The Eastern Turkistan Information Center report

Seven young Uyghurs are executed and 20 jailed by the Chinese oppressors in Ghulje

By Rabiyem Yakub

[ETIC, 8/1/97] On February 5-6 this year, the Uyghur youth of Ghulje
city rallied on a peaceful demonstration demanding respect for human
rights. But, the communist Chinese authorities preferred a brutal
suppression of the young men instead of entering into dialogue.

Paying absolutely no respect for the young people's concerns, the
police poured cold water on the demonstrators from fire trucks in the
conditions of severe winter weather of Ghulje, and then released
several rounds from automatic guns intimidating the demonstrators, but
killing a toddler of one Uyghur woman.  Infuriated by the police
brutality, the young men clashed with the armed police resulting in
several Chinese and dozens of the Uyghurs killed.

Shortly after in the retaliation, the Chinese colonialists launched an
intimidation and terror campaign towards the entire Uyghur population
of Eastern Turkistan. Thousands of the Uyghurs are being labeled and
arbitrarily arrested as "nationalists", "separatists", and
"murderers".

On July 22, carrying the medieval intimidation campaign on, the Ili
province and Ghulje city people's courts staged "open" trials of the
"criminals" at the Ghulje city's largest stadium.  At the forged
trials, 27 young Uyghurs were given various sentences in connection
to the February Ghulje demonstration. To demonstrate that the
authorities do not have biases against the Uyghurs, one Chinese and one
Hui were sentenced to death for drugs related crimes.

Among the convicted young Uyghurs,

7, including JAPPAR TALET, HESENJAN IMIN, ALIMJAN YOLVAS, ABDUREHIM
TUDAHUN, ABDUREHIM MEMET, SIDIK ROZI, MEMETJAN NURMEMET, are sentenced
to death and executed the same day;

3 others, including HALMEMET ISLAM, were given suspended death
sentences;

7 young men were sentenced to life in prison;

16 years old REHMETJAN was sentenced to 18 years in prison;

The rest 9 people were sentenced to different terms up to 15 years in
prison.

The trials were administered by the Ili province court chairman AKAN,
and were attended by the Ghulje city communist party and government
officials Jang Gulyan, QURBANJANG, ZUNUN, TOKHTAR, HEYDER, KAYSAR,
ZORDUN GHOJA, Vang Junvey, Ren Shudung, Hvan Jenjuang, SAVUTBEK, Yang
Yujuang, POLAT, and others.

The deputy chairman of the Ili province Communist Party committee
KURBANJAN (In Eastern Turkistan, chairmen of the communist party
committees are Chinese at almost all levels, and the Uyghurs can hold
onle a deputy position, WUNN ed.) delivered a speech at the meeting,
and, in particular said:

"The regional, province, and city communist party and government
officials, including social security (China's internal intelligence and
law enforcement establishment, WUNN ed.), investigation, judicial
organizations, and armed police have been carefully studying,
centralizing, and widely spreading the spirit of the  communist party
central committee's directives "On maintaining stability in Xinjiang"
(This document will soon be disclosed by the ETIC, WUNN ed.), and,
through a hard work, achieved outstanding results in carrying out the
party's policies.

Today's open trials and sentences crashed  resolutely the threats of
our enemies, and strongly defended respect for the motherland's laws.
We have clearly demonstrated that the communist party and government
have strong and resolute wills to crash splittists by striking hard,
and to safeguard motherland's unity, and political stability in the Ili
region.  This meeting inspired the representatives of all nationalities in
the army, police and masses for struggle until all our enemies are
wiped off from the region."

He also said,

"The overall situation in the Ili province is normal and good. But we
have to be vigilant in the struggle with our enemies; the struggle
against national splittists is long run, strong, and complicated."

Uniting, closing our ranks, and standing all together against our
common enemies, representatives of all nationalities must enforce the weight
of our hard strike over the enemies, national splittists, terrorists,
the leaders of dark and fanatical religious forces."

The same day, being afraid of the Uyghur people's anger and possible
revenge form the one hand, and to put an additional psychological
pressure on the people from the other, the Chinese suppressors stopped
traffic all over the Ghulje city, closed all offices, and took the
entire city under military and police control.

About 4 thousand specially "invited" participants from the provincial,
city, and villages party and government officials, "the representatives
of the masses" according to the Chinese propaganda media, took part in
the meeting.

Regretfully, these trails were assisted by a number of traitors of
the Uyghur nationality.  They will never be forgiven nor forgotten.
[Rabiyem Yakub, Bishkek]