RFA

Sun Wenguang shown in an undated photo.

Sun Wenguang, 75, is a retired physicist and professor who currently lives in Jinan in eastern China’s Shandong province. His father and brother were both members of the Nationalist Kuomintang Party and fled to Taiwan when the Communists took control of China in 1949. In 1956, Sun joined the Communist Youth League and later served as branch secretary in Shandong. After graduating from Shandong University in 1957 with a degree in physics, he stayed on to teach as a professor. But in 1960 he was targeted for the first of many times by the Communist Party during an “anti-rightist” campaign  for “counterrevolutionary” ideology.

After challenging the Communist Party’s approach to education in 1964, Sun was denounced during the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. He responded by hanging posters counterattacking his prosecutors and appealing to the Central Committee. He was arrested and detained or jailed on three different occasions over the next 12 years for “counterrevolutionary” words and deeds, but following each release, continued to speak out against the Party’s policies. In 1978 Sun was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in a Jinan “laogai” labor camp, during which time he wrote over 50 million words in letters commenting on national affairs. In 1981 his sentence was commuted.

Since his release, Sun has published over 100 written works outside of mainland China and become a signatory of “Charter 08,” a manifesto signed by over 300 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists to promote political reform and democratization in the People’s Republic of China. In 2009, while attending a ceremony to pay his respects to the late former prime minister Zhao Ziyang, he was beaten by five unknown assailants and hospitalized in critical condition. Later in 2009 he was elected honorary executive member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center.

In this recent interview, Sun speaks with RFA’s Uyghur service about his views on ethnic relations between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and what he calls failed government policies that led to unrest there in July this year.

RFA: Since the July 5 clashes between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Urumqi, you have been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government in terms of its treatment of Uyghurs. Have you had any reaction from the Chinese side?

Sun: Yes. I did get an official reaction right after publishing a first paper. I was called and issued a warning by the Public Security Bureau of Jinan city. I was asked “not to publish any opinions on this sensitive issue and instead write directly to ‘State Elders’ if I had any more concerns.” I sent two articles directly to President Hu Jintao and waited for nearly 10 days for his response. When I failed to receive any response, I started publishing my articles through various overseas Chinese media. So far I have published seven pieces.

RFA: What has been the reaction of the Chinese public?

Sun: Among tons of e-mail and voice-mails, the overwhelming majority disagreed with my stance, expressing strong criticism, and some have contained threats as well.

RFA: Have you ever been hesitant to write as a result of these reactions?

Sun: No, not at all. On the contrary, I feel more strongly than ever how crucial it has become to continue my writing,  because I deeply care about the unity of my country. I recognize that Xinjiang is an integral part of China and that the Uyghurs are an inseparable member of the big Chinese family.

RFA: We know that the government is also repeating similar rhetoric. What makes your perspective different from that presented by the government, as far as July 5 is concerned?

Sun: First of all, the July 5 incident was an uprising by Uyghur people in Xinjiang. Secondly, July 5 was not planned and carried out by the “three evil forces” overseas organizations. It was a result of 60 years of fundamentally wrong policy governing the Uyghurs. Thirdly, the July 5 uprising was not about looting, beating, and destruction—only a small part of it can be seen as such. The looting, beating and destruction was not the reason for, but the result of, July 5. State media should have shown balance in presenting all aspects of this tragedy, but failed. Fourthly, Wang Lequan, the regional Communist Party Chief, holds prime responsibility and therefore should be tried in a Chinese court. Lastly, severe and unsubstantiated punishment for those who participated is a wrong policy choice and goes against state interests.

RFA: For this comment, you could easily be labeled a “traitor” among Han Chinese people. You don’t worry about that?

Sun: I am from Shandong province, and I am proudly Chinese. At the same time, I view myself as being very nationalistic. My nationalism rejects the idea of suppressing weak people by catering to the whims of the strong and of oppressing victims by taking the side of the oppressor.

RFA: The government says most of the victims from July 5 were Han Chinese. Do you trust this propaganda?

Sun: It could be true. But problems in Xinjiang aren’t limited to what occurred on July 5 alone. In addition, civilian deaths continued in subsequent weeks. During the Baren uprising in 1990 and the Ghulja uprising in 1997, Uyghurs were the victims, and no Chinese civilians were killed. According to a 2005 Amnesty International report, in the eight years after the Ghulja uprising took place the Chinese government executed more than 200 Uyghurs. I offer my deep condolences for the ordinary Chinese who lost their lives during the July 5 incident. At the same time, I cannot forget the family members of the Uyghur victims. This is especially true these days, when we must face accountability.

RFA: Following July 5, particularly July 7-9 and later from Sept. 3-4, a large number of Han Chinese took to the streets with axes, batons, and other weapons to take revenge on the Uyghurs, killing many and destroying their property. Looking back, what would you say about this?

Sun: [Some] might have seen them as heroes. But personally I am ashamed and feel sorry for them. Today in Xinjiang, Han Chinese control the military, the government, the judicial system, finance—almost everything. Uyghurs are left in the weakest position. Taking all these advantages and then attacking the Uyghurs is a shameful act for a nation that claims 5,000 years of civilization. [The Han] were pretty sure that the government and military would back them up. Therefore, their actions had nothing to do with heroism. With minimal awareness of the law, they should have waited for a government response on the matter. And most importantly, they should have taken sides with the Uyghurs when they were abused by the government.

RFA: Interestingly enough, the government used totally different language when they referred to them as “rightfully angered people for the loss of loved ones on July 5.” The government used very soft language against them. What do you think about the position of the government?

Sun: If that was the case, then the Uyghurs who took to the streets on July 5 should be seen as acting in revenge for the Shaoguan mass killing. It is quite a reasonable comparison. Regardless of how you look at it, the problem here is not between ethnic Hans and Uyghurs. Instead, it is a problem between Uyghurs and a failed government policy. For a number of years, the government has labeled any expression of Uyghur discontent as terrorism and created the misconception among Han Chinese that Uyghurs are enemies of the State.

Secondly, Uyghurs are regarded as second-class citizens by the government, and that gives Han Chinese the idea that killing Uyghurs is not a crime, but a contribution to the State. The killing of Uyghur workers by hundreds of ethnic Han Chinese in Shaoguan is a good example of that …The truth of the matter is that Chinese people are not such ruthless and cruel people by nature. The incidents that took place in Shaoguan and Urumqi have, in fact, created an impression of Chinese people as being a lawless, cruel people who contradict their own values. At least this is the case in my eyes.

RFA: Before or after that incident, or any other incidents that have taken place in previous years, what mistakes have Uyghurs made to damage the good relationship between the two ethnic groups?

Sun: There are good and bad people, right and wrong people, in each group and community. There are some violent and radical groups among Uyghurs as well. But we [Han Chinese] cannot blame them before any fundamental steps have been taken by the government to adjust bad policy first. We do not have that right. They are living under “nuclear threat” by the government as opposed to the mere threat of baton sticks that we live under from them.

RFA: What do you want to tell the government?

Sun: The government is determined to apply harsh and swift punishment to the Uyghurs who were part of the July 5 incident. The government has to change its position by handling things more smoothly. They should especially end executions as a first response.

RFA: What is your message to the Chinese people?

Sun: Xinjiang is a vast territory with abundant natural resources. Uyghurs are an ancient and civilized people. We cannot “love the motherland” if we love only the land but hate its people. Also, we are not serving the unity of the motherland by protecting the land but fighting its people. In fact, this is separatism and undermines the unity of our motherland.

RFA: Are you optimistic about positive change for the situation in the Uyghur region in the near future?

Sun: I do not believe there are “bad” people or a “bad” nation. But there will be a handful of bad guys in every nation. If bad guys take power, then the relationship among the people will continue to get worse. China will, in the future, transition to democracy and a free press. That encourages understanding between the two nations on the basis of mutual respect and acceptance. I truly believe that these two nations can live side by side in fairness and democracy.

I am aware that my opinion doesn’t affect government policy. Overall, the government won’t care what I say at this moment. As a simple citizen, an experienced intellectual, and a proud Chinese nationalist, I can no longer remain silent on the unjust policy of the Chinese government towards Uyghurs.

www.rfa.org

ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST TURKISTAN Uyghur Foundation Stichting Oeigoeren Nederland Stichting Uighur Jurat Barat  Stichting Uyghur Oost-Turkestan Uyghur Logo Nederlanders Holland Europe HUMAN RIGHTS  Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Erkin Alptekin Rebiya Kadeer

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In recent days renewed violence has flared again in the regional capital Urumchi.

MEPs in the outgoing Parliament debated the rioting in July and Monday’s hearing was a follow up meeting.

Ms Kadeer denounced the Chinese version of events of the riots in and around Urumchi in July. She said that Beijing’s line that it was Uyghur “plotters” who went on an orgy of plunder was, “as is so often the case with Chinese reporting” – simply untrue.

“Demonization of Uyghurs protestors”

The Uyghur leader – who has twice been nominated for the Nobel peace prize – told MEPs: “The Chinese government, through its proxies in the official media, is obscuring the truth in order to conceal a mass killing of Uyghurs by Chinese security forces. Furthermore, through its demonization of Uyghurs protestors in the official media, it is attempting to justify the impending mass executions of Uyghurs as promised by Chinese officials.”

Ms Kadeer condemned the use of violence of both sides. “I feel pained by the loss of so many lives, Han Chinese and Uyghur, and condemn the violence which took place in Urumchi.”

She went on to explain: “The real context for the unrest is six decades of repressive policies by a Chinese Communist administration which has long sought to dilute Uyghur (Turkic ethnic Muslim minority) identity”.

Parallels with Tibet

Drawing parallels between the plight of the Uyghurs (what she termed “cultural genocide policy”) and Tibetans, the 62-year-old Uyghur leader and businesswoman said: “It is time for the Chinese government to sit and talk with me, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all those leaders of non-Han Chinese communities who have been vilified, imprisoned and slandered just because we happen to disagree with a bankrupt official policy”.

Concluding, Ms Kadeer demanded the EU put pressure on the Chinese authorities in order to allow an independent and true investigation that will state the correct figures regarding the number of arrested, detained and killed persons.

She stressed the need for a peaceful path, hoping that the Chinese government would under pressure from international, European and Islamic world respect the rights of her people.

Ms Kadeer’s call for an independent inquiry of the July events was supported by committee members, including Chairwoman Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland), who believed “there’s a case for an independent international investigation”. Speaking later at a press conference with the Uyghur leader, Hautala confirmed that China and human rights will be an issue that remains high on the EP agenda.

www.europarl.europa.eu

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According to Xinhua, the state news agency, Mr. Hu visited rural areas and factories; a major oil center; and the regional capital, Urumqi, where the rioting occurred.

On Tuesday, he told government officials and security forces that stability was a top priority in the region. “The key to our work in Xinjiang is to properly handle the relation between development and stability in the region,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Reporters gathered in Xinjiang this week in anticipation of the start of trials related to the riots. But an official with the news media office of the local Communist Party headquarters said that he had no information that any such trials would take place this week.

The official, Li Hua, said Tuesday by telephone that a report on Monday in China Daily, a state-run English-language newspaper, had incorrect information on the timeline for the trials. Some Chinese Web sites and foreign news organizations, including The New York Times, ran articles based on the China Daily report.

“Of course they have to be tried, just not according to the timeline of the China Daily story,” Mr. Li said, referring to the scores of men, mostly ethnic Uighurs, charged with taking part in the riots. Mr. Li said he had no information on exactly when the trials would start.

The China Daily article, published on the front page, said that more than 200 suspects had been formally charged with an array of crimes related to the rioting that began on July 5, and that trials were expected to start this week in Urumqi. The article cited an unnamed court official.

It also said the local police had gathered 3,318 pieces of evidence, including bricks and clubs stained with blood.

Some Chinese and foreign reporters have waited in Urumqi for the trials to start. In late July, China Daily had reported that the trials would start in August.

On Tuesday, Global Times, a newspaper published by the Communist Party’s main news organization, reported that the government had not yet set a date for the trial and that the number of suspects remained at 83. Global Times quoted Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman for the Xinjiang regional government, saying that the China Daily report was “totally untrue.”

The announcement of a trial date on a matter as delicate as the ethnic riots would usually be reported first through Xinhua. But Xinhua had yet to report on any fixed date as of late Tuesday.

The conflicting reports appeared to be an indication of growing competition among official news organizations in China as senior officials encourage more aggressive reporting on topics of international interest.

On July 5, mobs of Uighurs, Turkic-speaking people who make up the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang, stormed through the streets of Urumqi after clashes between Uighur protesters and riot police officers. The initial protesters had been holding a rally over the killing of Uighurs in an earlier ethnic brawl at a factory in southeastern China.

In the violence in Urumqi, at least 197 people were killed and 1,721 injured, most of them Han civilians, according to state news organizations. It was the deadliest ethnic riot in China in decades. The Han are the dominant ethnic group in China.

In the days afterward, Han vigilantes armed with sticks and knives went into Uighur neighborhoods to exact revenge.

Uighurs in Urumqi say the government has not given an accurate count of Uighur casualties.

source: www.nytimes.com

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The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) government is currently considering a draft regulation that would tighten formal legal prohibitions on children’s freedom of religion and parents’ right to impart religious teachings. A draft XUAR regulation on the protection of minors, submitted for deliberation to the Standing Committee of the XUAR People’s Congress in June, adds new language that elaborates on and tightens enforcement of an existing XUAR legal prohibition on children’s freedom of religion that already constitutes the harshest known legal provision on the issue within China. According to a June 1 report from Urumchi Online and June 8 report from Legal Daily (via MOFCOM’s China Market Order Net), the proposed draft specifies that parents or guardians “may not permit minors to be engaged in religious activities” and “no organization or individual may lure or force minors to participate in religious activities or use religion to obstruct minors’ compulsory education.” In addition, where minors are “lured” or “forced” into such activities, they “can ask for protection from schools, neighborhood committees, village committees, offices for the protection of minors, or public security organs,” and such “organizations or work units receiving requests for help must take measures in a timely manner and not refuse or shift responsibility.” The draft provisions under consideration “target the demands of real conditions in the region, consolidating the attack against the ‘three forces’ [terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism] and specially rectifying illegal religious activities,” according to the Urumchi Online report. The provisions also “are directed at the phenomenon in some places in Xinjiang of parents or other guardians forcing minors to believe in a religion or participate in religious activities,” according to the Legal Daily report.

The relevant legal provision currently in force in the XUAR, article 14 of the XUAR’s 1993 Implementing Measures for the Law on the Protection of Minors, specifies that “parents or other guardians may not permit minors to be engaged in religious activities.” The wording in article 14 is unseen elsewhere in China. In the 2005 report Devastating Blows: Religious Repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang, Human Rights Watch and Human Rights in China reported that neither the national Law on the Protection of Minors nor other provinces’ implementing measures include such a provision. Some other provincial-level regulations have dealt with aspects of religious practice among minors but are not as restrictive as the current provision in force in the XUAR or the draft provisions under deliberation. See, for example, article 33 of the Fujian Province Implementing Measures on the Law on the Protection of Minors (specifying that “no organization or individual may force, trick, or instigate a minor to believe in a religion or participate in feudal superstition activities”) and article 13 of the Inner Mongolia Implementing Measures on the Management of Venues for Religious Activity (specifying that “venues for religious activities must not recruit minors to join the religion”). A Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) official stated in 2005 that no laws prohibit minors from believing in a religion and that parents may give a religious education to children, according to a March 16, 2005 press conference summary from the MFA. The national Regulation on Religious Affairs is silent on the issue of children’s freedom of religion and parents’ right to impart religious teachings to their children.

The formal legal restriction on children’s freedom of religion in the XUAR accompanies harsh measures implemented in practice, and the proposed regulation comes during a period of heightened controls over religion implemented in the region as part of wide-scale security measures and anti-separatism propaganda campaigns. As reported in previous Commission analysis (1, 2), recent controls over religion have targeted children among other groups. In addition, according to a June 5 report from Radio Free Asia (RFA), the Ili Intermediate People’s Court in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture sentenced 12 young Uyghur men in March 2009 to prison terms between 3 years to life for separatist crimes, based on what a family member described as their activities providing religious instruction to children. According to RFA, the men sentenced to the prison terms are Merdan Seyitakhun, Ahmetjan Emet, Mewlanjan Ahmet, Kurbanjan Semet, Dolkun Erkin, Omerjan Mehmet, Seydehmet Awut, Erkin Emet, Abdujilil Abdughupur, Abdulitip Ablimit, Mutelip Rozi, and Ubulkasim.

For more information on conditions in the XUAR, see Section II–Freedom of Religion–Islam and Section IV–Xinjiang in the CECC 2008 Annual Report.

ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST TURKISTAN Uyghur Foundation Stichting Oeigoeren Nederland Stichting Uighur Jurat Barat  Stichting Uyghur Oost-Turkestan Uyghur Logo Nederlanders Holland Europe HUMAN RIGHTS  Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Erkin Alptekin Rebiya Kadeer

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In recent months, two local governments in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) published reports on the government and Communist Party-led political training of Muslim women religious figures known as büwi. (Büwi is a Uyghur word transliterated in the Chinese-language reports cited here as buwei. See the next paragraph for more information on the term.) According to an April 4 report on the Peyziwat (Jiashi) county (Kashgar district) government Web site, government and Communist Party officials in Yéngi Mehelle (Yingmaili) township gathered the büwi of 10 local villages for training in government and Party policy toward religion and to sign a pledge to “uphold stability.” Based on the pledge, the women will refrain from “wearing veils or long dresses, teaching religious texts to students, and forcing other individuals to participate in religious activities.” As part of efforts to train all religious figures in rotation over a four-year period, the Bayangol Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in the XUAR already has provided training to 100 büwi, according to a June 4 report on the prefectural government Web site.

Some of the Chinese reports (including the Bayangol report discussed above as well as reports in the following paragraphs) define büwi as women who wash corpses and perform religious rites at the homes of the deceased. The term also broadly encompasses Muslim women with a level of religious knowledge who are able to read the Quran and provide religious instruction. (Information based on CECC staff interview. See also basic definitions in the Yulghun dictionary.) For a description of büwi specifically as “Women Sufi ritualists,” see an article on the “Music of the Uyghurs” by scholars Rachel Harris and Yasin Muhpul, posted on the Web site of the London Uyghur Ensemble.

The recent information on training büwi follows a proposal from the 2nd meeting of the 10th XUAR People’s Political Consultative Conference (XUAR PPCC), initiated by the Vice-Chairwoman of the XUAR Women’s Federation and dated December 23, 2008, on bringing büwi under government and Party management, according to a copy of the proposal posted April 2, 2009, on the XUAR PPCC Web site. The proposal states that büwi have existed in a “no-man’s land” without state oversight and calls for taking advantage of the women’s social status to spread the Party’s religious and ethnic policies among Muslim women. The proposal also states that failing to capitalize on büwi’s status to disseminate Party policy could permit “hostile elements within and outside of [China’s] borders” to use religious and ethnic customs to “carry out infiltration activities among women.” The proposal adds that in some ethnic minority areas, where “a religious atmosphere is comparatively strong,” women believers are devout and their thinking is “ignorant, lacking common sense and reason,” thus making them vulnerable to infiltration by the “three forces” of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism. It also cites cases of such forces “using” büwi to carry out “illegal sermonizing activities.” In addition, the proposal expresses concern that in some areas, some ethnic minority women “still” wear face coverings and clothing with a “pronounced religious hue.” Moreover, many rural women believers have “limited social interaction,” “relatively weak capacity for distinguishing right from wrong,” and are susceptible to being “incited” or “misled” by “bad people.”

The proposal lists four measures to address the “problem” of lack of oversight of büwi and risks of “infiltration” by hostile forces. First, it calls for drawing büwi under official supervision so that büwi can aid in activities such as “educating women to differentiate lawful religious activities” from illegal ones and to differentiate “the bounds of ethnic social customs and religious activities.” In addition, büwi working in this capacity can report on religious activities and the state of women’s thinking to Party authorities and help curb cases of women’s participation in “illegal religious activities” and “underground sermonizing activities.” Second, the proposal recommends a system whereby büwi voluntarily apply for training and under which applications are vetted by the state-controlled Islamic associations at local levels. Under this system, preferred applicants are to be “politically reliable” and possess a “definite level of culture and knowledge of religious texts.” Third, the proposal calls for organizing an administrative body under the lead of the United Front Work Department–the Communist Party organization that among other things oversees religious communities in China–and including offices such as the public security bureau, women’s federations, Islamic associations, and ethnic and religious affairs offices. Finally, the proposal outlines the content of training, which includes studying such texts as “Definitions of 23 Types of Illegal Religious Activities” and conveying information on appropriate procedures for Muslim funerals. (See a copy of the “Definitions of 23 Types of Illegal Religious Activities” posted February 2, 2008, on the Chinggil (Qinghe) county, Altay district, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture government Web site.) (See also a condensed text similar to the proposal on büwi submitted as a suggestion at the 2nd meeting of the 10th XUAR PPCC, posted January 12, 2009, on the Web site of the XUAR PPCC.)

Although political consultative conferences have an advisory function and their proposals do not carry binding legislative force, the XUAR PPCC proposal may reflect a trend in increasing efforts to regulate the activities of büwi in the XUAR. (See a description of the national Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), posted March 4 on the China Daily Web site, and an undated introduction on the Web site of the National Committee of the CPPCC for background information on CPPCC proposals.) The proposal also underscores the role that women’s federations have played in serving as a bridge for government and Party policy in areas such as religious oversight and anti-separatism campaigns. See, for example, an April 7 report from Toqsu (Xinhe) county, Aqsu district (via Xinjiang Peace Net), describing “outstanding problems” in “bizarre” women’s apparel and noting that an expert invited by the XUAR Women’s Federation provided a “correct interpretation” of the Quran’s views toward women’s clothes. See also information in a previous CECC analysis on the role of a prefectural women’s federation in carrying out anti-separatism activities among women.

The Commission also has found reports of steps to train or supervise büwi and other people described as corpse washers prior to the late 2008 and 2009 proposal and reports. See, for example, 2007 reports from Chira, Lop, and Niye (Minfeng) counties, all within Hoten district (reports all via the Hoten district government Web site), describing steps by women’s federations through which female party cadres engage in “talks” with female corpse washers. Also in 2007, Yopurgha (Yuepuhu) county in Kashgar district trained 38 büwi and other personnel who wash corpses to inform villages about “legal” religious behavior and the Party’s religious policy, according to a report that year from the Yopurgha government Web site. In June 2007, the Maytagh (Dushanzi) district government in Qaramay city included corpse washers in classes about the “reactionary nature” of the “Islamic Liberation Party,” according to a report that month from the district government Web site.

The late 2008 and 2009 reports on the training of büwi come during a period of heightened controls over religion in the region implemented as part of broader security and anti-separatism campaigns. See previous Commission analysis (1, 2) for details. For more information on conditions in the XUAR, see section IV–Xinjiang, in the CECC 2008 Annual Report.

ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST TURKISTAN Uyghur Foundation Stichting Oeigoeren Nederland Stichting Uighur Jurat Barat  Stichting Uyghur Oost-Turkestan Uyghur Logo Nederlanders Holland Europe HUMAN RIGHTS  Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Erkin Alptekin Rebiya Kadeer

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The Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer has accused the Chinese government of “psychologically torturing” her children, who have written open letters criticizing their mother, and even appeared on national television to accuse her of having instigated Uyghur’s revolt in Urumqi last July.

Speaking with journalists, the Uyghur leader said her daughter Roxingul and her son Alim were forced to accuse her, and bend to the will of Beijing: “The method being used by the Chinese government is perhaps the worst kind of violence against my children! to force them to speak against me … I think that this is a form of dictatorship imposed on them”.

Two days ago, in the early evening the children and the brother of Kadeer appeared on national television news. “The road my mother has chosen leads to a bottomless hole,” said her son Alim, 33, in prison for tax evasion. “With such a strong nation [China], she will fail in her project of separatism.”

A day before the Chinese media gave extensive space to an open letter by her children as they repeated the same accusations that Beijing has laid against Kadeer: of being the cause of the Uyghur revolt in Urumqi and wanting to divide the nation.

The revolts began on July 5, then degenerated into ethnic clashes between Muslim Uyghurs and Chinese Han, which led to the deaths of at least 197 people. China has detained thousands of Uyghurs, but according to Kadeer “in one night” at least 10 thousand people went missing.

“It’s hard for me to imagine what kind of psychological torture they are going through right now,” said the Uyghur leader. “When I was in prison, I was also forced by the Chinese government to say things against my will, in a video posted on a website.”

62 year old Rebiya Kadeer, once a successful businesswoman and member of the Party, fell into disgrace when she began to seek more rights and autonomy for the Uyghur criticizing the government’s policy of colonization. For this she was imprisoned for 5 years. Released in 2005 thanks to international pressure, she now lives in exile in the United States and is a member of the World Uygur Congress.

After a visit to Japan, she has recently arrived in Melbourne to attend the International Film Festival, where a documentary about her life will be shown for the first time.

China initially tried to remove the film from the program, then, faced with a no from organizers, withdrew all Chinese films. In the preceding weeks Beijing also criticized Japan for having given an entry visa to Kadeer and reproached Turkey for having defended the Uyghurs. “China – said the Uyghur leaders – has also put pressure on the United States to curb my activities. I think that because of me, the Chinese government is trying in practice to impose its authoritarianism throughout the world. ”

source: www.speroforum.com

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ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST TURKISTAN Uyghur Foundation Stichting Oeigoeren Nederland Stichting Uighur Jurat Barat  Stichting Uyghur Oost-Turkestan Uyghur Logo Nederlanders Holland Europe HUMAN RIGHTS  Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Erkin Alptekin Rebiya Kadeer

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