25th, 48 Uighurs were tried in an open trial and sentenced to different jail terms for “splittism and illegal religious activities”. In the city of Ghulja (Yining), on October 15th, the Ili district court tried Abduhelil Abdumijit, Abdumijit Abdurahman and other six Uighurs and sentenced 6 people to death and 2 to life imprisonment. These people took part in the February 5th event in Ghulja in 1997. Abduhelil Abdumijit was brutally murdered in prison by Chinese police in November. On November 16th, in Khotan's Lop district, a regional Khotan court charged a Uighur, Yasin Iskender, in an open trial on political grounds and sentenced him to death. In the city of Khotan on October 23, the regional court tried 6 Uighurs for “splittism” and sentenced one of them, Metrozi Mettohti, to death.
     All people mentioned earlier were accused in “splittism and illegal religious activities”. Those who were sentenced to death were executed on the same day. After the executions, the police refused to return bodies of the executed to relatives, took the bodies away and buried them outside the city. No one was allowed to the site during the following three weeks.

     Religious repressions increase

     The Chinese government has always been adhering to the policy of religious discrimination and atheistic propaganda against Muslims in East Turkistan. The government has dramatically strengthened this practice in the last years. The Chinese government neglects the constitution of the People’s Republic of China that allows religious practices in a certain degree to Chinese citizens.
     During the last 10 years, the government issued a number of special decrees, like “Temporary rules for management of religious activities in Xinjiang” and “Temporarily measures on management of religious clerics in Xinjiang” that specially regulate religious practices of Uighurs. In 1997 a special communist party meeting in Beijing was devoted to “Secure the unity of Xinjiang”. The Chinese communist party’s confidential report No. 7 states that “national separatism and illegal religious activities” are the main sources of instability in Xinjiang.
     Since then, the government began not only to limit activities and practices of Muslims in East Turkistan but also to specifically target prominent and independent clerics. In result, many Uighurs were accused and charged with politically motivated “involvement in illegal religious activities”. Even some students and professors of the state run Xinjiang Islamic University were jailed. All mosques in East Turkistan were thoroughly inspected. One or two government or Communist party officials were delegated to each mosque to supervise its activities. Mosque congregations traditionally elect imams, mosque ministers. The Chinese government restricted this practice in East Turkistan, and the local Communist party organization is usually in charge of assigning imams to mosques from loyal to the Communist party people. Some of these appointed imams are jealously follow the government’s guidelines and preach atheism and loyalty to the Chinese state during congregational prayers. This situation aggravates the Muslim population of East Turkistan, and there were cases when imams loyal to the government were attacked or assassinated. The construction of new mosques is not allowed, and even some existing mosques were demolished under various invented reasons.
     Persecutions of Muslims in East Turkistan especially aggravated after the September 11th events in U.S.A. More than 3 thousand Uighurs were jailed and charged with political crimes, and 20 people were issued death sentences. The majority of those arrested were religious clerics and devoted Muslims.
According to East Turkistan Information Center’s reporter in East Turkistan, during the last holy month of Ramadan, the Chinese government created new obstacles for Muslims to celebrate the holyday and exercise their religious practices. The government issued special decrees that forbade governmental workers, students, and even ordinary workers to fast during the month of Ramadan. The government sent special watch teams to southern areas of the region populated mostly by Uighurs. Three government officials including a policeman and a prosecutor were delegated to each mosque. Police guards were put at entrances of many large mosques. During Ramadan, Muslims are allowed to break the fast in the night only. Special police teams were set up to watch that all lights are off in houses and residential buildings after 10 p.m., so that devoted Muslims had to eat in dark.
Moreover, local communist party officials dispatched special personnel to lecture Muslims on when and how to prey the Eid prayer. The Eid prayer should take place at the same day all over the world. The Chinese government ordered to move the Eid prayer in East Turkistan from December 16th to the next day. The government warned that the mosque imam and the inspection team members will be held responsible and will be fined if the Eid prayer takes place on December 16th. The government ordered to start the Eid prayer at 8 a.m. Children under 18 and governmental workers were banned from participating in the Eid prayer in mosques.
     In Khotan in early December, Public Security agents arrested a prominent religious cleric, Abduraup, during his teaching of the Koran to 8 young girls. On December 10th, a prominent female cleric, Muhabbet, was arrested along with her students including 13 years old girls. Although released soon from custody, the arrested people were fined to large amounts; 7000 Chinese yuan fine to Abduraup and 300 yuan fine to each student. One girl was fined for 3,000 yuan for her “resistance to the authorities” during arrest. Despite public protests in the city of Khotan of Qaraqash county, a local mosque was demolished under pretext that it was located too close to a school.

     Uighur workers laid out

     East Turkistan is very rich in natural resources and has a sufficient for the sustained economic development labor force. Because of the Chinese colonial policies in the last 120 years, the region remains underdeveloped compared to the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union. Although the Chinese government repeatedly states that the well being of minority peoples is its priority goal, the true strategic goal of the Chinese government is to bind the region stronger to China regardless of human or material cost. This goal is being steadfastly pursued by transferring enormous number of Chinese into the region and by restricting the natural population growth of local peoples by forced implementation of birth control policies. The local peoples are also discriminated in employment and educational opportunities. In the result, about 90% of the local people live primarily in rural areas and are engaged in the agricultural sector of the economy. A significant part of another 10% of the Uighur population lives in cities without stable job prospects. Scares land and water resources force young Uighurs to leave their villages and join the army of unemployed in cities.
     The local population benefits a little from new plants erected by the government since most of their workers are Chinese migrated from China proper. It is estimated that 95% of workers in the regional industrial centers as the cities of Urumchi, Shihenze, and Qaramay are Chinese. Almost 100% of workers are Chinese in the oil industry. In such circumstances, the Chinese communist party’s slogans to “flourish Xinjiang” and “to bring happiness to the Xinjiang people” only aggravate the local people.
The economy of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is significantly underdevelopment comparing to the coastal Chinese provinces. Since the bankruptcy laws went into effect in China in 1998, many local plants are forced to shut down losing the competition to more advanced and technologically modernized Chinese inland companies. Many Uighurs are primary subjects of job cuts due to “the necessity to increase effectiveness and competitiveness” as explained by new Chinese bosses.
Mass layouts of Uighurs from factories and plants took place recently in the cities of Khotan and Kashgar. The Kashgar textile factory employed 10 thousand people. The management of the factory led by a Chinese named Shu had drove the business to bankruptcy by poor management and stealing 80 million Chinese yuan, approximately 10 million U.S. dollars. The government transferred the manager to another position without punishment and merged the factory with one in China proper. During the last months after the arrival of new management headed by a Chinese named Wu, thousands of Uighurs were laid out without severance pay despite a different practice in the past.
     There were mass layouts in textile and silk factories in the city of Khotan. Among 700 people who lost their jobs 80 % are Uighurs. The factory paid nothing to laid out workers. On December 23rd, around 300 people, mainly women, protested and demanded meeting with the regional leader. But, instead of listening to the demands of the protesters, the governor intimidated the demonstrators with jailing if they continued their demands.
     It is becoming more difficult for new Uighur college graduates to find jobs since the preference in filling open job positions is given the Chinese migrants from China proper. More than 500 thousand Chinese migrants arrive every year to East Turkistan. They all find jobs while even educated Uighurs are left unemployed. The explanation of this situation is simple. Management personnel of all plants and factories in East Turkistan are Chinese. They prefer to employ uneducated Chinese rather than Uighurs even qualified ones. During the last 4 years, annual job fares were organized for the new college graduates in Urumchi. Almost all hiring personnel were Chinese, and they openly posted placards displaying “Applications from Uighurs are not accepted”.

     Conclusion

     In the aftermath of the September 11th events in U.S.A., the Chinese government tries to use the worldwide anti-terrorist campaign in its own advantage. The Chinese government justifies its brutal oppression of Uighurs in East Turkistan by describing it as a part of the international campaign. Moreover, the Chinese government solicited the international support in its persecution of Uighurs. Facts presented in this report demonstrate that the Chinese policies in East Turkistan have nothing to do with the international struggle with terrorism. The people of East Turkistan have legitimate reasons for protesting the Chinese rule in the region. The violence subjected on the Uighur people by the government far exceeds the level of violence caused by a few desperate individuals. The protests of Uighurs have nothing to do with the international terrorism as repeatedly claimed by Chinese officials but caused by the discriminatory polices of the Chinese government. Therefore, East Turkistan Information Center appeals to the international community to condemn the attempts of the Chinese government to present Uighurs as international Islamic terrorists, to demand from the Chinese government to respect human rights of its citizens, and to end the illegal occupation of East Turkistan by the Chinese state.