Virginia [US], January 31 : In remembrance of the victims of the Ghulja Massacre, the Uyghur American Association has announced to organize a protest at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC.
The gathering, scheduled to be held on February 5 at 11am to 12pm on Wednesday, will take place at 3505 International Pl NW according to a post shared by Uyghur American Association on X.
This protest serves as both a tribute to the victims and a call for accountability. The Ghulja Massacre symbolizes the ongoing repression faced by the Uyghur community in China a struggle that continues to this day with mass detentions, cultural erasure, and systemic human rights violations as stated in the post.
The post said, by joining this protest, participants will stand in solidarity with the Uyghur people and demand justice for the atrocities committed.
According to a report by the Human Rights House Foundation, thousands of Uyghur men, women, and children demonstrated in the streets of Ghulja on February 5, 1997, demanding tolerance, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion and culture.
In addition, they called for an end to the daily racial discrimination that caused the Uyghur population to be marginalized both culturally and economically.
People's Armed Police and riot police units used force to quell the nonviolent protest. The mob was shot at by the security forces, according to witnesses. The number of Uyghurs slain varies, but according to witnesses, up to 30 were killed on the scene, and over 100 were injured, Human Rights House Foundation reported.
More than 200 Uyghurs were put to death for taking part in the nonviolent protest, according to an April 1999 Amnesty International report as quoted by the Human Rights House Foundation.
Due to their participation in the Ghulja rally, Uyghurs remain incarcerated. The ruthless suppression of peaceful protest has gone unpunished, and Uyghur persecution is still going on unchecked under the guise of the global "war on terror" the report stated.
In a horrific reenactment of history, police brutally suppressed peaceful Uyghur protesters in Urumchi, the regional capital of XUAR, on July 5, 2009. Since then, Chinese authorities have condemned 26 people to death, according to reports in the Chinese media. Nine of them, at least, have already been put to death according to the Human Rights House Foundation.
HRHF highlighted an impartial inquiry into the violence, including the potential overuse of force by the security forces against peaceful protestors, has not been permitted by the Chinese government since the events of July 2009.
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