The below article is an English translation of the article published by Aljazeera Balkans, photo credit: Murad Sezer/Reuters

Mamtimin Ala, the President of the Government of East Turkistan in exile, indicates that the economic relationship with China is more important to the international community than helping the oppressed millions.

The international community, including Muslim countries, is silent on China’s genocide in East Turkistan (China’s Xinjiang region), where millions of members of the Uyghur and Turkic communities face persecution, imprisonment, child abduction, forced marriage and forced labor, says Dr. Mamtimin Ala, President of the Government of East Turkistan in exile.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, he points to the existence of a large number of camps for the re-education of members of Muslim communities, then to the destruction of religious buildings, as well as to the actions of the authorities to change the demographic composition of the area by settling Chinese families.

Xinjiang is one of the autonomous provinces with a special status, and Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Ningxia and Guanxi have a similar status. What they have in common is that the majority or a significant part of the population are minority peoples. The area of Xinjiang is mostly inhabited by Uighurs and Han Chinese, and there are also other, mainly Turkic, peoples. It is a huge territory that includes one sixth of the territory of China, but only 1.5 percent of the country’s population because it is an area that is mostly semi-desert and mountainous.

The population of the region has increased several times since that area became part of the People’s Republic of China, which is the result of the birth rate of the domicile peoples, but even more the result of the immigration of Han Chinese. The Uyghurs formed a state in the eighth century that Genghis Khan would overthrow. They will later accept Islam, but will definitively lose any form of independence in 1950 when they will become part of China.

Ala is the author of the book Worse than Death, where he describes what the Uyghur and Turkic peoples have been going through since 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party decided to colonize his homeland, East Turkistan, starting with changing its name to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and since Xi Jinping became president China in 2013, he defined his political agenda towards the Uyghurs as implementing the “Four Breaks” with the intention of “severing their lineage, severing their roots, severing their ties and severing their origins.”

What is the latest news from East Turkistan?

Ala: More than 980,000 Uyghur and Turkish children forcibly separated from their families (Released to Al Jazeera)

• The genocide and colonization of East Turkistan continues in 2024 with alarming impunity, while the 74th year of Chinese occupation is marked.

Millions of Uyghurs and members of other Turkic peoples remain imprisoned in a vast archipelago of concentration camps, prisons and factories where they are forced to work as slaves.

Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence of these crimes, China is stepping up its efforts to whitewash its genocidal policies through a combination of intense propaganda, staged and guided tours, and the use of leverage to silence the international community. This horrific reality highlights the urgent need for global awareness and action against the genocide and other crimes against humanity that continue in East Turkistan.

In recent years, information has been released about the million(s) of Uyghurs in re-education camps. Has there been a change in that policy? Do you have any testimonies from people who were in those camps?

• Unfortunately, there are no positive changes in China’s attitude towards the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in the concentration camps. Although the Chinese government claims to have closed the camps, which it calls “re-education centers”, millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Turkic peoples are still detained. The latest data from investigator Adrian Zenz show that more than 66 percent of detainees in the camps were transferred to prisons. In addition, Uyghurs and members of other Turkic peoples are transferred en masse to other Chinese provinces where they are used as slave laborers.

Alarmingly, more than 980,000 Uyghur and Turkish children are still forcibly separated from their families, placed in state institutions such as orphanages and boarding schools to undergo the process of assimilation. At the same time, Chinese colonization is intensifying as more and more Chinese colonists are brought in to settle the areas of East Turkistan and the settlements from which the native peoples have been exiled into mass detentions. Uighur and Turkish women are still being forced to marry Han Chinese, which can only be interpreted as a state-sponsored mass rape campaign.

Survivors of the camps share horrific testimonies of torture, rape, forced sterilization and forced medical treatment, along with intense political indoctrination and inhumane living conditions that led to numerous deaths. These statements indicate a genocidal policy aimed at erasing their cultural and religious identities with unimaginable cruelty and violence, with the ultimate goal of slowly erasing their very existence.

Did the destruction or change of purpose of mosques, masjids, Islamic centers…?

• During the past years, as many as 16,000 mosques, Islamic centers and religious buildings in East Turkistan were either destroyed or altered, and a large number of them were closed, inaccessible to the communities they were supposed to serve.

In January of this year, China accelerated its attack on religious freedom by introducing a new law imposing severe restrictions on Islam and other religions. The law states that religious practices must not affect “dressing, weddings, funerals and other ethnic customs”. Furthermore, it is mandated that “places of religious activity, which are newly built, rebuilt, expanded or renovated, should reflect Chinese style and characteristics” in architecture, sculptures, paintings and decorations.

While the areas where many tourists come pass with minimal changes, reports indicate that most of the mosques of East Turkistan, which were not completely destroyed, are either locked or repurposed. This systematic removal of religious and cultural markers not only raises great concerns about the suppression of religious freedom, but also represents a deliberate attempt to erase the Uyghur/Turkish identity in East Turkistan.

How do you comment on the reactions of the international community? Is the Uyghur voice heard in the world?

• The response of the international community to the suffering of the Uighurs in East Turkistan is sorely lacking, and the voices of the Uighurs themselves are not being listened to, so the main cause of the crisis – Chinese colonization and occupation – is not being resolved. Despite the growing awareness, global condemnations have not turned into concrete political moves or systematic efforts to prevent the genocide against the Uyghurs.

This inaction is strongly noticeable in the reluctance of international bodies such as the UN, the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice to use legal and political tools against China, which is why none of the Chinese perpetrators have been brought to justice. Furthermore, the international community avoids directly calling Xi Jinping, the main creator of these crimes, accountable and instead implements symbolic sanctions against lower-ranking Chinese officials.

This approach is fragmented and erratic, ignoring the overarching goal of the genocide to wipe out East Turkistan and its peoples through systematic cultural, religious and physical destruction. By not addressing the main issue of China’s colonization and occupation of East Turkistan, the international community ignores the holistic impact of the genocide on the Uyghur and Turkic peoples.

The global response, in the form of a lack of decisive action and detailed strategy, highlights the urgent need for the international community not only to amplify Uyghur voices, but also to directly confront the main causes of their oppression. It is the world’s moral obligation to move beyond the rhetoric and take meaningful, singular action to stop the ongoing genocide and hold its perpetrators accountable.

Are there chances for greater regional autonomy, independence, cooperation (federation) with other Turkish nations, states?

• The struggle for “greater autonomy” of East Turkistan has been going on for more than seven decades and there are no results, it only serves to highlight the futility of seeking a solution within the framework of the Chinese administration. Since gaining “autonomy” in October 1955, East Turkistan has received nothing more than colonization, genocide and destruction. This grim reality firmly confirms that autonomy is unsustainable under Chinese occupation and full independence is the only viable solution to end the current genocide and ensure the survival of the Uyghur/Turkish people. Independence is not just a political aspiration but a necessary condition for rebuilding and saving a nation subjected to unspeakable crimes.

The idea of forming an alliance with other Turkic nations, as a way of strengthening East Turkistan’s struggle for independence, faces great obstacles, but is necessary for greater security in Central Asia. These nations are increasingly drawn into China’s orbit, seduced by Chinese investment and entangled by China’s expansionist policies in Central Asia.

The strategic development of East Turkistan as a central hub highlights China’s ambitions to dominate Central Asia, threatening the sovereignty of the Turkic nations. This intrusive influence is a great warning about the danger of ignoring history. Without learning the lessons of East Turkistan’s past, other Turkic states could have a similar fate as no one suppresses China’s old ambitions for territorial expansion. The way forward for East Turkistan and its Turkic neighbors lies not in the deceptive promise of autonomy under the Chinese state, but in a bold, joint effort to gain true independence and sovereignty, thereby challenging Chinese domination and oppression.

How much did the countries of Central Asia and other Muslim countries help in your work?

• The response of Central Asian and other Islamic/Muslim states to the humanitarian crisis in East Turkistan has been deeply disappointing, characterized by silence or support for China’s actions despite the fact that the genocide is being carried out under the deeply Islamophobic claim that Islam is an “ideological virus”. This silence is all the more striking when you consider that most of the 26 “sensitive” states targeted by China for their Uyghur/Turkish ties are Muslim.

Their participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative reveals a harsh reality: economic interests are significantly ahead of ethnic, cultural and religious solidarity, and because of this, these nations avoid antagonizing their current economic ally, China.

Also, the strategic positioning of the Muslim world towards China as an alternative to the global order led by the US, followed by the promotion of a multipolar world dominated by powers such as China, Russia and Turkey, highlights the forcing of economic and geopolitical interests to the detriment of religious and ethnic-cultural ties. This nascent world order, dominated by strategic alliances and economic imperatives, essentially stifles any opposition from the Muslim world to the genocide of the Uyghurs. As this new geopolitical landscape takes shape, hopes for a united Muslim response to the suffering of East Turkistan are fading.

How does the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) function and how is the Uyghur diaspora organized?

• The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) was formed in 2004, embodying common aspirations for the restoration of East Turkistan’s independence. It is a parliamentary government-in-exile made up of elected representatives of the global diaspora community, not only Uyghurs, but Kazakhs and other Turkic peoples who call East Turkistan home.

This inclusive government highlights the unity and diversity of the native peoples of East Turkistan who have united in a common struggle for freedom and independence. ETGE serves as a beacon of hope and a voice for those who do not have it, tirelessly fighting on the international stage for the rights and recognition of oppressed peoples.

It is estimated that the Uyghur diaspora has one million members worldwide, most of them in Central Asia. Significant groups are found in Turkey, where they have created a very vibrant community, and in Saudi Arabia, where they have largely assimilated. The diaspora in Europe and other regions is largely scattered, with many individuals and organizations contributing to global awareness and the struggle for East Turkistan.

The widespread diaspora, despite the geographical distance, remains united in unwavering commitment to the freedom and independence of the homeland, demonstrating the defiant spirit and resistance of the Uyghur and Turkic peoples in the face of adversity.