Washington, May 18 Several exiled Tibetan and East Turkistani representatives held a joint advocacy event at the United States Congress, calling for the independence of Tibet and East Turkistan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, from what they described as “Chinese colonial occupation”.
According to the East Turkistan National Movement (ETNM), the event held on May 15 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building brought together representatives of the Tibetan Patriots for Independence, the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), the ETNM, and the East Turkistan National Fund (ETNF). In an address to members of the US Congress, the speakers raised concerns over the repressive actions by the Chinese authorities in both Tibet and East Turkistan.
The advocacy teams also met with the offices of six senators and over twenty House members.
Addressing the gathering, ETNM President and ETGE Foreign Minister Salih Hudayar said that "China is not a nation-state but a colonial empire”, alleging that Beijing is pursuing a colonial project in the twenty-first century.
He argued that the global human rights framework alone has failed, and the international community must address the root cause of the "Chinese colonial occupation” of East Turkistan and Tibet rather than merely its symptoms.
“You cannot stop a genocide while preserving the occupation that created it. Independence is not a radical demand; it is the only way to guarantee the human rights and very survival of our people,” said Hudayar.
“We call on the United States and all freedom-loving nations to recognise East Turkistan as an occupied country, support the recovery of East Turkistan's and Tibet's independence, and empower East Turkistanis and Tibetans to end China's colonial occupation and genocide,” he added.
Furthermore, Tibetan Patriots for Independence submitted a formal petition calling for support for Tibet’s independence and official recognition of February 13 as Tibet Independence Day. The petition also called for opposition to China's forced assimilation policies, protection of Tibetan religion, language, and culture, the release of all Tibetan political prisoners and the protection of Tibet’s environment.
“Historically, Tibet was an independent and sovereign nation with its own government, language, culture, religion, currency, and national identity. We ask members of U.S. Congress to stand with the Tibetan people in support of freedom, human rights, religious liberty, and the recovery of Tibet's independence,” said Tenzin Wangdu, leader of Tibetan Patriots for Independence and former secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
As America celebrates 250 years of its own independence, the ETNM said that East Turkistan enters its “thirteenth year of genocide under 76 years of Chinese colonial occupation” and Tibet enters its “seventy-fifth year under Chinese occupation".
“The Captive Nations Law calls on the United States to stand with peoples still seeking the recovery of their freedom and independence. East Turkistan and Tibet are among them,” it noted.
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