Uyghur People Targeted in Northwestern China
Recent Activity an Example of Oppressive Government Agenda
Apr 10, 2009
Security forces have concentrated most of their efforts in the cities of Kashgar and Hotan. During the first hours of activity, at least 90 Uyghurs were reported to have been arrested in Kashgar alone, and Chinese forces mobilized throughout the region to conduct house-to-house searches. Video cameras mounted throughout Kashgar and Hotan have been monitoring the Uyghur population, with special attention to their Muslim religious practices. Uyghur residents are currently being forced to undergo intrusive security checks, and many are being punished for engaging in “illegal religious activities”.
On April 9, 2009, two Uyghurs from Kashgar, Abdurahman Azat, 34, and Kurbanjan Hemit, 29, were executed by Chinese security forces. According to some reports, the two men had been denied access to legal counsel and were not allowed to see their families after their initial detention. The men were executed at an unknown location, but their execution was announced to a mixed group of 4,000 Chinese officials and Uyghur residents. At the same time, a campaign to demolish the homes of some 220,000 Uyghurs was begun in Kashgar.
From East Turkistan to Xinjiang
Xinjiang, also known as East Turkistan, is the native home of the Uyghurs, who are Muslim and Turkic speaking. Other Central Asian peoples such as Kazaks, Kyrgyz, Tatars, Uzbeks, and Tajiks also live in this region. This region was brutally annexed by the Chinese Empire during the Manchu Dynasty. Under modern Communist rule, the region was officially rebranded as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Chinese authorities have consistently interpreted the Uyghur adherence to Islam and their Turkic culture as a sign of separatism and extremism; and have sought to end such cultural, religious, and traditional practices.
For example, in the city of Hotan, to the southeast of Kashgar, local government authorities are reportedly closing Islamic schools and conducting violent house-to-house searches. So far, seven religious schools have been closed down, and 39 individuals arrested. Radio Free Asia reported that a large group of Uyghurs who gathered to pray at a mosque outside of their village in late March were surrounded by local police and unnecessarily detained for hours. Furthermore, recent reports claim that conducting prayers outside of one´s home village is now deemed a “social crime”, and Uyghurs who engage in “cross-village worship” are being arrested and fined.
Uyghur Activism in the United States
The Uyghur American Association (UAA) is a U.S. based Uyghur group that advocates on behalf of their community in East Turkistan/Xinjiang. They are currently campaigning for the international community to establish an independent body to investigate the detention and execution of Abdurahman Azat and Kurbanjan Hemit, as well as all government excesses during the current security crackdown. UAA activists are generally worried that: “Although human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International express concern over the deteriorating situation in Xinjiang, expertise on the region is so scarce that activists agree that without critical support from Uyghur-run human rights organizations, very little information from within Xinjiang will see the light of day”.
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