May 14, 2012

East Turkestan: The World Uyghur Congress Starts On Monday In Tokyo


Representatives from ethnic group communities participated in The World Uyghur Congress, which starts on May 14th in Tokyo.

The article below is published by the World Uyghur Congress:

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is pleased to provide an update on  the agenda for its 4th General Assembly and its 6th Leadership Training Seminar, set to be staged in Tokyo, Japan between 14-17 May and 18-20 May respectively. Both events will be participated by a host of distinguished guests – many of whom will deliver speeches at the opening ceremonies – representing political parties, Members of Parliament from Japan, Turkey and Italy, as well as international human rights organisations.

During the 4th WUC General Assembly, the new WUC leadership will be elected by the delegates and the WUC activity and financial reports will be discussed. Delegates will further develop the working strategy to raise the Uyghur legitimate cause for freedom and democracy in the international fora. There will also be time to visit the East Turkestan Martyr Cemetery before being received at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, as well as cultural events in the evening. At the end of General Assembly, a protest outside the Chinese embassy in Tokyo will commence.

The Opening Ceremony will take place on 14 May at the Japanese Parliament and is open to the public. During the Opening Ceremony, which will start at 9.30 a.m. with media attendance, the floor will be taken at the General Assembly by the following invitees:

Mr. Takeo Hiranuma (Member of the Japanese Parliament)

Mr. Keiji Furuya (Member of the Japanese Parliament)

Mr. Hakubun Shimomura (Member of the Japanese Parliament)

Ms. Sanae Takaichi (Member of the Japanese Parliament)

Mr. Yasutoshi Nishimura (Member of the Japanese Parlament)

Mr. Seiichi Eto (Member of the Japanese Parliament)

Mr. Ichirou Kamoshita (Member of the Japanese Parliament)

Ms.Yoshiko Sakurai (President of Japan Institute for National Fundamentals)

Mr. Mehmet Şandır (Member of Türkish Parlament)

Mr. Haluk Ahmet Gümüş (Member of Türkish Parliament)

Mr. Malik ecder Özdemir (Member of Turkish parliament)

Mr. Senator Marco Perduca (Member of the Italian Senate)

Ms. Louisa Greve ( Vice president of National Endowment of  Democracy )

Mr. Arne Liljedahl Lynngård (Former President of the Rafto Foundation )


Diplomatic representatives

The two and a half days Leadership Training Seminar, tailored to the members of the Uyghur diaspora, will be jointly organised by the WUC and the Japanese Uyghur Association (JUA), with the kind support by a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). There will be opening speeches by Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur human rights activist and current WUC president, and Louise Coan Greve, NED Vice President. The training seminar will focus on how to use new media to build social networks and to improve Internet security. Experienced activists, both from the Uyghur community and other invited guests from the wider NGO community, will lead the workshop sessions. In attendance will be journalists, bloggers, and website managers to discuss the issues of new media and Internet security.

The Training Seminar will be held at the YMCA-Hotel in Tokyo, Japan at this address:

2-5 5 Sarugaku-cho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Prefecture, 101-0064

Since 2007, the World Uyghur Congress has annually organized one Leadership Training Seminar with the sponsorship of NED and in collaboration with UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, the US, and Australia.