PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE)
East-Turkistan.Net
contact@East-Turkistan.Net
25 January 2024
The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), represented by its Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Security, forcefully condemns the recent collaboration and joint statement issued by Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Chinese President Xi Jinping. This declaration, which occurred on Wednesday, alarmingly aligns Uzbekistan with China’s oppressive colonial and genocidal policies in East Turkistan, an occupied country which China refers to as “Xinjiang (The Colony/New Territory).”
The Uzbekistan-China collaboration and joint statement unreservedly endorse China on issues it considers its “core interests,” including East Turkistan, Taiwan, and human rights matters. This partnership alarmingly commits Uzbekistan to work alongside China in combating the so-called “three forces” of “separatism, extremism, and terrorism.” Such a stance dangerously ignores the severe human rights atrocities and the genocidal campaign conducted by China against the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples, including Uzbeks, in the occupied country of East Turkistan.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security, Salih Hudayar, expressed deep disappointment and strong condemnation of this development, stating: “Uzbekistan’s endorsement of China’s brutal colonial and genocidal policies in Occupied East Turkistan represents a betrayal of our shared Turkic heritage and values. This shortsighted move sells out the future of not only the Turkic people in occupied East Turkistan but also the very sovereignty of Uzbekistan itself.”
He further added, “History has consistently and emphatically shown that falling for China’s deceptive promises and gifts presents a grave threat to the security, freedom, and sovereignty of not just our nation, but also the broader Central Asian region.”
The East Turkistan Government in Exile emphasizes that East Turkistan is not a part of China but an occupied nation suffering under China’s illegal and brutal occupation. The colonial and genocidal campaign carried out by the People’s Republic of China in East Turkistan is not a matter of China’s so-called “internal affairs” but an international crisis demanding global attention and intervention.
The Uzbekistan-China joint statement not only undermines the plight of millions suffering under China’s genocidal occupation regime in East Turkistan but also legitimizes the Chinese government’s false narrative of “counter-terrorism” to justify its actions. The East Turkistan Government in Exile asserts that China’s actions in East Turkistan are not about countering “separatism, extremism, and terrorism,” but are clear acts of state terrorism, colonialism and genocide aimed at eradicating the identity, culture, and existence of the Turkic peoples.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile remains steadfast in its mission to end Chinese colonization, occupation and genocide in East Turkistan. We call upon the international community, especially Turkic and Muslim countries, to recognize the gravity of the situation and to stand with us in our struggle to restore the freedom, human rights, and sovereignty of our country, and to ensure the existence of our people.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile firmly believes that the path to security and stability in our region lies not in complicity with colonization, oppression, and genocide, but in the support for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all peoples, including those suffering in East Turkistan.
