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East Turkestan: The
World Uyghur Congress condemns China's recent
crackdown of Uyghurs on "terrorism" Charges URGENT
ACTION
Manifesto in support
of the Campaign
"World citizen
legislative initiative"
The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) condemns China's
heavy-handed crackdown of the Uyghur people in East
Turkestan since September 11, 2001 and strongly
protests its recent decision to execute more than 50
Uyghurs on trumped-up "terrorism" charges.
"We demand the Chinese authorities to immediately stop
the execution of the Uyghurs sentenced to death on 'terrorism'
charges, and demand the international community to put
more pressure on Beijing to prevent this authoritarian
regime from persecuting the Uyghur people in the name
of fighting against the international war on terror, "
Erkin Alptekin, President of WUC, said.
Reuters reported on Monday that the Chinese government
has sentenced more than 50 people in East Turkestan to
death in this year on "terrorism" charges. Wang Lequan,
party secretary of "Xinjiang", said during the
interview that the Chinese 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. Wang did not elaborate
what groups they were and what kind of activities the
involved Uyghurs allegedly committed.
"The execution of these Uyghurs will further intensify
the volatile situation in East Turkestan because there
have not been any acts of terrorism co mmitted by the
Uyghurs in recent years even according to the Chinese
reports," Alim A. Seytoff, Chairman of the Executive
Committee for WUC, said.
According to Amnesty International report released
last month, China is using the "war on terror" to
justify its longstanding repression of the rights of
the Uyghur community. The human rights watchdog said,
"China has repackaged its repression of Uyghurs as a
fight against 'terrorism'. Since the 11 September 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 the region."
In light of these concerns, the U.S. government
decided recently not to return the Uyghur detainees
held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to China. On Wednesday,
the U.S. State Department again designated China as a
"Country of Particular Concern" under the
International Religious Freedom Act for particularly
severe violations of religious freedom.
The World Uyghur Congress condemns terrorism in all
shapes and forms whether it is being committed by a
state, a group, or an individual. WUC, as a legitimate
representative of all the Uyghur people in the world
promotes their right to use peaceful, nonviolent, and
democratic means to determine the political future of
East Turkestan. It adheres to the internationally
accepted human rights standard and the principles of
democratic pluralism. It rejects of totalitarianism,
religious intolerance, and terrorism as an instrument
of policy.
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