The below article was originally published by Uygur News, photo credit: ETNM

“Dutch Member of Parliament and leader of the Denk Party, Stephan van Baarle, has submitted a motion calling on the Dutch government to use the term ‘East Turkestan’ instead of ‘Xinjiang’ in all official documents and communications.

On April 9, 2025, van Baarle presented the motion to parliament, urging the government to adopt the historical name “East Turkistan” instead of using “Xinjiang,” which he described as a colonial designation.

The motion states: ‘Noting that the name East Turkestan is a historical designation for the Uyghur Autonomous Region; considering that the name Xinjiang is a colonial term; noting that a large part of the Uyghur people prefers the name East Turkestan; requests the government to use the name East Turkestan in all its communications referring to this region’“

The Netherlands has consistently addressed the Uyghur crisis, and in February 2021, the Dutch parliament became one of the first in Europe to recognize China’s crimes against humanity in the region as genocide.

In response to the motion, the East Turkistan Government in Exile issued a statement: “We thank Dutch MP Stephan van Baarle and the Denk Party for introducing a historic motion recognizing EastTurkistan and rejecting China’s colonial terminology “Xinjiang”! We urge the Dutch Parliament to swiftly pass this motion and call on all other governments to follow suit and Recognize East Turkistan as an Occupied Country.“