Press Release – For Immediate Release
1 February 2023
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On February 5 and 6, United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will meet with his Chinese counterpart and other senior Chinese officials to discuss U.S.-China relations. This date marks the 26th anniversary of the 1997 Ghulja Massacre in East Turkistan’s Ghulja City. The massacre resulted in the deaths of over a hundred Uyghur and other Turkic peoples following peaceful pro-independence protests.
In commemoration of the 26th anniversary of this tragic massacre, the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) and the East Turkistan National Movement (ETNM) will hold a public demonstration at the White House on Sunday, February 5 from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm, to condemn the massacre and China’s ongoing campaign of colonization, genocide, and occupation in East Turkistan.
The event will also be live streaming at https://www.facebook.com/ETAwakening.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile implores Secretary Blinken to demand China end its campaign of colonization, genocide, and occupation in East Turkistan and call for the release of millions of imprisoned East Turkistanis, including acclaimed intellectuals such as Perhat Tursun.
“The United States must recognize and condemn the 1997 Ghulja Massacre,” said ETGE Prime Minister Salih Hudayar. “We call on Secretary Blinken to use this opportunity to take a firm stance against China’s ongoing genocide and colonization in East Turkistan,” he added.
This demonstration is part of a larger movement by the East Turkistani / Uyghur diaspora in the United States to make their voices heard and to work towards ending China’s colonization, genocide, and occupation of East Turkistan. The United States government is morally obliged to protect those persecuted and denied basic human rights.
The international community has also been called upon to take meaningful action to end China’s ongoing genocide in East Turkistan.
Last month marked the second anniversary of the United States officially designating China’s atrocities against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples as genocide. Yet, despite some governments and parliaments acknowledging the ongoing genocide, effective action has yet to be taken.
Dr. Mamtimin Ala, Strategic Advisor to the East Turkistan Government in Exile, said, “The world has an unavoidable, sacred, and humanistic responsibility to end this genocide.” He called for the international community, particularly the United States government, to help resolve the East Turkistan-Sino conflict by recognizing the East Turkistan people’s struggle for external self-determination and recognize East Turkistan as an Occupied Country
Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan have suffered immensely under China’s oppressive rule since the Chinese invasion of East Turkistan in late 1949. They have been interned in concentration camps, prisons, and slave labor camps, while forced sterilization and forced marriages of Turkic women to Chinese men have resulted in a steep decline in Turkic population growth rates. The East Turkistan Government in Exile appeals to the international community to take action to stop these injustices and restore freedom and justice to the country.
“The root cause of East Turkistan’s ongoing genocide and suffering is Chinese occupation and colonization,” said East Turkistan Government in Exile President Ghulam Yaghma. “We implore the international community to recognize that restoring East Turkistan’s independence is the only way to end China’s ongoing genocide and ensure the survival of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan,” he added.
