The following statement is attributed to the East Turkistan Government in Exile’s National Security Council
On this solemn day, the East Turkistan Government in Exile honors the memory of the victims of the September 11th 2001 terror attacks, a tragedy that reshaped the world. For the people of East Turkistan, the aftermath has been particularly devastating. In the years following 9/11, China has exploited the global fight against terrorism to wage a brutal campaign of Chinese state terrorism and genocide against the people of East Turkistan under the false pretext of “counter-terrorism.”
The Chinese government has since indiscriminately massacred entire Uyghur villages and transformed East Turkistan into a militarized surveillance state, imprisoning millions of innocent Uyghurs , Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Turkic peoples in mass internment camps and prisons while systematically seeking to erase their cultural, religious, and national identity.
Adding a poignant layer to this, from December 22-26, 1997, the World Trade Center in New York City flew the East Turkistan flag in a symbolic act of solidarity for East Turkistan’s independence. This act, marking the anniversary of the People’s Republic of China’s 1949 overthrow of the independent East Turkistan Republic, signified condemnation of the Chinese occupation of East Turkistan. Just two years later, Chinese military strategists, in their writings on ‘Unrestricted Warfare,’ discussed using terrorism—including targeting symbols like the World Trade Center—as part of an unconventional strategy to undermine the United States.
We condemn all forms of terrorism, especially China’s state-sponsored terrorism against East Turkistan, and demand justice for its oppressed East Turkistani people. The people of East Turkistan, who have suffered immeasurable harm from both state terrorism and genocide, have ultimately become some of the greatest victims of this global tragedy. Even today, China continues to wage its brutal campaign of colonization, genocide, state terrorism, and occupation in East Turkistan with impunity.
We call on the international community to hold China accountable for these atrocities, and to stand in solidarity with the people of East Turkistan in their fight for freedom, justice, and independence.