The following statement is attributed to the President of the East Turkistan Government in Exile

Today, we solemnly mark the 28th anniversary of the Ghulja Massacre, a day of tragedy, resilience, and a stark reminder of China’s continued genocide against the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan.

On February 5, 1997, thousands of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Turkic peoples gathered in the city of Ghulja, the historic capital of the Second East Turkistan Republic (1944-1949), to peacefully protest against China’s colonial rule, religious persecution, and systematic discrimination and atrocities. They called for freedom, justice, and the restoration of their fundamental rights.

In response, the Chinese occupation forces unleashed brutal violence, opening fire on unarmed demonstrators, massacring hundreds in cold blood. Thousands were arrested, many of whom were tortured to death in prison, while others were executed. Countless families were left shattered, their loved ones disappeared, and their voices silenced under Beijing’s iron grip.

The Ghulja Massacre was not just a horrific atrocity—it was a precursor to the ongoing genocide that the Chinese occupation forces are carrying out today. The same oppressive policies that led to the massacre in 1997 have escalated into a full-scale campaign of ethnic cleansing, mass enslavement through forced labor, mass internment, forced sterilization, forced assimilation, and state-sponsored mass rape.

The world failed to act in 1997, and because of that failure, China intensified its genocidal policies. Today, millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples remain imprisoned in concentration camps and prisons, their culture, identity and humanity erased, their children forcibly taken from their families, and their very existence threatened.

The East Turkistan Government in Exile calls upon the international community, including the United States, Australia, the EU, India, Japan, the UK, and all freedom-loving nations, to address the root cause of the ongoing genocide—China’s colonization and occupation of East Turkistan—by recognizing East Turkistan as an Occupied Country and supporting its right to external self-determination. The international community has both a moral and legal obligation to take decisive action to end China’s genocide and colonization through stronger sanctions, legal accountability, and diplomatic pressure.

We honor the martyrs of the Ghulja Massacre and vow that their sacrifice will not be forgotten. Their struggle lives on in our fight for freedom, justice, and the full restoration of East Turkistan’s independence.

The time for words has passed. Only the full liberation of East Turkistan can guarantee the survival and freedom of the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Turkic peoples.

Dr. Mamtimin Ala
President, East Turkistan Government in Exile