Statement by Nuri Turkel
General Secretary, Uyghur American Association
Before CECC
March 10th 2003
It is a real honor to be in here and I would to thank the
Congressional-Executive Commission on China for giving me this opportunity to
address some of the issues, which are grave concerns to the Uyghur people in
East Turkestan.
The political situation in East Turkestan has been increasingly worsening,
especially after 9/11. Despite criticisms and warnings by the US government and
human rights groups, China’s persecution of Uyghurs in the name of War on Terror
has been escalated. As a result, more than 3, 000 Uyghurs have been arrested,
and a percentage of that have been executed. At this crucial moment of history,
Uyghurs desperately need the attention from the international community listen
to their grievances and urge peace loving people of the civilized world to make
the distinction between terrorists who seek to take innocent lives and those who
simply seek self-defense from a brutal and intolerant regime. Here, I would like
address a few important issues for your attention; 1) Chinese communist chief,
Wang Lequan’s recent statement and intentional destruction of ancient Uyghur
buildings and sites in Kashgar, 2) evicting the Uyghurs out of Chinese cities,
and 3) China’s rejection of foreign media request to cover recent earthquake in
Kashgar region.
China’s “go west” campaign and its destructive nature
The migrant Chinese have been the major beneficiaries of western development
program in East Turkestan but the Uyghurs are paying the highest price for it.
China observers believe that China’s western development policies are designed
to bring more prosperity to the west. Such a belief contradicts with the reality
where the unemployment and economic disparity are rampant among the
Uyghurs. Media reports indicate that the government favors Chinese who
have migrated to the area over their more qualified Uyghur counterparts in its
hiring practices. Chinese Communist Party Xinjiang Chief Wang Lequan’s recent
statement further disproves such a belief. At a recent meeting, when Wang stated
that it is wrong to believe that economic development would help reduce and
eliminate separatist activity in Xinjiang, so the government’s priority should
be cracking down on separatist activity. This reveals that Chinese governments’
real intent of developing the West is not to win over ethnic minorities in those
areas but attracting more ethnic Chinese immigrants into the region in order to
permanently change the demographic structure of the region in the favor of
ethnic Chinese. The changed demographic structure, in turn, would help the
government’s long term policy of assimilating Uyghurs into Chinese. China's such
discriminatory policies against Uyghurs are a blatant violation of its
obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(ratified by China in 1982).
So called ‘Western development’ not only facilitates China’s attempt to make
the Uyghurs second class citizens in their own homeland but also destroy Uyghur
cultural identity. Foreign travelers have expressed their disappointments when
they witnessed the disappearance of central Asian charm and destruction of
valuable Uyghur cultural heritage. The pace of the destruction is breathtaking.
Today, ancient city, Kashgar that is considered as a cradle of ancient Turkic
civilization in Central Asia is virtually unrecognizable.
At the same meeting, Wang also has called for a fight against Uyghur dissent
in ideological front. He stated, ‘Xinjiang’ must promote patriotism and the
unity of nationalities education, and resolutely condemn the distorted history
promoted by ethnic separatists, including the history of ethnic development and
religious progress. ‘Xinjiang’ must sow the ideas in the minds of people that
preserve stability”. Wang’s statement further displays a hidden intent to wipe
out the Uyghur identity by waging relentless destruction of Uyghur culture.
People are identified by their culture, rather not by their religion, race and
facial complexion. The Uyghurs are very much of proud of their cultural heritage
despite long suffered humiliation and the destruction of their cultural
identity. Locking up historians, burning books, and destroying historic sites,
and imposing Chinese language education are not a recent phenomenon but rather a
continuing effort by the authoritarian Chinese regime to wipe out the Uyghurs
from the face of the earth. The Uyghurs have long suffered such destructions
since 1949, especially during China’s notorious “cultural revolution”, and now
they face even greater danger. The intentional destruction of the Uyghur
cultural heritage is a violation of the UN convention adopted by UNESCO and
signed by China. Such reckless acts perpetuated by the Chinese authorities
constitute a harmful impoverishment of the world heritage.
Uyghurs are discriminated both at home and inner Chinese cities
The Uyghurs are not only facing all types of discriminations and ill
treatment in East Turkestan but also experiencing the same in other inner
Chinese cities. It’s been reported that the Uyghur residents of Beijing have
been evicted out and even put on the train to sent back to their hometowns. That
is causing enormous social tensions and discontent, and it appears to be rising.
A Uyghur woman in Beijing told the western journalists that Uyghurs are not
allowed to work and live in Beijing and had been ordered to leave. She also
said, millions of Han Chinese can go to East Turkestan and do whatever they want
but a few hundred Uyghurs can’t live in Chinese cities. Harassment by the
police, rejection of lodging, and disapproval of business licenses are common
place in inner Chinese cities thanks to the Chinese propaganda to portray the
Uyghurs as “terrorists”. Because of the indoctrinated belief of the local
Chinese residents and government’s tacit approval of mistreating Uyghurs has
created enormous frustration and humiliation among the Uyghurs. Some of the
Uyghur “fortune seekers” are forced to come to inner Chinese cities to look for
a job because of the limited employment opportunities in East Turkestan where
all the jobs are taken away by immigrant Han Chinese. In fact, Chinese
authorities are trying to limit Uyghurs’ employment opportunities and economical
resources wherever possible in order to make the Uyghurs eventually think
nothing but food so that it will not be threatened by the idea of Uyghur
independence.
Denying access to information in East Turkestan has deep roots
China has been enforcing strict media censorship in past decades. Such a
censorship can better serve China’s objective to keep its brutal crack down on
political dissent behind the doors and mislead the world and its own population
with false information. This is even true during the times of natural disaster.
Denial of access to and dissemination of information in East Turkestan is not a
sporadic, but rather has a systematic character. It has been reported that the
Chinese authorities have rejected foreign journalists to cover the deadly
earthquake that took more than 266 lives, injured 4000 and left tons of
thousands homeless in cold winter in Kashgar. Despite the ban, several foreign
journalists have entered the area, at the risk of being arrested and expelled,
filed reports. The remaining international media have been restricted to using
only photographs, or news received from the Chinese state media, including CCTV,
the only national TV whose members are given access to disaster area. The
network is mainly broadcasting pictures of Chinese soldiers helping thousands of
victims. However, no independent observers have been admitted into the disaster
areas, and witnesses are disputing the official death toll and the effectiveness
of rescue efforts. Systematic refusals of foreign media to the real footage of
recent earthquake clearly demonstrate an example of the misleading and
prerogative nature of its information.
The existence of the Uyghur people is under extreme threat. The human rights
situation is worsening day by day as the civilized free world is watching the
Chinese authorities to continue devastating and wage cultural genocide against
Uyghur people. The people of East Turkestan need help from free and democratic
world to put pressure on the Chinese government and urge it to respect the human
rights of Uyghur people. We hereby respectfully ask the United States government
to appoint a special coordinator at the State Department to monitor human right
situation in East Turkestan.
Thank you very for your attention to this important matter.
Uyghur American Association
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