For immediate release
27 November 2006
Contact: General Secretariat
Tel: 089 54321999, Fax: 089 54349789, [email protected]

Munich – The World Uyghur Congress has successfully held its Second Assembly from November 24 to 27 in Munich, Germany. WUC delegates from the United States, Canada, the Great Britain, Australia, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan attended this assembly. Prominent Uyghur political leader and human rights activist Ms. Rebiya Kadeer was unanimously elected as the new President of World Uyghur Congress.

”I am really delighted to be elected as the new president,” said Ms. Kadeer, who is also the president of the Uyghur American Association based in Washington, DC. ”I promise that I will peacefully struggle for Uyghur people’s freedom and human rights until they have them.”

”Ms. Kadeer’s election marks a new beginning for our freedom movement, and I am confident that she will take our cause to a new level and change the future of Uyghur people,” said Erkin Alptekin, former WUC President.

Ms. Kadeer’s election has given new hope and strength for WUC and the Uyghur people all around the world. Since her release from Chinese custody in March 2005 to the U.S., Ms. Kadeer has never stopped fighting for the human rights, religious freedom and democracy of the Uyghur people who have been suffering under China’s authoritarian rule since 1949.

To retaliate Ms. Kadeer’s human rights activism and silence her voice in the world, the Chinese government arrested her three sons and put her daughter under house arrest in early June. The Chinese authorities even threatened her not to nominate herself as WUC president, or else her sons would be punished just a week before the WUC II Assembly. Today, Ms. Kadeer’s youngest son Alim Abdureyim was sentenced to seven years by a Chinese court on charges of tax evasion and released her oldest son Kahar Abdureyim with huge fines on the same charges. However, there is still not any kind of information regarding her third son Ablikim Abdureyim.

”All my three sons are innocent, and the Chinese authorities knew that clearly” said Ms. Kadeer, ”the Chinese government made clear to the world with today’s political decision that human rights and rule of law have no place in China.”

Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, 60, is a former prisoner of conscience. She is the 2004 Rafto Award laureate and 2005/2006 Nobel Peace Prize candidate. She has been universally recognized as ‘the Mother of Uyghur Nation’ by the Uyghur people both in East Turkistan and abroad.

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WUC New Leadership:

Honorary Chairman:                                                         Mehmet Riza Bekin

Chief Advisor :                                                                      Erkin Alptekin

Advisor :                                                                                 Sidikhaji Rozi

President: Ms. Rebiya Kadeer

Vice-presidents:                                                                   Kahriman Ghojamberdi, Memet Tohti,

Eskercan, Siyit Tumturk,

Chairman of Executive Committee:                                  Alim Seytoff

Vice-chairman of Executive Committee:                         Ablikim Idris

General Secretary:                                                                  Dolkun Isa

Spokesman:                                                                              Dilshat Reshit

Treasury :                                                                                  Nurexmet Tursun

Derictor of Public Relation :                                                Abdujelil Emet

Derictor of Information and Reaserch Center:               Dr. Hamit Hemrayev

Derictor of Media and Publication :                                   Abdujelil Turan

Derictor of Uyghur Cultural Center :                                   Dr. Kahar Barat

Derictor of Religious Affairs :                                                Turghunjan Alawudun

Derictor of Refugees Center :                                                  Omer Memet

Derictor of Youth Comittee :                                                   Bextiyar Semsidin

Derictor of Women’s Comittee :                                             Tamara Memetova, Aygul Yüsüp

Legal Advisor :                                                                            Tursun Islam, Gulinur Jalalova

Representatvies of WUC

Sweden :                                                                                        Faruq Sadikov

Kyrgyzstan :                                                                                 Tursun Islam

Norway:                                                                                         Abdusemet Abla

United Kingdom:                                                                        Enver Tohti

Australia :                                                                                     Husen Hesen