Washington DC, [US] October 15 : The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) has called on the Swedish government to take a firm and principled stand against what it describes as the ongoing genocide and colonial occupation of Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples in Chinese-occupied East Turkistan.
The appeal comes ahead of Sweden's scheduled diplomatic engagement with China on October 16-17, during which ETGE urges Stockholm to uphold its long-standing commitment to human rights, freedom, and decolonisation.
In a detailed statement, the ETGE emphasised that Sweden, with its global reputation for defending human rights and moral governance, bears a historic responsibility to confront these atrocities. It asserted that "engagement with a regime committing genocide and crimes against humanity must never come at the expense of justice and accountability."
October 12, 2025, marks 76 years since the People's Republic of China invaded East Turkistan, and this year also commemorates 70 years since Beijing unilaterally rebranded the region as the "Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."
According to ETGE, these anniversaries highlight decades of systemic oppression, cultural erasure, and state-sponsored violence aimed at suppressing the Turkic peoples' right to self-determination.
The ETGE specifically urged Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard to raise key issues during her talks with Chinese officials, including the forced sterilisation of East Turkistani women, which aims to suppress Turkic populations; the state-sponsored abduction of over one million Uyghur and Turkic children for assimilation; and the mass internment of millions in concentration-style camps marked by torture, indoctrination, and forced labour.
The group also drew attention to reports of organ harvesting resulting in the deaths of thousands of Uyghur youth annually, widespread suppression of language, culture, and religion, as well as Chinese espionage and transnational repression targeting East Turkistani activists and journalists abroad.
"Sweden has a historic and moral responsibility to confront colonial oppression and genocide," said Sayragul Sautybay, Vice President of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and a Swedish citizen. "The Uyghur and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan face systematic ethnic cleansing, cultural suppression, and brutal repression. Minister Malmer Stenergard must condemn these crimes, demand an end to forced sterilisations, child abductions, mass internment, and forced labour, and support our pursuit of justice through the International Criminal Court. Silence in the face of colonial genocide is complicity."
The ETGE further called upon Sweden to publicly condemn China's ongoing genocide in East Turkistan, denounce Beijing's illegal occupation, and formally recognise East Turkistan as an occupied country. It also urged Sweden to support international justice efforts for victims of genocide and crimes against humanity, including raising the East Turkistan issue at the upcoming Assembly of States Parties of the Rome Statute in December.
In its statement, ETGE highlighted the "tainted nature of trade" with China, urging Sweden to acknowledge that many goods are linked to forced Uyghur labour. It also asked the Swedish government to confront China's transnational repression and espionage activities targeting East Turkistanis living in Sweden and across the diaspora.
According to the ETGE, Sweden's leadership in addressing these grave human rights violations will not only reflect its historic values but will also send a global message that genocide, forced sterilisation, child abduction, mass internment, forced labour, cultural destruction, and colonial domination will not be tolerated.
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