Freedom, Independence and Democracy for East Turkistan !

E-mail: etic@uygur.org

UAA Speech at USCIRF Round-table Panel Discussion

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and distinguished guests! It is my honor to speak before you this morning. First of all, I would like to thank the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom for holding this round table discussion and for inviting me to speak as one of the panelists.

Today, I would like to address some very important issues from the Uyghur perspective:

East Turkestan (ET), the motherland of the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples, is not a historic Chinese territory as China often claims. East Turkestan at present is a Chinese colony. The Chinese word “Xinjiang?literally means New Territory. The Chinese name of East Turkestan testifies against the Chinese claim that East Turkestan has always been part of China since ancient times. In the 19th century, the Great Britain encouraged and funded the Manchu Qing dynasty to control and occupy East Turkestan in order to prevent Tsarist Russian encroachment into India, threatening the British rule there. This is called the Great Game in the history of Central Asia. The Manchus simply used East Turkestan as a buffer zone against Russia and looked at it as a foreign dominion. The Chinese occupation of East Turkestan came much later than the Manchu occupation.

East Turkestan partially fell into the rule of Chinese only in 1911 after the overthrow of Manchu Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China by Guomindang. Although, on the surface, Guomindang controlled East Turkestan at that time but in reality it was under local warlords?control. During the 38-year rule of warlords, the Uyghurs twice established independent states: first time in 1933 and second time in 1944. However, in 1949, Mao Zedong’s communist China with the support of Stalin’s Soviet Union illegitimately occupied the East Turkestan Republic. The president and ministers of East Turkestan Republic were killed in a plane crash while on their way to Beijing to negotiate with Mao Zedong. The Uyghurs believe the crash was a political conspiracy.

Before the Chinese occupation, Mao Zedong promised the leaders of East Turkestan Republic that they had the right to self-determination or to become a federal Chinese republic, much like a Soviet republic. Stalin, fearing the existence of an independent East Turkestan would threaten the unity of Soviet Union by encouraging the secession of Central Asian Turkic republics, pressured the ET leadership to negotiate with Mao Zedong for a political solution. Having no choice and dependent upon Soviet military support, they decided to negotiate with Communist China. But, after the plane crash, Mao Zedong designated Saifudin Aziz, a pro-Chinese communist Uyghur, as the head of the region with a promise that Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would be deployed into East Turkestan for a period of five years for rebuilding the country, and after that the Uyghurs would decide their political future.

Then, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) occupied the East Turkestan Republic in October 1949 with the leadership of Chinese General Wang Zhen who later massacred hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs for demanding independence from China. Five years later, in 1955, instead of pulling PLA out of East Turkestan as promised, Mao Zedong renamed this republic back to “Xinjiang?and established “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region? Since then, the Uyghurs lost their independence and sovereignty, and forced to become a part of People’s Republic of China.

The autonomy China offered to the Uyghurs is the lowest form of autonomy that has no real substance. Although the regional chairman is Uyghur, he is usually handpicked by Beijing to serve the political interest of the Chinese government. The Uyghur people consider those Uyghurs picked by Beijing as the regional chairman puppets since they never represent the overall interests of the Uyghur nation. Beijing usually handpicks them based not on their competence but on their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. The Uyghur chairmen are only figureheads who never actually possess real power. All the political, military and economic powers in the region solely rest in the hands of the Chinese officials. This is the political power structure and political reality of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region since 1955.

Since the founding of the autonomous region, Beijing also fabricated all kinds of historical facts to justify its claim that “Xinjiang?is part of China since ancient times. The first thing China did was to distort the Uyghur history and rewrite it for the best interest of the Chinese State. The second thing China did was to destroy the Uyghur identity through the effective elimination of Uyghur language, script, culture, tradition and religion. Today, the Uyghurs have no religious freedom at all. Any religious activity that is not approved by the authorities is labeled illegal. The Uyghurs also have no right to keep their culture alive. Cultural activities such as mashraps have been banned in 1997. Uyghur language is no longer the official language of the autonomous region. Neither the government nor the educational system uses the Uyghur language in East Turkestan. All the documents are written specifically in Chinese without any Uyghur translation. No longer the signs in the streets are in the Uyghur language. All the universities solely use the Chinese language for instruction. The Chinese authorities burned Uyghur historical books last year in order to destroy Uyghur culture and history. The Uyghur people have never seen this kind of unprecedented destruction and consider this a form of cultural genocide.

The present situation of the Uyghur people can be summarized into the following two main points. The first point is that the Uyghur people now live under foreign occupation. The second point is that the Uyghur people live under a despotic authoritarian rule. Both of these conditions have been gradually destroying the Uyghur people as a nation and threatening their very existence as a distinct indigenous people.

Following the first main point, the Uyghur people look at the Chinese occupation of East Turkestan as foreign occupation since the Uyghurs and Chinese lived side by side since the dawn of history as neighbors. Throughout history, the Uyghurs have had a totally independent existence of China and the Chinese rule. In short, the Uyghurs and Chinese have independent and separate existence. The Uyghur race, culture, language, tradition, religion, values, food and the way of life are totally different from those of Chinese. The Uyghurs have no intention to claim any Chinese territory as their own but the Communist China simply reoccupied and claimed all the territories under the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty as “part of China since ancient times? However, both the Uyghurs and the Chinese government know that historically East Turkestan is not a Chinese territory. Today, the Uyghur people believe that they are not splitting China or separating a part of China but reclaiming the lost independence and sovereignty of East Turkestan, which were brutally taken away by Communist China with many false promises in 1949. The Uyghur people want to preserve their national identity and culture in the world through the means of democracy, human rights, freedom and nonviolence.

The Uyghur people do not recognize Chinese sovereignty over East Turkestan. The Uyghur people neither believe nor accept the historical claim or justification made by the People’s Republic of China. That is why the Uyghur people believe that the freedom struggle for East Turkestan is just and legitimate. They believe they have the right to expel any foreign invaders including the Chinese and establish an independent state of their own according to their own will. This is the major reason why the Uyghur people have resisted Chinese rule since 1949 after Mao Zedong denied the Uyghurs the right to self-determination. Today, this struggle continues to a certain degree because China still denies the historic reality of East Turkestan, the Uyghur people their national sovereignty, and their legitimate rights and freedoms as owners of this vast territory.

Coming to the second point, besides living under foreign occupation, the Uyghur people have also been living under dictatorial and authoritarian Chinese rule in the past 54 years. While the Chinese occupation destroyed the independence of East Turkestan, the authoritarian Chinese rule is eliminating everything that represents the Uyghur identity in East Turkestan. The Chinese rule is suffocating the entire Uyghur population and threatening its existence as never before. The Uyghur people believe that Chinese rule in East Turkestan is inherently evil and it’s aimed at eradicating the Uyghur people as a nation in the world. For the Uyghurs, this is the darkest period of Uyghur history for national survival in which they have to fight against a strong and ruthless enemy. The Uyghurs believe that the suffering of the Uyghur people is inevitable as long as East Turkestan is under Chinese rule. They also believe that after half a century of misery and persecution under the Chinese autonomy arrangement, the independence of East Turkestan is the only guarantee to secure their life, liberty, and happiness. They do not see any future in China or being part of China for Beijing will always treat the Uyghurs as aliens and unwanted barbarians. The Uyghurs are aware that China only wants East Turkestan and its abundant natural resources, not its Uyghur owners.

Since East Turkestan became the new colony of China in 1949, the People’s Republic has aggressively pursued a policy of colonization of the territory, assimilation of the Uyghur people, destruction of the Uyghur culture and identity. To colonize the vast territory, which is now one sixth of China, Beijing sponsored an active immigration policy to change the demographics in the region. According to official statistics, there were only 300,000 Chinese in East Turkestan in 1950, accounted fewer than 4% of total population and the Uyghur population was nearly 75%. However, according to 2000 census, the Chinese population in East Turkestan is nearly eight million, account almost 50% of the total population. The Chinese policy of aggressive immigration is still in effect after China launched the Western Development Project. This is creating serious problem for the Uyghurs since they are feeling marginalized in their own country. This policy along with the assimilation policy of China has serious and unprecedented consequences for the peaceful coexistence of the Uyghurs and Chinese.

Besides immigrating millions of Chinese population into East Turkestan in the form of supporting the region’s development since 1949, China has also embraced a policy of assimilating indigenous Uyghurs in order to sinify this non-Chinese territory. The Uyghurs are probably one of the few ethnic groups within the People’s Republic who do not resemble Chinese but look more Caucasian. Since the Uyghurs look quite different, Beijing has found it extremely difficult to convince the international community and even the Chinese people that the Uyghurs are also “Chinese?and “Xinjiang is an inalienable part of China since ancient times? The Uyghurs and the Chinese, besides their common humanity, indeed have little in common. So, for China, the best way to eliminate the difference of resemblance is to assimilate the Uyghur population through forced marriage and forced abortion, limiting their population growth. Since forced assimilation takes a long process and is quite difficult to achieve, China has instead chosen to sinify the Uyghurs through Chinese education and culture. The Chinese rationale comes from the belief that if all the Uyghurs spoke Chinese and adopted Chinese culture, then they would be quite easily assimilated into the Chinese nation.

To achieve this long-term goal, China has preferred those Uyghurs who are educated in Chinese schools and has despised those educated in Uyghur schools. Those pro-Chinese Uyghurs who think and act like Chinese are promoted and given higher positions to serve the political interests of the Chinese state while those who are pro-Uyghur interests are demoted, persecuted, or destroyed. We see from all walks of life that those Uyghurs who are culturally more Chinese enjoy a much better life than those Uyghurs who keep their own culture and language. China has also tried to portray that adopting Chinese language and culture is more progressive than keeping Uyghur culture and language. In short, China makes the Uyghurs feel that their culture and language is inferior and barbaric. To live a good life in China for a Uyghur these days is to accept Chinese culture as the best culture in the world and reject everything that in any way represents the Uyghur identity.

As for those Uyghurs who were opposed to the Chinese rule in any shape or form since 1949, they were either sentenced to long prison terms or executed. It is estimated by some Uyghur organizations that China executed almost one million Uyghurs with all kinds of labels and charges since PLA occupied East Turkestan in October 1949. China sentenced and executed Uyghurs in 1950s on charges of “ethnic nationalism? in 1960s on charges of “Soviet cronies? in 1970s on charges of “counterrevolution? in 1980s and 1990s on charges of “ethnic separatism and illegal religious practice? and after 2000 on charges of “terrorism and religious extremism? especially emphasized these charges after September 11, 2001. Today, China intimidates and threatens the entire Uyghur population in East Turkestan with high-pressured Strike Hard campaigns and frequent arrests, tortures, and executions. China also denounces all the Uyghur organizations overseas as terrorist organizations and attempts to eliminate them by all means. The situation for the Uyghurs to exist as a distinct people has been getting worse and worse. The preconditions for peaceful coexistence between the Uyghurs and Chinese are deteriorating daily with the implementation of hardline Chinese policies against Uyghurs.

Currently, the Uyghurs are banned from hotels in Mainland China. This is an institutional act of racism practiced by the Chinese government toward the entire Uyghur population. In Urumchi and other Uyghur cities, the Uyghurs are being discriminated and harassed by the Chinese authorities simply because they are Uyghurs. The Chinese companies now in their advertisements openly say they do not hire Uyghurs. Unemployment is extremely high among the Uyghurs, especially among the youth, even if they have a higher degree since most of the jobs are reserved to Chinese immigrants. Those Uyghurs who complain about it are immediately accused as “separatists?and sentenced.

Today, the Uyghur people who live under Chinese rule do not have human rights, political and religious freedom as well as the right to preserve their own culture and tradition in their own motherland. The only reason is that they are not the masters of their own country and destiny. By depriving everything from the Uyghur people, the Chinese government has basically forced them to fight back. The Uyghur people don’t have any legal channel to voice their legitimate grievances to the Chinese government. Those Beijing-picked Uyghur officials never listen to their grievances but unconditionally impose the will of the Chinese government upon them. The current volatile situation in East Turkestan is the direct result of colonial and repressive Chinese policies toward the Uyghurs in the past five decades.

Just like the Chinese people, the Uyghur people want democracy, human rights and freedom through nonviolence in the 21st century. The Uyghurs believe that they can work toward that goal only if they can sincerely discuss the East Turkestan Question with the Chinese side and find a real solution to the satisfaction of both sides because to most Uyghurs Chinese autonomy simply means a colony. This is totally unacceptable to the entire Uyghur population. China can continue to deny the sovereignty of East Turkestan and hide the real situation of Uyghurs, but the problem will still remain unresolved as it has always been to the detriment of both the Uyghur and the Chinese nations.

I. The Views of the Various Uyghur Subgroups on Future Relationships with China

Almost all the Uyghur organizations in the world want to peacefully and nonviolently seek a solution to the East Turkestan Question. Almost all of these organizations are secular and they promote democracy, human rights, and religious freedom for the Uyghur people in East Turkestan. Most of these organizations denounce the use of violence and terrorism to settle the East Turkestan Question. They all hope that through dialogue with the Chinese authorities and offer the Uyghur people the right to self-determination. They want to represent the Uyghur people and respect their wishes with regard to the future of East Turkestan. They will accept any choice the Uyghur people make.

The Uyghur American Association is one of these organizations that has been working to achieve this end by cooperating with other Uyghur organizations in Canada, Europe, and Turkey. UAA has close working relationship with the Canadian Uyghur Association, The Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization based in the Hague, Netherlands, the East Turkestan National Congress, the East Turkestan Youth Congress, and the East Turkestan Information Center in Germany as well as the East Turkestan Cultural Center in Turkey. UAA also has very good relations with Uyghur organizations that promote democracy and human rights in Central Asia. All of these organizations decided to come together and create a central organization that represents the overall interest of the Uyghur people in East Turkestan. This body shall be the highest Uyghur organization that has the authority to represent the Uyghurs in the world. We are expecting Erkin Alptekin, son of prominent Uyghur politician Isa Yusuf Alptekin, who is also the general secretary of UNPO, to head this new organization.

The main purpose to create such a unified political body in the world is to promote the peaceful settlement of the East Turkestan Question. This new organization shall attempt to represent the highest interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turkestan and abroad. This new organization will provide a blueprint for the peaceful settlement of the East Turkestan Question. At present, the Uyghur people at home expect the Uyghur Diaspora to guide them in the final settlement of the East Turkestan Question. This new organization shall do its best to create and provide such an opportunity. However, if the Chinese government decides to ignore or denounces this new organization, and the Uyghur people in East Turkestan are convinced that there is no hope for a peaceful settlement, then the situation will be out of control. This means that the Uyghur people in East Turkestan will not listen to the calling of Uyghur Diaspora but do what they see as best for the future of this country. This also may mean a political conflict. The Uyghur people know that less than one million Chechens created Russia’s biggest problem, and they can create a bigger one for China if all the hopes of peaceful settlement disappeared.

This is our concern because it is a very serious matter. We do hope that the Chinese government look at the big picture and take the road of peaceful settlement of the East Turkestan Question. We also expect the U.S. government to play an important role in urging the Chinese government to negotiate for a peaceful settlement. Otherwise, the ET question will become more complicated and unsolvable if some sort of conflict erupts and ends in large-scale bloodshed. The East Turkestan Question is not an internal issue of China. This Question has multi-dimensions. The Uyghurs are Turkic so the Turkic world is concerned with the situation in East Turkestan and what China does to the Uyghur population in case of some conflict. The Uyghurs are Muslims so the Muslim world is concerned with the situation. In fact, the Muslim world is increasingly interested in the Uyghur situation in China. Plus, some countries that have problems with China in the past and present might be tempted to play the Uyghur card against China. In the above cases, the East Turkestan Question will become extremely complicated. Therefore, we believe that it is in the best interest of the Chinese government to peacefully settle the East Turkestan Question as soon as possible.

II. The Degree to Which a Genuine Terrorist Presence Exists in East Turkestan

The Uyghur American Association does not believe that there is a genuine Uyghur “terrorist?presence in East Turkestan. If there is, it is probably a myth fabricated by the Chinese government to serve its contemporary political interests. Since the Uyghurs are Muslims and have a freedom cause, Beijing has conveniently found the label of "terrorist" after September 11 and readily applied to the Uyghurs who seek to establish an independent East Turkestan. In China, the label of terrorist or terrorism is specifically reserved to the Uyghurs. Moreover, the Chinese government indiscriminately uses the label of "terrorist" and "separatist" to legitimize suppression of any form of Uyghur dissidence. The Chinese government does not distinguish between peaceful expression of dissent or cultural and religious identity and violent acts.

To destroy the Uyghur resistance, China has portrayed the Uyghur people who seek independence for East Turkestan as Muslim fundamentalists and terrorists not any different from those suicide bombers in the Middle East. The fact is, as desperate as the situation in East Turkestan has been since 1949; there has never been a Uyghur suicide bomber. As a matter of fact, many labeled Uyghur separatists don't necessarily advocate an independent state or violence but simply want more religious and political freedom as well as real autonomy. But the repressive Chinese policies are creating a desperate and volatile situation in East Turkestan and going to radicalize even the peaceful and moderate Uyghur Muslims whom otherwise would have no big problem with Beijing. China’s hard-line policies have only backfired and failed and the consequence is severe. If the current situation continues too long, nobody can guarantee what is going to happen in East Turkestan. The Chinese policies, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, in East Turkestan are creating what China has been trying to prevent from becoming like a Chechnya.

The Uyghur American Association believes that there are isolated acts of violence sometimes committed by certain desperate Uyghurs after the Chinese authorities have abused them and left them with no means of basic subsistence. These acts of violence by no means represent the will of the Uyghur populace and are against the wishes and hopes of all the Uyghurs. UAA does not condone such violence but expects the Uyghur people to be more patient and nonviolent. However, the manifestation of such violence only shows the failure of Chinese policies in East Turkestan, which discriminate against the Uyghur people and deprive them of any opportunity of success in life. The current volatile situation in East Turkestan is the direct result of colonial and repressive Chinese policies toward the Uyghurs in the past five decades.

In conclusion, the Uyghur American Association condemns terrorism in all forms and shapes whether it is committed by the Chinese government against the Uyghur population or by certain desperate Uyghurs against the Chinese State. In addition, UAA denounces terrorism as an instrument of policy and adopts nonviolence as a means to achieve human rights, democracy, and freedom for the Uyghur people in East Turkestan. UAA believes that long-term genuine solution to the East Turkestan Question can only be found through nonviolence and dialogue by both sides on equal terms and conditions. And UAA is willing and ready to make contributions to achieve this very end for the posterity of both Uyghur and Chinese nations.

III. The Impact that the Chinese Government’s Policy on Religious Freedom

The Uyghurs are Sunni Muslims. They accepted Islam in the 11th century. Islam is not the first or the only religion the Uyghur people believed in. The Uyghur people in the past believed in Shamanism, Manichaeism, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, and Islam. The Uyghur culture is a combination of all these previous religious beliefs. The way Uyghurs believe in and practice Islam is quite different from those Muslims in the Middle East for three reasons. First one is the Uyghur people’s diverse religious beliefs throughout the history. Second is because of their isolation from the Muslim world since Chinese occupation 1949. Third is because of China’s atheistic and communistic indoctrination.

For the Uyghur people, Islam is a peaceful universal religion that offers salvation to all that believe and accept Muhammad as the last prophet of God. For them, Islam is not a militant religion that inspires them to fight any infidels. The Uyghurs know that they don’t have any commission from God to convert other peoples into Islam. There has never been a Uyghur Muslim missionary movement in East Turkestan. The Uyghur people have not by themselves developed any kind of Islamic liberation theology. Therefore, Islam in East Turkestan is not going to create Uyghur militancy or religious fundamentalism. China has also been playing a big role in creating such militancy because of its extreme hardline policies in dealing with any kind of peaceful Uyghur dissent and opposition.

In fact, the Uyghur people are much more secular than religious. Islam to many is more a culture than religious belief. Many Uyghurs only keep high Islamic holidays but hardly go to mosque to pray. Many drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. Men never wear turbans unless they are religious clergy. Women barely wear veils unless they are extremely devout. Most Uyghur men and women are dressed like anyone in America. Nobody can tell they are Muslims. This is because throughout the Uyghur history, the Uyghur people coexisted with peoples of diverse religious beliefs and cultures. The Uyghurs have no problem with other peoples and religions as long as there is a precondition for peaceful coexistence and mutual respect between the Uyghurs and others, and even the Chinese people. This has been the case for the Uyghurs.

Unfortunately, the People’s Republic of China, as an atheistic and authoritarian state, sees Islam among the Uyghur people a direct threat to the security of East Turkestan and has done everything in its power to eliminate their religious belief. Through political studies and atheistic indoctrination, China brainwashed many Uyghurs to accept atheism and communism as their newfound beliefs. As for those who didn’t change their beliefs but devoutly cling to Islam, China arrested, tortured, and executed them. China forced many Uyghur religious clergy to feed pigs and eat pork, which is forbidden in Islam as unkosher, during the notorious Cultural Revolution. Today, the Uyghur people can’t practice Islam independent of Chinese supervision. All who practice privately is labeled as illegal religious activities and persecuted. Uyghur cadres, party members, workers, professionals, teachers, and students are not allowed to practice Islam. Minors are not allowed to enter into mosques to pray. All the mosques in East Turkestan are assigned to Uyghur clergy indoctrinated in party schools, and supervised by faithful CCP officials who monitor every move of the Uyghurs that come to worship.

In short, there is no religious freedom at all for the Uyghur people, even though it is guaranteed in China’s Constitution and Autonomous Law. These days, the Uyghurs can be arrested and sentenced for holding Koranic studies at home or for translating Koran without state approval. Most Uyghurs are not allowed to go to Mecca for religious pilgrimage. Only those who have proved faithful to CCP during their lifetime are allowed to go after political indoctrination. The Uyghur people are not allowed to create religious nongovernmental organizations or establish relations with foreign religious organizations for the promotion of Islam or any other religion. Most Uyghur people don’t dare openly practice their religious beliefs because the price and the risk are too high. China can easily accuse them as “religious fundamentalists?and arrest, even execute them for peacefully practicing Islam and spreading Islamic ideas. Many Uyghur have already been sentenced and executed by the Chinese government for proselytizing Islam in ET.

However, China is failing in eradicating Islam in East Turkestan. In fact, the Chinese persecution of Uyghur people for their religious belief has been driving many of them to become more religious than ever before. This policy will eventually backfire and even drive some Uyghurs to embrace radical religious ideologies from abroad. This is a danger of what China is going to create in East Turkestan. If China doesn’t change its current religious policies imposed upon the Uyghur people; it will create its own biggest problem.

IV. Policy Options for the United States of America

1. The U.S. should designate two Special Coordinators for East Turkestan Affairs: one at the State Department and another at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to monitor human rights situation and China’s treatment of the Uyghur people.

2. The U.S. should open a Consulate in Urumchi at an earliest possible time. One reason to establish a consulate in Urumchi is to check how China is violating the human rights of the Uyghur people. Another reason is to offer convenience for the Uyghurs to apply visa to travel to the U.S.

3. The U.S. Embassy should differentiate Uyghurs from the Chinese in visa issuance. Since the U.S. visa officers consider the Uyghurs as Chinese, the chances of Uyghur applicants getting a visa are almost nonexistent. Every year, only two or three Uyghurs are able to get their visas and study in the U.S. because of such practice.

4. The U.S. Congress should enact a law to increase Uyghur immigration into America. There is currently little bit over 500 Uyghurs living in the United States. The Uyghurs are one of the smallest communities in the U.S. In comparison to their population size and the political situation in East Turkestan, they deserve to have a larger community.

5. The U.S. should open a Uyghur Service at Voice of America in order to satisfy the needs of the Uyghur people for more credible information. Currently, Radio Free Asia broadcasts only one hour original Uyghur programming into East Turkestan, which is not sufficient to satisfy the needs of nearly 10 million Uyghurs in East Turkestan and Central Asia. RFA hotline callers always demand more Uyghur broadcast since they don’t have other sources to get reliable information.

6. The U.S. should appropriate special funds and scholarships to educate Uyghurs in areas of human rights, democracy, and law and other important fields in order to help the Uyghur people to understand American values. Only by educating a great number of Uyghurs can the U.S. help them lead the Uyghur people to pursue democracy and prevent them from getting the negative influence of militant religious groups.

7. The U.S. should fund Uyghur nongovernmental organizations that promote democracy, human rights, religious freedom, and nonviolence in the world.

8. The U.S. should encourage and host dialogues between the Chinese government and the Uyghur exile community to find a common solution to the ET Question. The Uyghur people desire peace and cherish a peaceful solution to the ET Question. They hate war and violence because too much innocent blood has been shed since 1949.

9. The U.S. should press China to release prominent Uyghur businesswoman Rabiye Kadir, Uyghur historian Tohti Tuniyaz, and all the Uyghur political and religious prisoners, including those prisoners of conscience.

10. The U.S. should urge China to immediately halt the execution of Uyghur political and religious prisoners for their nonviolent activities. The U.S. should also frequently remind the Chinese government that Beijing has no right to crack down peaceful Uyghur Muslims in the name of international war against terrorism.

In conclusion, I would like to end my speech with a quote from a Uyghur in Kashgar who called RFA hotline two weeks ago. This is what he said:

“Today, most Uyghurs put their hope in the United States of America because it has done so many wonderful things in the world, such as liberating Kosovo from the tyrannical rule of Milosevic, destroying the radical Taliban Regime in Afghanistan, and removing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power. The Uyghurs hope that some day the U.S. would come to their aid and help them get out of this oppression and slavery. We hope there would be more countries like America so that all the despots and dictators could be thrown into the dustbin of history?

Alim A. Seytoff

President,

Uyghur American Association
 

© Uygur.Org  12/07/2003 19:50  A.Karakas