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Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 55 12 September 1997 In this issue: (1) NEWS RELEASE BY EASTERN TURKISTAN NATIONAL FREEDOM CENTER, INC (AYusuf7454@aol.com) (2) SENATE SET FOR ROW OVER NEW RIGHTS BILL South China Morning Post, 8/12/97 (3) SCOTS CREATE THEIR OWN PARLIAMENT, WITH LIMITED TAX AUTHORITY The Associated Press, 9/12/97 By MAUREEN JOHNSON (4) AUTHORITIES IN GAOZHOU CALL ON "TROUBLEMAKERS" TO SURRENDER CND-GLOBAL, 9/12/1997 (5) HONEST TALKS AWAIT JIANG, SAYS CLINTON South China Morning Post, 8/11/97 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (1) NEWS RELEASE BY EASTERN TURKISTAN NATIONAL FREEDOM CENTER, INC. (AYusuf7454@aol.com) September 11, 1997 On September 8, 1997 Anwar Yusuf, the President of Eastern Turkistan National Freedom Center ( ETNFC), met with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. During the meeting Mr. Yusuf raised the cause of freedom and independence for his homeland, Eastern Turkistan, which has been under the illegal occupation of the People's Republic of China since 1949. In addition, Yusuf raised the issue of China's human rights violations of the people of Eastern Turkistan, elaborating on China's brutal religious persecution of Muslim-Uyghurs and presenting a video tape of the two most recent large incidents which occurred between 1995 and 1997 in the Khotan and Ili regions of Eastern Turkistan. The video shows China's arrest, questioning, sentencing for long term imprisonment, and public execution of many Uyghur young men who were trying to express their resentment against the government of China in non-violent ways. The meeting with congressman Rohrabacher is the latest event in a two- year old campaign by the ETNFC to encourage U.S. government action on be half of oppressed Uighur and others living under Chinese rule. Congressman Rohrabacher informed Mr. Yusuf his decision to offer an amendment to House Resolution 1685 designed to protect the religious freedom of Muslim Uyghurs. He will present the amendment next week. The text of the amendment follows: AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1685 OFFERED BY MR. ROHRABACHER On page 4, insert the following after line 3 and redesignate the succeeding paragraphs accordingly: (7) In Xinjiang Autonomous Region of
China, formerly the independent republic of East Turkistan, where the Muslim religion is
inextricably linked to the dominant Uyghur culture, the Government of the People's
Republic of China has intensified its control over the Uyghur people by systematically re
pressing religious authority, restricting religious study and traditional practice,
destroying mosques, and increasing the persecution of religious clergy and practitioners.
If congressman Rohrabacher's amendment is approved, it will represent an important
statement of U.S. policy on be half of Muslim Uyghurs and could led to economic penalties
against China. (2) SENATE SET FOR ROW OVER NEW RIGHTS BILL South China Morning Post, 8/12/97 SIMON BECK in Washington The Senate last night put forward a new version of a bill targeting China's human rights record, which could provoke a showdown with the White House before President Jiang Zemin's state visit next month. Senators from both parties introduced a bill which would increase funding for Radio Free Asia, ban some PLA corporations from doing business in the US, and bar certain Chinese officials from gaining US visas. Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms backed the bill. The new legislation brings together and softens similar earlier bills. It gives the President the freedom to issue waivers for some Chinese officials who would be banned from entering the US because of their human rights record. Allowing the President to skirt the most controversial element of the proposed law is seen as crucial to its passage in both houses. "It's a product of compromise, which is something we do for a living here," a senior Senate aide said. But hearings to discuss the legislation begin next week. This is likely to annoy the White House which hoped to delay discussion until after Mr Jiang's visit. Members of the House of Representatives are certain to follow suit with a parallel version of the new bill. Bill co-sponsor Sam Brownback said: "We cannot, as a nation, sit idly by while innocent people in any country suffer at the hands of tyrants. "We must send a strong message that basic human rights and religious freedoms are God-given and America will not tolerate violations of such liberties." (3) SCOTS CREATE THEIR OWN PARLIAMENT, WITH LIMITED TAX AUTHORITY The Associated Press, 9/12/97 By MAUREEN JOHNSON EDINBURGH, Scotland (September 12, 1997 08:21 a.m. EDT) -- Scots resoundingly endorsed creating their own Parliament Thursday after 290 years of union with England, and voted to give the new legislature the right to raise their taxes. With results from all 32 districts counted Friday morning, the vote for the Parliament was 74.2 percent in favor, and the vote for giving the body tax-raising powers was 63.4 percent in favor. Voter turnout was 60.1 percent. "I am absolutely delighted that the Scottish people have backed our plans," said Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose Labor Party had campaigned on creating the separate legislature before winning power in May. "I said that we would deliver what we promised -- and we have." The creation of a Scottish Parliament, which would open by 2000, is to be the most significant change within the United Kingdom since Ireland won its independence in 1922. It will keep Scotland within the country with Queen Elizabeth II as ist monarch, but have it assume responsibility for legislation on domestic affairs. The tax authority will allow the legislature to increase, or decrease, existing taxes by 3 percentage points. Scotland "is in for a very exciting journey," said Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, which campaigned for a "yes" vote as a big stride toward its goal of independence. The Nationalists get about a quarter of the vote in Scotland. Among the rest, many have turned to Labor. Labor also campaigned for a "yes" vote but for a different reason: The government hopes the parliament will help ensure Scotland will remain part of the United Kingdom. Voters in Wales will decide on Sept. 18 on a proposal for their own assembly, which would have fewer powers than the Scottish Parliament. While the 129-member Parliament will not be able to rule on matters of foreign policy or defense, it will control most domestic affairs. The two regional legislatures were key pledges of the Labor platform. Scotland -- whose 5.1 million people represent 8.8 percent of the United Kingdom but occupy 31.9 percent of the land -- has been joined to England since the Act of Union in 1707. Underlining national pride, Scots voted on the 700th anniversary of William Wallace's defeat of the English army. A statue of the hero depicted in the movie "Braveheart" was unveiled on the site, 35 miles west of here, Thursday. The Conservatives, who inadvertently fueled demand for a separate parliament through an 18-year hold on power delivered on English votes, warned the parliament would stir English-Scots animosity and shatter the United Kingdom. Scottish newspapers, mostly pro-Labor, almost uniformly urged a yes vote. "If the vote is lost today, devolution is dead ... and independence will become the last counsel of despair," the Edinburgh-based "Scotsman" newspaper said in a front-page commentary. Proposals for legislatures in Scotland and Wales failed in a 1979 vote. Since then, a succession of Tory governments in London and growing prosperity have changed sentiment. The pride that Scots and Welsh felt in being part of imperial Britain has long faded. The two countries have had the same monarch since 1603 when James VI of Scotland succeeded England's Queen Elizabeth I and became James I of England. Even the nationalists would keep Queen Elizabeth II as monarch, though they would call her Queen Elizabeth I. (4) AUTHORITIES IN GAOZHOU CALL ON "TROUBLEMAKERS" TO SURRENDER CND-GLOBAL, 9/12/1997 [CND, 09/11/97] Authorities in Southern province Guangdong made a call Tuesday for cooperation from those involved in the protest against the rigid enforcement of one-child policy since last week, the AFP reported. In return for their cooperation, the municipality of Gaozhou may consider lenient treatment for the "trouble makers." A rally of about one thousand protesters caused a clash with the local police and militiamen. One official was in serious condition. There was no report on other damages or casualties. The protest was initiated by the arrest of three informants who tried to leak news to women about the arrival of an inspection team that enforces strict contraception measures, in addition to the death of a yong woman caused by the placement of an internal contraceptive device. (Dong LIU, Ray ZHANG) (5) HONEST TALKS AWAIT JIANG, SAYS CLINTON South China Morning Post, 8/11/97 SIMON BECK in Washington and Agencies President Bill Clinton yesterday called on Americans to give President Jiang Zemin a warm welcome next month - and said the talks would be a time for honest and constructive dialogue. In his first public remarks aimed at setting the scene for the first Chinese state visit to the United States of the 1990s, Mr Clinton said the Sino-US summit was an "important opportunity, not so much for grand statements and dramatic gestures as for constructive work on common challenges". While the President's remarks to students at American University in Washington seemed to play down the prospect of major agreements from the October talks, he laid out a potential agenda that included some of his most serious concerns. He said the two sides should discuss halting the spread of nuclear weapons, the environment, and "expanding the frontiers of free trade between us" - a veiled reference to the slow pace of talks on China's bid to join the World Trade Organisation. "It's also a chance for us to address candidly, and to face our differences on, issues like human rights and religious freedom," he said. The President said: "Sitting down across the table is far more likely to produce progress than pointing fingers across the Pacific. "So when President Jiang comes here, I hope the American people will welcome him, and will say yes, we have things that we disagree with you about, but you represent a quarter of the world's people, a large measure of the world's future, and your people and our people will be better off if we find a way to forge that future together. "America has a profound interest in seeing that China is stable, open, at peace with its neighbours." Mr Clinton also said: "We want [China] to embrace political pluralism and the international rules of civilised conduct. "China will choose its own destiny, but if we engage China instead of isolating ourselves from her, we can help to influence the path it takes." The President's remarks, which seemed aimed as much at certain members of Congress as at the American people, indicate he is hoping to stave off any anti-China rhetoric or legislation from Capitol Hill until after Mr Jiang's visit. Prepared by: Abdulrakhim Aitbayev (rakhim@lochbrandy.mines.edu) and Bill Mitchell (turpan@ix.netcom.coms). WUNN newsletter index*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= The World Uyghur Network News electronic newsletter is produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center (ETIC) in cooperation with the Taklamakan Uighur Human Rights Association (USA), and is devoted to the current political, cultural and economic developments in Eastern Turkistan and to the Uyghur people related issues. Eastern Turkistan (Sherqiy Turkistan in Uyghur) is a name used by the indigenous people of the region for their motherland located in what is at present the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic China. The World Uyghur Network News brings information on situation in Eastern Turkistan from the Uyghur and other sources to the attention of the international community. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= EASTERN TURKISTAN INFORMATION CENTER
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