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Afraid of disappearing

RAFTO, 6 February 2014

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“Uyghurs are afraid of disappearing as a people. It is a kind of fear of extinction,” says Semet Abla, advocate for the Norwegian Uyghur Committee.

Today the Rafto Foundation turns their attention and support to the Uyghurs. We commemorate the Uyghurs who were killed or imprisoned after the Ghulja Massacre on 5 February 1997, and later in the Urumchi Massacre on 5 July 2009. We shall always remember the massacres and commit ourselves to do our utmost to help and support the Uyghurs.

In 2004, Rebiya Kadeer was awarded the Rafto Prize for her struggle for basic human rights for the Uyghurs.

The bloody year of 2013
“The situation is very bad,” says Semet Abla when asked how the current situation is for Uyghurs living in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, “Uyghurs live under massive suppression, discrimination and injustice. Uyghurs live under a threat of extinction. All Uyghurs, both in Xinjiang and internationally – everyone feels this threat, it is very severe.”

2013 was a turbulent year in Xinjiang. It is estimated that up to 219 people died in violent incidents in the region according to a table published by Open Democracy. The table shows that there has been one, or more, fatal incidents every month from March till December. Over one hundred people, both Uyghurs, Han Chinese, and other ethnicities, were killed in incidents across the region, Human Rights Watch write in their “World Report 2014: Events of 2013.”

“It has been a bloody year. This is a result of the government’s discriminatory and unjust policy, and strike hard campaign that they implemented. Life consists of unfair treatment, discrimination, and religious and linguistic oppression,” states Abla.

A desperate situation
The Chinese government changed course last year from focusing on economic development in Xinjiang to a focus on security according to Abla. He explains that the governments “strike hard” campaign has left the Uyghurs in the region angry and desperate.

“They cannot express their discontent because then they are branded as terrorists, religious extremists and separatists. People tried to show their displeasure by peaceful means, but the government will not listen to them. They do not understand why people are angry. They will not listen. All they do is strike hard. People are desperate. 2013 indicate a desperate situation that has arisen in the region,” says Abla.

No distinction between peaceful protest and terrorism
There have been many incidents of violence and deaths several places in Xinjiang over the past five years. According to Arne Liljedahl Lynngård, Rafto Foundation Advisor on Uyghur issues, this has happened as a result of clashes between Uyghurs and local police, authorities and security personnel. Like Abla, he says that the Chinese authorities brand the Uyghurs involved as separatists and terrorists.

“In reality these clashes are due to dissatisfaction and local problems, and Uyghurs protesting against discrimination and the restrictive measures directed against their religious and cultural practices. The problem in China today is that the government does not distinguish between peaceful protests and terrorism, nor between organized terrorism and spontaneous violence due to religious, social and cultural discontent. The Chinese government is currently prosecuting minority dissidents mercilessly in the name of anti-terrorism. The international community must condemn the unreasonable penalties placed on peaceful dissidents by Chinese authorities” explains Liljedahl Lynngård.

Life is getting worse
Mass migration of Han Chinese to Xinjiang started in the early 1960s. Today the Uyghurs represent less than half of the region’s population while the number of Han continues to rise. Xinjiang is a region rich with natural recourses, and the migration has led to struggle over land and resources, which in turn has increased the conflicts.

“It is a paradox that whilst the economic development continues, the human rights situation has worsened in Xinjiang. China’s ethnic assimilation policy, such as deleting the traces of Uyghur civilization in Kashgar and other cities, will only deepen Uyghur resentment. It is time for Xi Jinping and the Central Politburo Standing Committee to hold themselves accountable for Uyghur rejection of government policies, and handle the crisis, not as a threat to state security and social stability, but as a policy failure,” says Liljedahl Lynngård.

“After the communists took power in China, our situation has become worse and worse. Uyghurs have been oppressed in every way and have become a minority in their own country. We hope that the international community understands our situation and care about our situation. We hope our case will be better known internationally so that China will be forced to stop discrimination in Xinjiang,” says Abla.

The Rafto Foundation calls upon the Norwegian government and the international society to acknowledge and contribute to end oppression against Uyghurs by China.

Uyghur
The Uyghurs are a Turkic speaking people who are primarily moderate Sunni Muslims. The Uyghur people call their homeland East Turkestan. Officially it is called Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and is located in the north-west part of the People’s Republic of China. Uyghurs have a history of over 4 000 years in the region and have been ruled by China since 1949. According to the World Uyghur Congress, the Chinese reign in Xinjiang is considered the darkest chapter in the history of Uyghurs and the region.

Rebiya Kadeer is one of the people who have contributed to making the Uyghurs’ situation known. She is a prominent human rights advocate who spent nearly six years in prison for standing up to the Chinese government. Currently she is the president of the World Uyghur Congress. She was awarded the Rafto Prize in 2004 for her struggle for the Uyghurs’ basic human rights. Rebiya Kadeer was sentenced to eight years in prison, but after receiving the Rafto Prize, her case got attention and the United States pressured China to release her.

Written by Åse Schytte, Project Consultant Rafto Foundation Information Department

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