Washington, Oct 13 The East Turkistan Government in Exile held coordinated protests in Washington, Oslo, and Edmonton on the 76th anniversary of the "Chinese invasion of East Turkistan", demanding an end to China's occupation and genocide while calling on the international community to recognise East Turkistan as an occupied country and support the restoration of its independence and sovereignty.
"On October 12, 1949, just eleven days after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese communist forces invaded East Turkistan. This invasion led to the overthrow of the independent East Turkistan Republic on December 22, 1949, and launched a relentless campaign of colonization, occupation, and genocide. East Turkistanis worldwide observe October 12 as a National Day of Mourning. China's invasion of East Turkistan is viewed as the historical root of China’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples," read a statement issued by the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE).
"Since 2014, the Chinese state has escalated this campaign to full-scale genocide. Millions have been imprisoned, enslaved in forced labour, forcibly sterilized, separated from their children, stripped of their culture, and killed, including through organ harvesting. China’s aggression extends far beyond East Turkistan, targetting diaspora communities and threatening global security, the rule of law, and democratic values," it added.
At the rally in front of the White House in Washington, Salih Hudayar, Foreign Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and leader of the East Turkistan National Movement, stated, "The root of this ongoing genocide is clear: Chinese occupation and colonization of East Turkistan. There can be no justice, no peace, no freedom while this occupation continues."
At the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, Qurbanjan Hisamidin, Interior Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and President of the Norway East Turkistan Society, emphasised the international imperative, saying, "The struggle of East Turkistan is not just the struggle of one people. It is a test for all who believe in freedom, justice, and the moral duty of nations to confront tyranny."
East Turkistan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, lies in the very heart of Asia.
The Uyghurs, an ethnic minority group in China are predominantly Turkic-speaking Muslims, officially recognised as one of the 55 ethnic minority groups. Uyghurs are predominantly inhabitants of the Xinjiang region that was incorporated into People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 in the final stage of China's civil war, referred by the Chinese Communist Party as "peaceful liberation of Xinjiang".
In 1955, under Mao's rule, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) was established, as part of PRC's political integration of ethnic minority-dominant regions by constitutionally recognising them as autonomous regions.
"However, derailing from their promise of autonomy, the PRC initiated a policy of assimilation, to integrate XUAR politically and militarily, given its strategic geographical location that will act as China's gateway to Russia and Central Asia," Hudayar stated.
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