The East Turkistan Government in Exile expresses its strongest condemnation and profound disappointment over the Dutch Parliament’s shameful decision, made on April 15, 2025, to reject the motion introduced on April 9 by MP Stephan van Baarle, which called on the Netherlands to recognize our occupied country by its rightful name: East Turkistan.

This is not a matter of mere words — it is a matter of national identity, decolonization, and the moral obligation to confront historical injustice.

We acknowledge and appreciate that the Dutch Parliament has taken commendable steps in addressing the ongoing crisis in East Turkistan. Notably, in February 2021, it became one of the first parliaments in the world to formally recognize the ongoing genocide perpetrated by China against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in Occupied East Turkistan. More recently, it has passed motions calling for:

• Sanctions on perpetrators of human rights atrocities;
• A ban on products made with Uyghur forced labor;
• And stronger EU action to hold China accountable.

While these are meaningful measures, they fail to confront the root cause of the crisis: the Chinese occupation and colonization of East Turkistan. To take these steps—while refusing to use the true name of the very country where the genocide is occurring—is a staggering act of moral contradiction and political hypocrisy.

The Chinese colonial term “Xinjiang”—which the Dutch Parliament has chosen to uphold in appeasement of the genocidal, imperialist Chinese Communist regime—is not the name of our homeland. It is a designation imposed in 1884 by the Manchu Qing Empire following its military conquest and illegal occupation of East Turkistan. It literally translates as “new territory” or “colony”, as recorded in the 1893 English-Chinese Dictionary. To use it today is to legitimize foreign occupation, endorse colonialism, and erase our national identity.

We remind the world that since the Manchu Qing invasion and illegal occupation of East Turkistan in 1884, our people have twice restored their independence, declaring the East Turkistan Republics in 1933 and again in 1944, before our republic was overthrown by the Chinese Communist regime on December 22, 1949. Our struggle is not “separatism.” East Turkistan was never legitimately part of China. We are not fighting to divide China; we are fighting for our national self-determination, for decolonization, and for the restoration of our stolen independence—the very same struggle William of Orange once led the Dutch people through.

To condemn genocide while refusing to name its victims and their homeland is to play both judge and accomplice.

We invoke the legacy of William of Orange, who led the Dutch in defiance of imperial Spain—not only for freedom, but for the right to speak the truth and reclaim their independence. That legacy now stands in contradiction to a Parliament that claims to oppose colonialism and foreign domination, yet enforces the language of the occupiers and colonizers.

We ask: Would the Netherlands accept being labeled “New Colony” or “New Territory” under foreign occupation?

We honor MP Stephan van Baarle, who stood not for convenience, but for principle. He will be remembered by our people as a defender of truth and justice.

To those who voted against this motion: we urge you to fix this historical wrong.
Restore the dignity your Parliament denied. Align your words with your values.
Recognize our true name. Recognize our nation. Prove that you are truly against colonialism and genocide.

We are not “Xinjiang.”
We are East Turkistan.
Occupied, but never erased.

Issued by:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Security
Republic of East Turkistan Government in Exile