East Turkestan: Claims of Uyghur Terrorism Still Lack Substance
Below is a Press Release issued by the Uyghur American Association;
Sources contacted by the UAA were not able to confirm the details of the account in the official reports. However, sources living nearby the village where the raid is thought to have taken place – a village called Kosrap in Aktu County, around 20 miles south of Kashgar – do report a significantly increased security presence. UAA’s sources claim police are checking identity papers and searching vehicles in the vicinity of
“We oppose all forms of violence,” said Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, president of the UAA. “The Uyghur people’s response to the continuing brutality of Chinese rule has been peaceful because the Uyghur people do not want a future that is predicated on violence and bloodshed,” she said.
“However, UAA adds its voice to all those who accuse the Chinese government of using the perceived threat of terrorism to persecute the entire Uyghur people. Just because we oppose human rights abuses against us perpetrated by the Chinese authorities does not mean we are terrorists: it means we are human, and in search of human rights and justice,” she added.
Doubts
The Chinese authorities have long sought to equate all Uyghur opposition to Chinese rule with “terrorism”. East Turkistan remains the only part of the People’s Republic of
Although official reports of the incident on January 5 did not explicitly state the ethnicity of the people targeted during the raid, the reports nevertheless claim that they were ‘members’ of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group which the Chinese government accuses of wanting to found an Islamic state in East Turkistan, independent from China. The group was listed as a terrorist organization by the
“If the Chinese authorities want to be taken seriously as a responsible member of the world community, then they must allow independent scrutiny of any evidence they have for the claims they are making,” said Ms. Kadeer. “We call on the Chinese government to facilitate an investigation into the scale and nature of alleged terrorist activities in