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PRESS RELEASE
THE RAFTO PRIZE 2004
 The
Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for 2004 is
awarded to Rebiya Kadeer, from the Xinjiang Uighur
Autonomous Region (XUAR), People’s Republic of China.
Kadeer is a prisoner of conscience and a prominent
symbol of the Uighurs’ struggle for basic human rights.
Serious violations of human rights in the Xinjiang
Uighur Autonomous Region The Uighurs count eight
million people and constitute half of the population
in Xinjiang. They are a Turkic speaking people and
primarily Muslim. Although Xinjiang was given the
status of autonomous region in 1955, millions of
Chinese immigrants have been sent to the region and
the Chinese have taken progressively more control
politically and economically. Based on a variety of
sources, the Rafto Foundation has documented
widespread violations of Uighurs’civil, political,
economic, social, religious and cultural rights.
Thousands of Uighurs are imprisoned, and Xinjiang is
the only region in China where it is publicly known
that political prisoners have been executed in modern
times. So far this year, 50 Uighurs have been
sentenced to death (source: Reuters, 13th of September
2004). Several human rights organizations criticize
China for using the war against terror following the
attacks on 11th of September 2001, as a pretext for
repressing Uighurs, including those who through
peaceful means are fighting for their rights. In its
latest report from the 7th of July 2004, Amnesty
International claims that “With today’s level of
repression, the space for independent expression of
Uighur cultural or religious identity is narrowing
dangerously”.
China must give the Uighurs cultural and religious
freedom China is a country with several geographically
concentrated ethnic and linguistic groups. When ethnic
and religious groups are discriminated against and
repressed, they often respond by mobilizing along
ethnic and religious lines of demarcation. This
contributes to a polarization of societies and nations,
creates fertile ground for hatred, and threatens
peace and development. This is the case in Xinjiang
today, where some Uighurs and militant groups are
waging a violent struggle for independence.
Through this award, the Rafto Foundation directs a
strong appeal to the Chinese government to respect and
protect the civil, economic and cultural rights of the
Uighurs as well as other minorities in China.
Rebiya Kadeer
Rebiya Kadeer (58) has
distinguished herself in the struggle for the rights
of the Uighurs and against social and economic
marginalization. She has made significant
contributions to securing women’s rights and in 1997
she founded the “Thousand Mothers Movement” to promote
job training and employment for Uighur women. Kadeer
also established evening schools for Uighurs who did
not have the opportunity to go to ordinary school. “It
is our moral obligation to help the ones in need, and
we must leave no one behind”, is her humanistic
message.
Kadeer is described as a charismatic entrepreneur and
successful business woman. In the 1990s she emerged as
a symbol for how minorities could succeed in China. In
recognition of her significant contribution to women’s
rights, Kadeer was appointed to the Chinese People’s
Political Consultative Conference and the Xinjiang
Regional People’s Congress. She was also a delegate to
the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in
1995.
Her relationship to the Chinese government worsened
progressively following the emigration of her husband,
Sidik Rouzi, to the U.S.A. in 1996. Rouzi, a former
political prisoner, has been an outspoken critic of
Chinese rule in Xinjiang. Amongst other activities, he
has testified in the United States Congress. The
government confiscated Rebiya Kadeer’s passport and
harassment by police was accompanied by further
restrictions on her movements up until her arrest in
August 1999. Rebiya Kadeer has paid a high price for
criticizing China’s longstanding repression of the
Uighurs in Xinjiang. In March 2000 she was sentenced
to eight years imprisonment following a secret trial
where neither Kadeer nor her lawyer had the
opportunity to argue her case. Her sentence was later
reduced by one year and Kadeer is expected to be
paroled on the 12th of August 2006.
The Rafto Foundation is worried about Kadeer’s health
and asks for her immediate and unconditional release.
Bergen, 23rd of September 2004
The board of The Thorolf Rafto Foundation for Human
Rights.
The Rafto Foundation
Menneskerettighetenes plass 1
NO-5007 BERGEN
Norway
Telephone: +47 55 21 09 50
E-mail: secretariat@rafto.no
Web: www.rafto.no
Contact persons:
Arne Liljedahl Lynngård, chairman of the board, tlp.
+47 951 52 290
Harald Bøckman, researcher, University of Oslo, tlp.
+47 22 85 89 54
Background information:
Pictures of Rebiya Kadeer, streaming video and links
for downloading in
broadcast quality:
http://nmm.no/vod/rafto/press
Press information in pdf-format and further
information about the Rafto
Foundation:
http://www.rafto.no
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