WWUC New Wsletter P Page 1
WUC Newsletter Page 1 NEWSLETTER NO.5 D E C EMBER 2010
TOP STORY Uyghur Seeks Justice for Discrimination
MEDIA WORK WUC Online TV Launched WUC ‐ UNPO Conference Report “Uyghurs Call for Dialogue with China” Published FEATURED UAA Press Release on Biilingual Education in China WUC Press Release on Inclusion of Meshrep in UNESCO ´s List ARTICLES WUC Turkish Website Launched Crackdown UAA Press Release on Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo UNPO Manifesto: International Human Rights Day 2010 Launched in Xinjiang PAST EVENTS Amnesty International USA 2010 Western Regional Conference Kurban Bayrami celebrated by East Turkestan Union in Europe Turkey‐China WUC Representative in Berlin at Human Rights Conference WUC Special Representative to the EU at One World Film Festival, Bratislava Military Rebiya Kadeer in Switzerland and Liechtenstein Exercises: Rebiya Kadeer at Tibet House in Barcelona What Do They Uyghur Meshrep at Tropentheater in Amsterdam WUC and East Turkestan Union in Europe: Joint Demonstration in Munich Mean for the Uyghur Groups at the Bazaar of Cultures, Munich Uyghurs? WUC Staff Members at Seminar on Integration and Nationaal Security, Kochel am See
UPCOMING EVENTS WUC with UNPO at UN Forum on Minority Isssues, Geneva, Switzerland UNPO and MRG Bring Discussion Of Minorities and Natural Resources to the UN Concerts of the Caravan “A breakfast in Kashgar prolongs life”, Bochum WUC Appeal on Forcible Return of 20 Uyghur Asylum‐Seekers to China by Cambodia
LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS International Media Articles and Reports on Uyghur Related Issues
WUC Newsletter Page 2 Uyghur Seeks Justice for Discrimination
01 December 2010 , by Radio Free Asia, available at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/discrimination‐12012010162044.html
A Uyghur woman plans to sue a Han “national unity” at her factory, where storeowner for ethnic prejudice according supervisors warned that workers could be to Chinese law. thrown in jail if they spread ethnic hatred. A Uyghur factory worker from “[At the store] I was surrounded by more northwestern China said she was insulted than 30 salesmen, all of them working for and humiliated by Han Chinese and wants [the woman], who began insulting me. My to raise the larger issue of alleged daughter and sister were crying, and there discrimination of her community with the were no Uyghurs at the shopping center,” United Nations in what could be the first she said. case of its kind. Goher said she called the police as the Goher Memet, a 35‐year‐old employee of storeowner continued to berate her, the Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel Co. in the belittling the Uyghurs as “stepchildren of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous capital of our state.” When police came, the Urumqi, said she also planned to sue the storeowner continued to insult her. The woman who insulted her and refused her police told her that the woman was venting Goher Memet (RFA) service. her frustration over the riots, she said. She travelled to Beijing recently for the "I asked if it was okay for me to tell [the second time to raise the issue with the storeowner] to leave Xinjiang, but [the authorities since the incident which police officer] said, ‘No, you would be occurred several months after ethnic riots thrown in jail.’” rocked Urumqi in July last year. The July 5, Goher said she made an official report to 2009 violence left some 200 people dead, the police about the incident and that according to the Chinese government’s factory officials advised her not to file any tally. lawsuit. She said an official of the “I plan to go to the United Nations’ human Communist Party of China who acts as a rights office in Beijing and the U.S. liaison officer for the factory did not keep embassy’s human rights office. I want to his pledge to close down the woman’s call on them to pay attention to the ethnic store and cancel her license. situation in Xinjiang and to help China solve Broken promises its ethnic problems properly,” Goher said. The storeowner also refused a proposal by Goher said that not long after last year’s the factory's security department to riots had subsided, she was in a store in apologize for the insults, she said. Urumqi asking to have a pair of shoes refitted when the store owner began to When Goher made her first trip to Beijing insult her. in July this year to raise the issue with the central authorities, factory officials came to The woman barged in, "saying, 'You beggar the Chinese capital and assured her again Uyghurs killed many of us on July 5. I don’t that they would punish the woman. But want to see you. I am the owner of the when they returned to Urumqi, "they store and you should leave. All you Uyghurs broke their promise again.” should leave Xinjiang … otherwise, all of you will die.’” According to China’s criminal law, those who promote ethnic hatred or discriminate 'Stepchildren' against other ethnic groups are subject to Just before she went to the shoe store, three to 10 years in prison if convicted. Goher said she had attended a meeting on
WUC Newsletter Page 3
City‐ and regional‐level ethnic affairs also felt slighted by the attack and want departments and petitioner departments all authorities to take Goher’s case against the refused telephone interviews about Goher’s storeowner. case. Ilham Tohti, an outspoken Uyghur professor But factory officials acknowledged that she at Beijing’s Central Nationalities University, had been subjected to racial discrimination said he believes Goher is the first to by the shopowner. publicize such a sensitive but common case in China. “Yes, that is true. The Han Chinese businesswoman attacked Goher Memet,” “I believe that her voice represents the said Seypulla, a staff member with the Uyghur voice for today’s ethnic situation in factory’s petitioner office, though he Xinjiang.” refused to comment further. She faced discrimination “typical of the Hapiz Niyaz, deputy secretary of the post‐July 5 era of ethnic relations in the factory's party committee also agreed that region,” he said. the incident constituted racial harassment. “Theoretically, ethnic discrimination is “Yes, the attack Goher Memet encountered illegal according to Chinese law, but in is a kind of ethnic discrimination. All the practice, ethnic discrimination cases are not Uyghurs in the factory and neighborhood accepted by the court in our judicial were deeply harmed by the attack. The system." businesswoman should be punished by law, but I’m not sure why she still has gone unpunished,” he said. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA’s Uyghur service. Translated by Shohret “I hope that our legal departments handle Hoshur. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. the case properly and with justice.” Copyright © 1998‐2010 Radio Free Asia. All Slighted by attack rights reserved A Uyghur worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said many of his co‐workers
WUC Newsletter Page 4 Crackdown Launched in Xinjiang
27 November 2010, by Radio Free Asia, available at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/language‐10272010181614.html
Chinese authorities launch a fresh drive against 'separatism' in the northwestern region. Authorities in China's troubled targeting the culture of Uyghurs, a Central northwestern region of Xinjiang are holding Asian Turkic‐speaking ethnic group, many of more than 20 people in a new crackdown whom are unhappy under Chinese rule. on separatism mainly targeting the region's "The Chinese government has launched a Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority, an exiled clean‐up campaign targeting audio‐visual group said on Friday. media being sold in the region," Raxit said. This winter's "strike hard" campaign began He said the campaign was being in mid‐November in Aqchi Nahiyisi, in coordinated by the Ili prefecture news and southern Xinjiang's Kizilsu Kyrgyz publishing bureau and the local police. autonomous prefecture, according to Dilxat "They have confiscated more than 20,000 Raxit, spokesman for the Munich‐based video CD disks which the government says World Uyghur Congress. are illegal," Raxit said. "They are mostly focusing on those in the Uyghur language." "Nearly 100 people have been detained," Raxit said. "Some of them are still being Propaganda detained under criminal detention," he said, He said four Uyghurs had been charged by adding that several had also been freed. national security police with the possession Raxit said that more than 20 people were and recording of illegal CDs containing being held under criminal charges, while at "overseas enemy propaganda." "Five people least 10 had been freed on bail pending have also been formally detained for court hearings. "Others are still being held possession, recording, and distribution of in the detention center because they religious education videos," Raxit said. refused to pay fines," he said. A Han Chinese resident of Ili said that An officer who answered the phone at the authorities have not clarified exactly what is county police department declined to permissible in the lyrics of Uyghur songs, comment. "You will have to ask my and that they are simply banning those they superiors," he said. "Those are the rules. think might be problematic. They know what is happening." "The Communist Party has decreed a whole Surveillance bunch of guidelines of stuff which isn't allowed, and then confiscated them," the A resident of Aqchi said police had stepped resident said."It is all being decided entirely up routine patrols and surveillance in the by them," he added. county town in recent weeks. "Aqchi has a reputation, and it is always subjected to An employee who answered the phone at a tight controls," the resident said. "There are bookshop in Ili prefecture said the not so many people out and about at the government has always confiscated illegal moment, it's very plain to see." publications, however. "If they haven't been published via legal channels, then the "It's because the Chinese Communist Party publications are definitely illegal," she said. has said it will crack down on the 'three "It has always been this strict, ever since the forces,'" the resident said, referring to violence began in this place. They have Beijing's campaigns against "separatism, always maintained tight controls over terrorism, and splittism." publications by ethnic minorities," she Raxit said that authorities in the added. northwestern region of Ili, which saw a […] bloody suppression of an uprising against Chinese rule in 1998, have recently been To read the full article, please click here.
WUC Newsletter Page 5 Turkey-China Military Exercises: What Do They Mean for the Uyghurs?
14 November 2010, by Joshua Kucera, available at: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62374 Turkey has long been an advocate of the relationship with the Turkish army to warm beleaguered Uyghur minority in China, and up these relations.” when ethnic violence broke out between The exercises, Turkel said, “have created a Uyghurs and Han Chinese last year in huge puzzle among the Uyghurs. They've Xinjiang, Turkish Prime Minister Recep started questioning the intent of the Turkish Tayyip Erdogan said that China's treatment government.” The military relationship “has of Uyghurs amounted to a "genocide." So not been seen at all in the past, and it's a what to make now of the news that Turkey is very concerning development.” engaging in a second round of military exercises with China ‐‐ which a Chinese Uyghur groups have been silent thus far commentator says is probably designed with because “they are not prepared to make a fighting Uyghurs in mind? I asked Nury public statement because of the political‐ Turkel, a Uyghur‐American activist and cultural support that the Turkish government lawyer in Washington, D.C., for his thoughts. has shown in the past.” But privately, he said, “they are outraged.” Turkel said that Turkey has built a lot of goodwill over the years among Uyghurs, Others, however, say that the exercises which accounts for the fact that Uyghur might increase Turkey's leverage with China groups haven't said much publicly about the to improve the Uyghurs' situation. That was exercises. Privately, though, he said they are the take of an analysis published in Today's "outraged." Zaman (before this most recent round of exercises): “When you look at Turkish‐Chinese relations, Uyghurs have always been a thorny issue, Turkey has understood that establishing but never as much as it's been since last good relations with the Chinese leadership is summer, and the prime minister's a must to spur the government to soften its provocative statements. Then, China started approach toward the ethnic Turkic minority. taking Turkey very seriously,” he said. “Improving relations between the two countries will also bring relief to our Uighur Chinese relations with Turkey were strong brothers,” Davutoğlu assured the Uighur enough that Beijing's reaction to Erdogan's community while speaking in Kashgar on comments was relatively muted, Turkel said. Oct. 28 during his visit to China. While Chinese media criticized the statement, there was no official “It is a must for China and Turkey to continue condemnation. “I can't even imagine what economic, political and military cooperation would have happened if Obama had made in a strategic dimension to realize the those comments,” he said. Nevertheless, Uighurs’ democratic rights and freedoms,” Erdogan with that statement "elevated the Seyit Tümtürk, president of the East Uyghur issue in Turkish‐Chinese relations.” Turkestan Culture and Solidarity Association, Turkel also noted that when Foreign Minister told Sunday’s Zaman in an interview, adding Ahmet Davotoglu visited China recently, his that Davutoğlu’s messages delivered during first stop was the majority‐Uyghur city of his visit to China are something his Kashgar, which was "very symbolic." The community attaches importance to. Tümtürk plight of China's Uyghurs is also a popular also raised concerns on the content of issue with the Turkish public. agreements Interior Minister Beşir Atalay signed with his Chinese counterparts, So China, wanting to improve relations with claiming that similar agreements with other Turkey without the Uyghur issue becoming countries had turned out to be a tool to an irritant, appears to have decided to crack down on the Uighur community. “We circumvent the Turkish political structure hope the same will not happen this time,” and build relations more directly with Tümtürk said. Turkey's military: “China's using the military
WUC Newsletter Page 6
MEDIA WORK
WUC Online TV Launched On 12 November 2010, the WUC launched its online TV Sherqiy Türkistan Uyghur Téléwiziyisi (East Turkestan Uyghur Television), available at http://www.sh‐tv.org/. The online TV aims to inform in Uyghur language about Uyghur related political, cultural and historic topics as well as to broadcast the latest news from and on East Turkestan.
WUC ‐ UNPO Conference Report “Uyghurs Call for Dialogue with China” Published On 15 November 2010, the WUC and UNPO published the report of the international conference entitled Uyghurs Call for Dialogue with China – Implementation of the Chinese Constitution to Safeguard and Protect the Rights of the Uyghur people which took place from 29 – 30 April 2010 at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. This conference concluded with a concerted call from Uyghurs for a meaningful dialogue to begin with Beijing over resolving the situation in East Turkestan and ensuring that provisions for the protection of minority rights in the Chinese constitution are observed. The conference was sponsored by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group of the European Parliament and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and was Rebiya Kadeer in Brussels organised in collaboration with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and (WUC) the World Uyghur Congress (WUC). Conference report in pdf can be downloaded here. See also UNPO´s website on the conference for more information.
UAA Press Release on Bilingual Education in China On 15 November 2010, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) issued a press release on bilingual education in China. It followed the report from Radio Free Asia about the planned firing of teachers in Toksun county. Employing the term “bilingual” education, the Chinese government is, in reality, implementing a monolingual Chinese language education system that undermines the linguistic basis of Uyghur culture. The use of the term “bilingual” presents a façade of cultural diversity to the international community and obscures a campaign to eliminate Uyghurs’ cultural distinctiveness. While the term “bilingual” is used, Chinese officials are aggressively promoting only the use of Chinese in education and other spheres, in the absence of any official programs to promote and protect the Uyghur language. See also: Uyghur Language Under Attack: The Myth of “Bilingual” Education in the People’s Republic of China, Uyghur Human Rights Project, 24 July 2007, available at: http://uhrp.org/docs/UyghurLanguageUnderAttack.pdf
WUC Press Release on Inclusion of Meshrep in UNESCO ´s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage On 19 November 2010, the WUC published a press release on the inclusion of Uyghur meshrep in UNESCO´s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) welcomed this decision, since the inclusion of this important Uyghur cultural practice as well as the former inclusion of the Uyghur muqam in 2008´s list underscore the imminent danger of extinction that Uyghur traditions and Uyghur culture are facing in today´s China. The meshrep is a traditional Uyghur social gathering which may include women, men, young people or a mixed group. One person leads the group and gives turns to attendees to speak, play music, sing songs, or recite poems.
WUC Newsletter Page 7
Although the WUC welcomed the inclusion of the meshrep on the list, the WUC is concerned about the Chinese authorities’ intentions in nominating the meshrep. Given that the Chinese authorities have banned the meshrep throughout East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China), the authorities’ nomination of the meshrep is rather ironic. Therefore, the WUC cautions UNESCO and the international community not to be deceived into thinking that the Chinese government is concerned about preserving Uyghur culture through its nomination of the meshrep. The WUC asks that UNESCO recognise that the survival of Uyghur culture is being severely jeopardized by the measures exacted by the Chinese government. The WUC calls upon UNESCO to act immediately on the demolition of “Old City” section of Kashgar and to call on the Chinese authorities to stop its other measures to dilute and destroy Uyghur culture and Uyghur identity and forcibly assimilate Uyghurs into Han Chinese culture. To read the full press release, please click here: http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?p=5474
WUC Turkish Website Launched On 04 December 2010, the World Uyghur Congress launched the Turkish version of its website http://www.uyghurcongress.org/tr/. WUC´s website is now available in seven languages: English, German, French, Uyghur, Chinese, Japanese and Turkish. Currently, the Arabic version is under construction and a Spanish version is planned. By increasing the language versions of its website, the WUC aims to widen the access to Uyghur related information as well as to spread its activities and actions to a wider public.
UAA Press Release on Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo On the eve of International Human Rights Day and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) honored Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu Xiaobo and his efforts to bring human rights and the rule of law to China in a press release. Liu now joins the ranks of Nobel Peace Prize laureates Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and his inability to attend the Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo only underscores the relevance of his receiving the award. UAA commends the Nobel Committee for its courageous decision to award the Peace Prize to Liu in spite of threats of retaliation from the Chinese government, and hopes that the award will encourage others working inside China to promote democracy and human rights.
UNPO Manifesto: International Human Rights Day 2010 The 10th of December marked the 2010 International Human Rights Day celebrations. UNPO wanted to manifest this special day as an opportunity for learning from past failures and promising improvement for the future and published an open statement by UNPO´s Secretary General, Mr. Marino Busdachin. In the manifesto, UNPO urged all societies, governments, citizens, ethnic and indigenous groups, elites, NGOs, international and supranational organs, companies, regions, villages and global cities to review their contribution to improving human rights and step up their efforts at least a notch, so that this day a year from now will be a bigger success and makes us proud.
WUC Newsletter Page 8
PAST EVENTS
Amnesty International USA 2010 Western Regional Conference From 5 – 7 November 2010, Amnesty International USA was celebrating 50 years of human rights activism at this year's Western Regional Conference. Amnesty International USA's Western Regional Conference is an annual meeting that brings together Amnesty members and human rights activists from across the 13‐state region. This year prominent speakers from the human rights community attended the event: Amy Goodman, the host and executive producer of the award‐winning independent news program Democracy Now!; Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience; Jorge Bustamante, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants and Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. More information can be found here.
Kurban Bayrami celebrated by East Turkestan Union in Europe The East Turkestan Union in Europe organised a celebration on the occasion of the Muslim Holiday of Sacrifice on 20 November 2010 in Munich, Germany. More than 400 Uyghurs from Munich and neighbouring cities joined this celebration. WUC vice president Mr. Asgar Can and General Secretary Mr. Dolkun Isa held speeches and celebrated Uyghurs with the Kurban festival. Uyghur children performed beautiful Uyghur dance and traditional songs and made this celebration especially colourful.
WUC Representative in Berlin at Human Rights Conference Mr. Haiyuer Kuerban, WUC Representative in Berlin, attended the conference titled "Promotion of human rights by the German foreign and development policy", organised by the German Institute of Human Rights on 24 November 2010 in German Foreign Ministry in Berlin. More than 150 people including the high level officials of the German government, German Foreign Ministry, Ambassadors of Germany in some countries, representatives of scours of the national and international human rights organizations and NGOs have also attended the conference.
WUC Special Representative to the EU at One World Film Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia On 26 November 2010, Mr. Mehmet Tohti, WUC´s Special Representative to the EU, participated in a debate entitled Why Do We Know So Little About the Uyghurs? which was held during the One World Film Festival in Bratislava, Slovakia, on the occasion of the screening of “The 10 Conditons of Love”. During his stay in Slovakia, Mr. Tohti also met with Mr. Ondrej Dostál, member of the Human Rights Committee of the Slovak Parliament, and with Mrs. Veronika Lombardini, Director of Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, and he also Mehmet Tohti (left) (Festival) gave interviews to several Slovakian media: M. Tohti: Uyghurs are one of the largest minorities in China, Tyzden, 26.11.2010 Čína sa vyhráža kvôli Ujgurom, SME, 06.12.2010
Rebiya Kadeer in Switzerland and Liechtenstein In collaboration with the East Turkestan Association in Switzerland and the Society for Threatened People Switzerland, Rebiya Kadeer was invited by the Songtsen House, a Tibetan Cultural Centre, to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Between 22 and 27 November 2010, Ms. Kadeer held four public conferences (in Bern, Lucerne, Zurich, and Vaduz) on the Uyghur human rights situation. During her stay in Switzerland, Ms. Kadeer met with the two Uyghur brothers Bahtiyar and Arkin Mahnut released from Guantanamo in 2010 and resettled to the Swiss Jura Canton in. She thanked the Swiss authorities for having welcomed the brothers in their country. Media article: Rebiya Kadeer: Völkermord lebt vom Verschweigen, Tibet Focus, 28.11.2010
WUC Newsletter Page 9
Rebiya Kadeer at Tibet House in Barcelona, Spain On 29 November 2010 and under the main topic “The wisdom of women in the struggle for peace", Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, invited by the Tibet House, held a conference in Barcelona, Spain, entitled “Human rights in East Turkestan” in the frame of the Third Edition of the Cycle of Non‐ Violence. Ms. Jetsun Pema, sister of His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave another speech one day later. The two women have in common the peaceful struggle in the fields of education and human rights. Both human rights activist are living today in exile.
Uyghur Meshrep at Tropentheater in Amsterdam, Netherlands On 9 December 2010, Uyghur folk music was shown at the Tropentheater in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Uyghur are famous for their musical and dance traditions. The Abbas family are the core of the Dutch meshrep group: the father Kamil plays various traditional stringed instruments; Gülendem, the mother, sings; and their son Irfan plays the drum. This meshrep group started as a trio but has grown into an octet of Uyghur musicians, with an arsenal of bowed, strummed and percussive instruments. The group ensures that the performance feels like a real meshrep: a family gathering involving a great deal of food, song and poetry.
WUC and East Turkestan Union in Europe: Joint Demonstration in Munich on International Human Rights Day On 10 December 2010, the International Human Rights Day, the World Uyghur Congress and the East Turkestan Union in Europe staged a joint demonstration at the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. With this demonstration, both organisations aimed to draw attention to the Chinese government’s systematic human rights violations against the Uyghur people in East Turkestan. However, for the WUC and its member organisations it is very important to work on the situation of Uyghur people in East Turkestan not only in the context of International Human Rights Day. The WUC and its member organisations have been working for many years for the improvement of the human rights situation of the Uyghur people and to prevent the Uyghurs from being forgotten by the international community. This year´s International Human Rights Day coincided with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. When Liu Xiaobo was named this year’s recipient of the peace prize, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, President of the WUC said that “this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo´s non‐violent activism is a wonderful step toward the promotion of all democratic movements in China.” WUC´s press release on the demonstration can be found here.
Uyghur Groups at the Bazaar of Cultures, Munich, Germany On 10 December 2010, the 6th Bazaar of Cultures was taking place in Munich, Germany. In the bazaar a part from the World Uyghur Congress and the Uygur Women Association Germany over 20 cultural and activist groups, such as Active for Africa, Baha'i Community of Munich, Burundi Kids, Society for Threatened Peoples, Haiti Children's Aid Association, HaMuPa, Help for India Herrsching, Help Liberia, Friends of Madagascar, Nepal‐Tibet‐Help, Uganda Kids, participated. The groups presented their culture through handcrafts, music and dance. The Munich based Uyghur Youth Dance Group performed traditional Uyghur dances.
WUC Staff Members at Seminar on Integration and National Security, Kochel am See, Germany From 10 to 12 December 2010, WUC´s Secretary General Mr. Dolkun Isa and WUC Project Coordinator Ms. Jana Brandt participated in a seminar entitled “Integration of immigrants and issues of national security”, organised by the German Georg‐von‐Vollmar‐Akademie e.V. .
WUC Newsletter Page 10
UPCOMING EVENTS WUC with UNPO at UN Forum on Minority Issues, Geneva, Switzerland From 14 – 15 December 2010, the third annual session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues will take place in Geneva, Switzerland. This year´s forum will be held under the heading of "Minorities and Effective Participation in Economic Life”. The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is organising the participation of its interested members to give them the opportunity to make an oral intervention during the session. The WUC as a member of UNPO will take the chance and attend the forum and speak about the topic of minority ownership and control of natural resource in East Turkestan.
UNPO and MRG Bring Discussion Of Minorities and Natural Resources to the United Nations On 14 December 2010 in the Palais des Nations (Geneva, Switzerland), the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) will host the conference “Minorities and natural resources. Promoting the Rights of Minorities in the Development and Management of Natural Resources” in conjunction with the 3rd Session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues. The conference, co‐hosted by Minority Rights Group International, will focus on the topic of minorities and natural resources, shining a spotlight on the suffering experienced by minorities as a result of large‐scale natural resource exploitation in their regions, and offering paths towards meaningful minority participation in processes governing natural resource development projects which would affect their lives and livelihoods. Ms. Kathy Polias, WUC´s UN Liaison, will give a speech entitled “The Uyghurs of East Turkestan: An Impoverished People in the Midst of Natural Wealth”. The programme can be downloaded here, the speakers biographies here, and UNPO´s issue paper “Development of Natural Resources in Minority Regions” here.
Concerts of the Caravan “A breakfast in Kashgar prolongs life”, Bochum, Germany On 18 December 2010 at 19h, a cultural event on Uyghur history and traditions, including Uyghur dance and Uyghur Food, will take place in Bochum, Germany. The evening will be a musical journey to the Uighur people with songs, dances, stories and pictures. Location: Kulturrat Bochum, Lothringer Str. 36, 44805 Bochum Organizers: TheaTerra – KünstlerInnen‐Netzwerk, in cooperation with the Society for Threatened People (www.gfbv.de) and the World Uyghur Congress
WUC Appeal on Forcible Return of 20 Uyghur Asylum‐Seekers to China by Cambodia 19 December 2010 is the one‐year anniversary of Cambodia’s illegal, forcible return to China of 20 Uyghur asylum‐seekers (including one woman and two children) before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had made a determination as to their refugee status. Cambodia had been pressured and influenced by China to return them. The Chinese authorities immediately detained the 20 Uyghurs upon their forcible return, and one year later, the authorities still have not disclosed the Uyghurs’ whereabouts, conditions, and legal statuses, despite having promised the international community that they would deal with the Uyghurs transparently upon return. The Chinese authorities have sought to suppress Uyghurs' eyewitness accounts of Chinese security forces arresting and using brutal and lethal force against Uyghur demonstrators during the peaceful Uyghur protest in July 2009 in Urumqi, and a couple of the Uyghurs in the group of returnees gave such eyewitness accounts during their time in Cambodia. During this anniversary, the World Uyghur Congress respectfully request that human rights non‐governmental organisations issue press releases or other public statements calling on the Chinese government to disclose these Uyghurs’ whereabouts and to immediately and unconditionally release them.
WUC Newsletter Page 11
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ARTICLES AND REPORTS ON UYGHUR RELATED ISSUES
Uyghurs / East Turkestan: China builds a ‘new Silk Road’ to pave over its troubles Telegraph.co.uk, 07 Nov 2010 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8113457/China‐builds‐a‐new‐Silk‐ Road‐to‐pave‐over‐its‐troubles.html
Recapturing Kashgar’s old glory Times of Kabul, 17 November 2010 http://www.timesofkabul.com/?p=609
A beauty that was government’s beast The Washington Post, 21 November 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp‐dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111907467.html
US report: China seeking to forcibly return Uighurs, Tibetans Monsters and Critics, 17 November 2010 http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1599765.php/US‐report‐ China‐seeking‐to‐forcibly‐return‐Uighurs‐Tibetans%EF%BB%BF
Kadeer cautions against China’s ‘sweet’ promises The Taipei Times, 23 November 2010 http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/11/23/2003489228
Cables reveal difficulty of relocating some Guantanamo detainees CNN, 30 November 2010 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/11/29/wikileaks.gitmo.uyghurs/
Underage Students Continue To Pick Cotton in Xinjiang Work‐Study Program CECC, 08 December 2010 http://cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=149463
Authorities in Xinjiang Use Pledge System To Exert Control Over Village Life CECC, 13 December 2010 http://cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=148787
Tibet: Beside the Harmony Mask, China Held Symposium on Minorities The Tibet Post International, 22 November 2010 http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/international/1261‐beside‐the‐harmony‐mask‐china‐ held‐symposium‐on‐minorities
Liu Xiaobo: UN chief plays it safe as he meets Chinese president Nation.co.ke/News, 07 Nov 2010 http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/UN%20chief%20plays%20it%20safe%20as%20he%20meet s%20Chinese%20president%20/‐/1066/1048930/‐/c1yq7r/‐/
2010 Nobel Peace Prize will affect human rights in China The New Straits Times, 27 November 2010 http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/2010NobelPeacePrizewillaffecthumanrightsinChina/Article/
WUC Newsletter Page 12
China must release Liu Xiaobo – or lose its credibility The Guardian, 5 December 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/05/liu‐xiabao‐nobel‐havel‐tutu
China to award own peace prize ahead of Nobel award Reuters, 08 Dec 2010 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B712620101208?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r2:c0.0879 77:b40092234:z0
As Nobel Peace Prize Winner Remains Jailed, China Continues to Trample Human Rights and Bully Other Nations to Boycott Nobel Ceremony Human Rights Today, 08 December 2010 http://humanrights.einnews.com/pr‐news/256396‐as‐nobel‐peace‐prize‐winner‐remains‐jailed‐ china‐continues‐to‐trample‐human‐rights‐and‐bully‐other‐nations‐to‐boycott‐nobel‐ceremony
China must end human rights crackdown in advance of Nobel award Amnesty International, 08 December 2010 http://www.canadaviews.ca/2010/12/08/china‐must‐end‐human‐rights‐crackdown‐in‐advance‐ of‐nobel‐award/
Speech by Nobel chairman on award of peace prize Reuters, 10 December 2010 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B924I20101210
Nobel Honor for Absent Liu Radio Free Asia, 10 December 2010 http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/nobel‐12092010174102.html
Inner Mongolia: Mongol Activist, Family Members Harassed and Detained as Release Date of Political Prisoner Hada Nears (Updated) CECC, 08 December 2010 http://cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=150920
China Silent on Activist’s Release Radio Free Asia, 10 December 2010 http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/release‐12102010133828.html
China: After One Year, Dui Hua Uncovers 700 Executions in China The Dui Hua Foundation http://www.duihua.hk/work/publications/nl/dialogue/nl_txt/nl41/nl41_3a.htm
The US Loses Out to China in Cambodia Asia Sentinel, 10 November 2010 http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2814&Itemid=367
Release of Aung San Suu Kyi puts pressure on China The Telegraph, 14 November 2010 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/burmamyanmar/8132320/Release‐of‐Aung‐ San‐Suu‐Kyi‐puts‐pressure‐on‐China.html
“Switzerland needs to show courage” Swissinfo.ch, 24 November 2010 http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Switzerland_needs_to_show_courage.html?cid=28858730
WUC Newsletter Page 13
Who Are the Uyghurs? Uyghurs are ethnically and culturally a Turkic people living in the areas of Central Asia commonly known as East Turkestan. The area is vast, constituting one‐sixth of the total land area under the military control of the People’s Republic of China. The Uyghurs have a rich cultural history going back almost 4,000 years and practice a moderate form of Sufi Islam and lead predominantly secular lives. Background East Turkestan has a rich and distinctive history, enhanced by its position along the Silk Road. Since 1949, East Turkestan has become a nuclear testing ground for the Chinese military, it is home to large numbers of Chinese military and paramilitary units, and it is the site of numerous forced labour camps administered by the Chinese authorities. The population of approximately 19 million includes several Turkic‐speaking Muslim ethnic groups, of which the Uyghurs are the largest, numbering more than nine million according to official numbers. However, the WUC estimates that today about 20 million Uyghurs are living in East Turkestan. As a result of Chinese government policies, the percentage of ethnic Chinese in East Turkestan has grown from four percent in 1949 to more than 40 percent at present, constituting some 7.5 million people. Events of 5 July 2009 The human rights situation of the Uyghur population in East Turkestan has been dire for decades and has even worsened since the July 2009 protest and ethnic unrest in Urumqi, the capital of East Turkestan. The July 2009 protest began with a peaceful demonstration by Uyghurs in Urumqi that was brutally and lethally suppressed by Chinese security forces. The Uyghurs were protesting against a lack of government action in regard to a deadly attack on Uyghur factory workers in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province in the south of China. The violent and illegal reaction of the Chinese security forces led then to ethnic violence and riots between Uyghurs and Han‐Chinese. In the days following, hundreds of both Uyghurs and Han Chinese civilians were killed. According to data published by the Chinese Xinhua news agency, 197 people were killed, but the World Uyghur Congress estimates – based on eyewitness reports ‐ that more than 1000 people died in the riots. However, until today, the exact death toll on both sides is not clear since so far no independent investigation of these events has been undertaken. ******************************************************************************* About the WUC The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international umbrella organization that represents the collective interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turkestan and abroad and promotes Uyghur human rights and a peaceful and non‐violent solution based on rule of law for the conflict in East World Uyghur Congress Turkestan. P.O. Box 310312 WUC´s monthly newsletter provides the latest information on Uyghur related issues and informs 80103 Munich, Germany about the work and activities of the WUC and its affiliate members. Older editions of the Tel: 0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 newsletter can be viewed and downloaded in pdf format from the web. Fax: 0049 (0) 89 5434 9789 [email protected] If you wish to stop receiving e‐mails from the World Uyghur Congress, please send an e‐ mail with www.uyghurcongress.org “unsubscribe” in the subject to [email protected]. To subscribe for WUC´s e‐mail service, please fill in this form. ******************************************************************************* SUPPORT THE WORLD UYGHUR CONGRESS The WUC is organised as a non‐profit organisation and relies on membership fees, grants and donations, which help the organisation to sustain its work and activities. Your donation will support our efforts to promote the preservation and flourishing of a rich, humanistic and diverse Uyghur culture, and to support the right of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, democratic means to determine their own political future.
Beneficiary Name: For transfers from abroad: Weltkongress der Uiguren e.V (The World Uyghur Congress) IBAN: De 93 700 700 24 0244 089 901 Bank code: 700 700 24 BIC‐Code: DEUTDEDBMUC Account No.: 244 089 901