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

Today, we mark 80 years since the founding of the East Turkistan National Army—an army born not merely to fight, but to defend a sovereign republic and secure the survival of a nation.

On April 8, 1945, in the capital of Ghulja, the East Turkistan Republic proclaimed the formation of its National Army. This was not a force of conquest, but one of national salvation—tasked with defending our hard-won independence, preserving our territorial integrity, and protecting the freedom and dignity of our people.

At its peak, the East Turkistan National Army fielded 40,000 active troops and 20,000 reserves. It was a modern force—organized, disciplined, and resolute. It fought valiantly across three fronts, liberating vast territories of East Turkistan from Chinese occupation and inspiring uprisings across East Turkistan. In every village and valley it passed, it carried the hopes of a free future.

But on December 22, 1949, that future was stolen. The Communist Chinese invasion crushed our Republic, disbanded our army, and imposed a brutal colonial occupation that continues to this day. The loss of our National Army did not merely mark the fall of a government—it marked the collapse of our defense, the end of our sovereignty, and the beginning of a genocidal nightmare.

Disarmed, we became defenseless. Occupied, we became voiceless. Without an army, without a state, our people have been subjected to decades of colonization, assimilation, internment camps, forced labor, mass surveillance, sterilization, and cultural and physical genocide.

This cannot continue.

The restoration of East Turkistan’s independence is not a matter of hope—it is a matter of survival. And there can be no independence without the means to defend it. The re-establishment of the East Turkistan National Army is not optional; it is essential. It is the shield that must rise again if our people are to live free, safe, and dignified lives.

We therefore call upon the international community:
Recognize East Turkistan as an occupied nation.
Support the just cause of its national liberation.
Assist in the rebuilding of its institutions—including the East Turkistan National Army—so that our people may never again stand defenseless against genocide and tyranny.

Our forebears stood, they fought, and many fell—but they did not yield. And neither shall we.

Victory to East Turkistan.
Glory to our heroes.
Independence through resistance—Freedom through strength.

— Dr. Mamtimin Ala, President of Republic of East Turkistan Government in Exile