PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE)
East-Turkistan.Net
contact@East-Turkistan.Net
25 April 2025
Ankara, Türkiye — April 25, 2025 —Yesterday, at the “Colonial Crimes Conference” hosted by OSTİM Teknik Üniversitesi in Ankara, Fatmagul Çakan, Chairwoman of the East Turkistan Parliament in Exile’s Committee on Media, Communication, and Information, delivered a powerful presentation on China’s ongoing colonization and genocide against East Turkistan. Representing the East Turkistan Government in Exile, Ms. Çakan made a detailed presentation of China’s campaign of colonization, genocide, and occupation in East Turkistan.
Ms. Çakan explained:
“East Turkistan is the cradle of Turkic civilization and the birthplace of numerous Turkic empires, kingdoms, and other states. It is a nation of eastern Turkic peoples in Central Asia, occupied by China since 1949. The majority of the population is Uyghur, along with Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and other Turkic peoples. East Turkistan has been historically independent — never ethnically, culturally, or politically ‘Chinese.’ It twice declared independence in modern history — in 1933 and 1944 — as the East Turkistan Republic.”
She further detailed how the Chinese government renamed East Turkistan to “Xinjiang” — meaning “New Territory” — as part of its colonial policy to erase East Turkistan’s identity, nationhood, and statehood.
Regarding the country’s strategic importance, Ms. Çakan stated:
“East Turkistan is located in Central Asia, bordering Russia, Mongolia, China, Tibet, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. It covers 1,828,418 square kilometers — about 2.6 times the size of Türkiye, and 3 times the size of Ukraine. It is rich in oil, natural gas, coal, uranium, and rare minerals. It is the cornerstone of China’s Belt and Road Initiative — strategically connecting East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The region has been turned into a militarized zone to project Chinese power across Eurasia.”
The presentation also exposed China’s crimes against humanity, based strictly on cited evidence: according to China’s own 2020 White Paper, over 7.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples are detained in what claim claims to be so-called “vocational education centers,” which are in fact concentration camps. Between 25,000 and 50,000 Uyghur youth are systematically killed annually for organ harvesting. At least one million Uyghur children have been separated from their families. Uyghur birth rates have fallen by more than 60% due to forced sterilizations, forced IUDs, and abortions. Over 16,000 mosques and sacred sites have been destroyed or Sinicized. The Uyghur language, Islamic religion, and traditional cultural practices have been widely banned.
Ms. Çakan emphasized that China’s policies meet every criterion of genocide under the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, including mass detention, birth prevention, forcible transfer of children, torture, and the destruction of cultural and religious identity.
In her conclusion, Ms. Çakan issued a serious call to action to the international community, Türkiye, the Turkic world, and the Islamic world. She stressed that it is time not for silence, but for action. The international community, including Türkiye, must officially recognize the genocide in East Turkistan. East Turkistan must be recognized as a Turkic country under Chinese occupation. The international community, including Türkiye, must support East Turkistan’s right to independence. The Organization of Turkic States must prioritize the East Turkistan issue and offer official support. The international community, including Türkiye, must establish diplomatic relations with the East Turkistan Government in Exile and protect East Turkistani refugees by refusing deportations. China’s crimes of genocide and colonialism must be brought before international courts. Ms. Çakan emphasized that the cause of East Turkistan is not only the cause of one nation — it is also the joint responsibility of the international community, especially the Turkic world and the broader Islamic world.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile continues its tireless efforts to represent the East Turkistani nation, to advocate for international recognition of the genocide, and to demand the restoration of East Turkistan’s independence.
The official White Paper East Turkistan Was Never a Part of China and Restoring Its Independence Is the Only Way Forward is available on Amazon and Google Books.
Supporters are urged to continue learning, sharing the truth, standing for decolonization and justice, and amplifying East Turkistan’s voice across the world.