The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile successfully held its 8th General Assembly in Washington, DC from November 10 – November 12, 2019.

The General Assembly was opened on Sunday morning on November 10, 2019 with a total of 44 members of the East Turkistan Parliament-in-Exile participating, of which those who attended in person, 4 were from the United States, 7 from Canada, 3 from Japan, and 2 from Europe, and the rest participated through the internet. In addition to members of the East Turkistan Parliament-in-Exile, numerous members of the East Turkistani diaspora community in the Washington, DC area attended as observers along with a few distinguished American friends of East Turkistan.

The General Assembly opened with a recitation of the Quran followed by a prayers by the previous Prime Minister Abdulehed Nur and Christian Pastor Tom Prichard.

Distinguished American friends of the Uyghurs who spoke at the event were retired US Air Force Brigadier General Robert Spalding, who was the former Director of Strategic Policy Planning at the National Security Council, Mr. Joseph Bosco, former China Director at the US Department of Defense, Dr. Anders Corr, former US intelligence analyst and the publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, and Mr. Scott Gibbons, a geopolitical analyst who focuses on South Asia.

Members of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile that gave speeches were President Ghulam Osman, Salih Hudayar, Abdulehed Nur, Osmanjan Tursun, Memet Litip, and Yarmemet Baratjan. Mr. Gani Stambekov of the Free Kazakhs Movement also gave a speech in Kazakh, English, and Russian calling on the Kazakhs to unite and support East Turkistan.

Elections for a new Parliamentary leadership, President, and Prime Minister were held on Monday, November 11, 2019 in accordance to the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile’s Constitution. Candidates were given 5 minutes to give a speech presenting themselves. In order to ensure that it was a free and fair election, the elections were monitored and votes were counted by guest observers Dr. Anders Corr and Mr. Scott Gibbons.

Mr. Osmajan Tursun from Germany contested with Mr. Nurehmet Kurban from Switzerland, and was elected as the Speaker of Parliament and Mr. Yarmemet Baratjan contested with Mr. Turdush Haji from Canada, and was elected as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Mr. Ghulam Osman Yaghma contested with Mr. Abdulehed Nur for the presidency and was re-elected as President. President Ghulam Osman Yaghma then appointed Mr. Abdulehed Nur as his Vice President. Mr. Salih Hudayar contested with Mr. Haji Mahmut for the position of the Prime Minister, and was elected as the Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile. Prime Minister Salih Hudayar then appointed Mr. Adil Abbas (Canada), and Mr. Mirqedir Mirzat (France) as his Deputy Prime Ministers.

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (ETNAM) led by Prime Minister Salih Hudayar held a press conference to release the coordinates of 182 suspected concentration camps along with a map showing 209 suspected prisons and 74 labor camps. To commemorate the 86th and 75th anniversary of the East Turkistan Republics, a joint demonstration was held by the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile and the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (ETNAM) in front of the US Capitol. They called on the US Congress and the US Government to pass the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and to recognize East Turkistan as an Occupied Territory.

New Leadership and Cabinet of the ETGE