PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26 August 2023
contact@east-turkistan.net
+1 202 599 2244, Ext: 1
www.East-Turkistan.net
Washington, DC – The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), as the authoritative voice for Uyghurs and East Turkistanis worldwide, calls upon the international community, world governments, media organizations, and human rights institutions to confront the undeniable, horrifying reality of a full-scale genocide currently being orchestrated by the Chinese government. This follows Xi Jinping’s latest speech in East Turkistan, in which he called for the continuation of China’s genocidal policies against Uyghurs.
The Uyghurs, along with other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan, are not just enduring but struggling to survive a calculated and relentless genocide. It’s time for the world to step beyond mere acknowledgment and take swift, irrevocable action to hold China accountable. Despite waves of global outrage, President Xi Jinping remains steadfast in his chilling commitment to execute China’s genocidal master plan in East Turkistan. A recent Politico news report highlights his determination, drawing widespread condemnation from the East Turkistani diaspora communities.
Since Chinese occupation of East Turkistan in 1949, China’s policy of colonization and assimilation has culminated in a formal policy of genocide under the leadership of Xi Jinping in 2014. Over three million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples languish in concentration camps and prisons, subjected to unthinkable atrocities: forced labor, involuntary sterilizations, ideological brainwashing, organ harvesting, forced marriages, and sexual assault, including the heart-wrenching forced separation of almost a million Uyghur and Turkic children from their families.
China’s ongoing genocide, cloaked in contorted euphemisms such as “anti-terrorism,” “anti-secession,” and “sinicizing Islam,” stands testament to a wholesale attack seeking to annihilate Uyghur and other Turkic people to extinguishing East Turkistan’s independence struggle.
Throughout history, those yearning for justice and liberty have appealed to the discernment of the international community. This sentiment is reflected in the East Turkistan Government in Exile’s appeal, which echoes the urgency of our times. Prime Minister Salih Hudayar emphasizes, “What we are facing in Occupied East Turkistan is a humanitarian crisis of unparalleled magnitude in the 21st century. The systematic destruction of a nation is not something the world can afford to ignore.”
Governments including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium have made significant strides by recognizing China’s actions as both genocide and crimes against humanity. However, without immediate, consequential action, this recognition falls perilously short. The imperative is clear: democratic societies that champion human rights, liberty, and the sanctity of life, as well as authoritative bodies like the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), must act now.
President Ghulam Yaghma of the East Turkistan Government in Exile emphasizes, “We demand actions, not just words. The international community’s selective response effectively grants China a free pass to continue its genocidal assault on East Turkistan and its people.”
Astonishingly, the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and even governments that promote human rights and freedom have looked away. This is despite the ETGE’s extensive and well-documented case submitted to the ICC in 2020, further supported by irrefutable evidence in 2021 and 2022, imploring the ICC to launch an investigation against Chinese officials, including Xi Jinping himself. The contradiction is glaring: while the UN Security Council has addressed the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over Ukraine, both remain conspicuously inactive against China.
History will remember this moment. The East Turkistan Government in Exile, representing the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan, once again implores the conscience of the international community. We stand at a crossroads. Will the world act to prevent a nation’s eradication, or will we let this dark chapter be written into history unchallenged, paving the way for similar atrocities to occur in the future?
Note: The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), is a parliamentary government in exile based in Washington, DC, representing Uyghur and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan, and advocating for the restoration of East Turkistan’s independence on the global stage.
