Short report:
40 minute coverage about current situation in East-Turkestan:
Unrest in China's Xinjiang region | Uyghur American Association
Interesting article:
Uyghur American Association president calls on China to respect its founding principles, constitution and regional ethnic autonomy laws
On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the 59th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) on October 1, 2014, the Uyghur American Association calls on China to respect the rule of law in East Turkestan and to practice international legal standards in the region.
“The Chinese government must respect its founding principles, including freedom, justice, equality and self-determination for the Uyghur people,” said UAA president, Alim Seytoff in a statement. “The PRC was founded as a multiethnic and multicultural state in order to guarantee the rights of different ethnic groups, cultures, languages and religious beliefs, not to destroy them to create a homogenous state in the interest of the Han majority.”
Mr. Seytoff added: “To become a great and respectable country, and especially a country accepted by persecuted ethnic groups, such as the Uyghurs, Tibetans and Mongolians, China must respect its constitution, regional ethnic autonomy laws, and genuinely embrace multiculturalism. China’s imperialistic forced assimilation policies will not peacefully integrate the once sovereign and independent Uyghur people. State terrorism against a peace-loving people will not unify the state, but shatter it.”
“To show its goodwill towards the Uyghur people, China must immediately and unconditionally release all Uyghur prisoners of conscience, starting with Uyghur professor, Ilham Tohti and linguist, Abduweli Ayup, who have been sentenced in the weeks leading up to this anniversary.”
UAA is troubled that a May 23, 2014
announcement of a one-year anti-terror campaign in East Turkestan has resulted in human rights violations in East Turkestan.
Overseas media reports cited Xinjiang party chief, Zhang Chunxian as stating the anti-terror crackdown will employ “
unconventional measures.” Since May 23, Chinese and overseas media have described a series of region wide
mass trials, death sentences, and executions. UAA is concerned that due process of law has not been observed in these cases, given the
speed and atmosphere of retribution in the region.
In addition, in a
report dated September 8, 2014, AP raised the probability “that Chinese police are excessively using deadly force” during security operations aimed at Uyghurs. China’s
lack of transparency in so-called terrorism cases and
conflation between peaceful dissent and violence is also call for concern over the legality of the current crackdown.
The legal process concerning the case of Professor Ilham Tohti has been heavily criticized. Ilham Tohti was found guilty on charges of “separatism” and sentenced to
life imprisonment on September 23, 2014 after a two-day trial, which Human Rights Watch called a “
travesty of justice.” The September 17-18 trial and sentencing of Ilham Tohti was also condemned by the
United States,
the European Union, and
Amnesty International, among others.
At the sixty-ninth session of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention held between April 22 and May 1, 2014, a panel of five human rights experts rendered the opinion that
Ilham Tohti’s deprivation of liberty since January 15, 2014 is arbitrary.
The Working Group cited China’s violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Mr. Tohti’s case—in particular, articles 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20 and 21.
In an article dated August 26, 2014, Radio Free Asia
reported Uyghur linguist, Abduweli Ayup had been sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined approximately USD 13,000. Abduweli Ayup is being held in Urumchi’s Liu Dao Wan prison, a facility notorious for
torture and
forced confessions of Uyghur political prisoners.
Human Rights Day 2014: Uyghurs denied fundamental human rights as they live under deteriorating conditions. The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) is alarmed at the deterioration of human rights conditions for Uyghurs in East Turkestan during 2014.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) is alarmed at the deterioration of human rights conditions for Uyghurs in East Turkestan during 2014.
On the occasion of Human Rights Day 2014, UHRP calls on the Chinese government to remove ethnic policies that deny Uyghurs fundamental human rights and adhere to the international standards celebrated on Human Rights Day.
UHRP also calls on the international community to elevate the importance of human rights issues during meetings with Chinese officials, and in particular to raise concern over the Chinese government's use of security measures to commit human rights abuses against the Uyghur population of East Turkestan.
"Under the rule of Xi Jinping, Uyghurs have only experienced harsh repression. When it seems as if the Chinese authorities have done all they can to refuse Uyghurs basic liberties and freedoms, officials find a new way to exacerbate the tensions in the region," said UHRP director, Alim Seytoff in statement.
Mr. Seytoff added: "2014 has been a disastrous year for human rights in East Turkestan. China's answer to increased violence is to ratchet the pressure up on Uyghurs through an anti-terror campaign that only succeeds in terrorizing ordinary Uyghurs. The life sentence handed down to Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur who attempted to build interethnic dialogue, should give rise to the stark realization that China does not want or value the opinions of Uyghurs, especially as the state alters the physical and cultural landscape of East Turkestan in the name of 'development.'"
The annual December 10 commemoration of the adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 is a reminder of the indivisibility of human rights and of government obligations to meet international human rights standards.
2014 has witnessed a number of disturbing human rights concerns in East Turkestan, including credible allegations of extrajudicial killings, politically-motivated sentences handed down to Uyghurs and further restrictions placed on traditional religious practices.
Deadly incidents in
Kelpin County in April and
Yarkent County in July have left a number of unanswered questions over the Chinese authorities’ role in the killings of Uyghur civilians. Accusations that Chinese security forces deployed excessive force and conducted extrajudicial killings have not been adequately addressed to date.
The allegations of extrajudicial killings of Uyghurs have occurred against the backdrop of increased security measures in the region.
On January 7, 2014, Chinese President, Xi Jinping announced a “
major strategy shift” in East Turkestan, which reprioritized regional policies toward “social stability.” On January 17, 2014, Chinese state media detailed how regional officials plan to double the budget for the
Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (PSB) following a string of incidents in 2013, many involving the use of lethal state force on Uyghurs.
The May 23, 2014
announcement of a one-year anti-terror campaign in East Turkestan has resulted in allegations of human rights violations in East Turkestan, particularly in light of Xinjiang party chief, Zhang Chunxian's comment stating the crackdown would employ “
unconventional measures.”
Since May 23, Chinese and overseas media have described a series of region wide
mass trials, death sentences, and executions. UHRP is concerned that due process of law has not been observed in these cases, given the
speed and atmosphere of retribution in the region.
Only eight days after Xi Jinping's January statement, Uyghur academic, Ilham Tohti and several of his students were detained. Mr. Tohti, who worked as a professor at Beijing’s Minzu University (formerly Central Nationalities University), often questioned the efficacy of Chinese government policies targeting Uyghurs citing worsening economic, social and cultural conditions. He is also known for operating the
Uighurbiz website, shutdown since his detention, which offered information on Uyghur social issues in Mandarin Chinese and employed as volunteers a number of his students.
Professor Tohti was found guilty on charges of separatism and sentenced to
life imprisonment on September 23, 2014 after a two-day trial that began on September 17. In an article dated November 20, 2014, the
Associated Press reported the Xinjiang High Court upheld the conviction of Ilham Tohti on charges of separatism. Human Rights Watch called the hearing "highly politicized" and the the
Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) outlined a number of procedural violations during the case, as described by Ilham Tohti’s lawyers. Seven of his
students went on trial on November 25. To date, the verdicts are not publicly available.
Uyghurs’ religious freedom has also significantly deteriorated. In May,
UHRP reported on a notice posted in Shayar County in Aksu Prefecture detailing how informants could receive a reward for reporting on local residents exhibiting one or more of 53 proscribed behaviors. The notice specified for potential informants 18 religious activities, including customary religious practices. In a November 30 article
Reuters reported on new regional regulations that broaden the curbs on religious life in East Turkestan that included a ban on religious practice "in government offices, public schools, businesses or institutions."
The universal rights to life (Article 3), freedom of speech (Preamble) and religious belief (Article 18) are all guaranteed under the
UDHR.
Human Rights Day 2014: Uyghurs denied fundamental human rights as they live under deteriorating conditions | Uyghur American Association
They are very sweet
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