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Press Release of World Uyghur
Congress
Immediate Release
April 19, 2004
Munich, Germany
East Turkestan National Congress and World Uyghur
Youth Congress, have convened in Munich, Germany from
April 16-18, and after three days of deliberations,
have decided to merge into a united organization known
as the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) to represent the
highest interest of Uyghur People in East Turkestan.
WUC has accomplished its agenda through a democratic
process and adopted bylaws for the newly established
organization.
During the session, delegates from 13 different
countries, who attended the General Assembly, accepted
a strategic plan to achieve the goal of WUC. Delegates
of WUC have worked out both short term and long term
strategies for the freedom of East Turkestan. Mr.
Erkin Alptekin, recognized leader of the Uyghur
Freedom Movement, was democratically elected as
the first President of the WUC. Mr. Muhammad Tohti,
president of Uyghur Canadian Association, was elected
as the Vice-president of WUC. Mr. Alim Seytoff,
president of Uyghur American Association, was elected
as the Chairman for the Executive Committee of WUC.
Mr. Dolkun Isa was elected as the Secretary General of
WUC.
The main objective of WUC is to promote the right of
the Uyghur people to use peaceful, nonviolent, and
democratic means to determine the political future of
East Turkestan. WUC will endeavor to set out a course
for the peaceful settlement of the East Turkestan
Question by promoting democracy, human rights and
religious freedom for the Uyghur people. To achieve
such a goal, WUC is willing to closely cooperate with
concerned foreign governments such as the U.S.,
Britain, Germany, Russia, and international bodies
such as the UN, European Union as well as human
rights organizations such as Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch etc. Furthermore, WUC will
effectively raise the awareness of the international
community on the gross violation of human rights and
religious freedom of the people in East Turkestan
under authoritarian Chinese rule, especially after
September 11, 2001.
Since the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.,
the Chinese
government has hijacked the global war on
international terrorism and has stepped up its “Strike
Hard” campaigns aimed at terrorizing the entire Uyghur
population. The Chinese government also branded almost
all the Uyghur organizations in the world as
“terrorist” and attempted to dismantle them with the
help of the international community. China also
attempted to prevent the opening of this congress in
Germany claiming that the Uyghur freedom movement
“poses a potential threat to the world peace.”
However, China’s fictitious war on terror has no
footing in the global
war on international terrorism.
The World Uyghur Congress declares a nonviolent and
peaceful opposition movement against Chinese
occupation of East Turkestan and an unconditional
adherence to the international accepted human rights
standard as laid down in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and the International Covenant on
Political, Economical, Social and Cultural Rights,
adherence to the principals of democratic pluralism
and rejection of
totalitarianism, religious intolerance, and terrorism
as an instrument of policy.
The World Uyghur Congress calls on the international
community to put more pressure on the Chinese
government to respect the fundamental human rights of
Uyghur people in East Turkestan to determine their own
political future. World Uyghur Congress calls on the
Chinese government to seek a peaceful resolution to
resolve the existing problems in East Turkestan
through negotiations with legitimate representatives
of Uyghur people.
Erkin Alptekin
The President of World Uyghur Congress
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