East Turkistan government-in-exile urges US recognition during Captive Nations Week

As the United States celebrates Captive Nations Week, the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) is urging the US and the global community to remember the ongoing plight of East Turkistan under Chinese occupation.

ETGE recalled that on 12 October 1949, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) invaded East Turkistan.

A press statement issued by the ETGE said that by December 22, 1949, the independent East Turkistan Republic was overthrown after its leaders were assassinated, an action supported by the Soviet Union’s occupation of the PRC.

In 1955, the PRC rebranded most of East Turkistan as the “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” a move seen as an attempt to legitimize its occupation and suppress the East Turkistan people’s desire for freedom and independence.

For the past 74 years, the people of East Turkistan have been firmly resisting Chinese occupation to regain their freedom and independence.

The Captive Nations Act, enacted by the US on July 17, 1959, underlines the importance of maintaining aspirations of freedom and independence among captive nations. East Turkistan, also known as Turkistan, was listed among these captive nations, along with Tibet and other countries.

East Turkistan, home to Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Turkic peoples, remains a captive nation, suffering severe repression, systematic genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the Chinese government.

“The East Turkistan government-in-exile reiterates its urge to the US government and the US Congress to formally recognize East Turkistan as a country occupied by China,” Salih Hudayar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security of the East Turkistan government-in-exile, said.

he/she further said, “Condemning the Chinese occupation of East Turkistan, which is the root of the genocide and crimes against humanity faced by our people, is an important step towards justice and freedom.”

ETGE urges the US Senate to expeditiously pass the Uyghur Policy Act (S.1252), including the establishment of a Special Coordinator for East Turkistani/Uyghur Issues at the US Department of State, as passed by the US House of Representatives as HR 2766 on February 15 this year.

This legislation is seen as crucial to ensuring that East Turkistan’s plight is addressed with the urgency it deserves, and that a coordinated, whole-of-government response is implemented to combat China’s ongoing campaign of colonisation, genocide, and occupation.

Furthermore, ETGE calls on the US government to recognize East Turkistan as equal to Tibet by confronting and countering China’s continued propaganda, cultural and physical destruction, and systematic genocide in East Turkistan.