Ethnic Uighurs pushing for independence from China
Radio Australia, 14 May 2012
Ethnic Uighurs from around the world have gathered in Japan, for a meeting to press their case for independence from China.
They want the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, a territory in Western China to become independent of China.
Ethnic tensions have led to sporadic flashes of violence in China’s Xinjiang region, which is home to nine million Uighurs.
The exiled head of the World Uyghur Congress, Rebiya Kadeer has opened proceedings at the fourth meeting of the body in Tokyo.
China considers the congress a “splittist” organisation and has condemned Japan’s issuing of a visa for Ms Kadeer, who last visited the country in 2009.
Ms Kadeer lives in exile in the United States.
She told those assembled that Beijing’s policy of forcible assimilation is unacceptable in a modern democracy.
“The Chinese government says it is assimilating and eventually eliminating the Uighur people and other indigenous people, meanwhile China is becoming a global power,” she said.
“We are peacefully struggling and hope the Chinese government will stop the repressing of Uighur people.
“Chinese-style communism, Chinese-style human rights and Chinese-style democratisation is not up to date,”
She said China must embrace democracy and peace and stop the forcible assimilation of Uighurs and other peoples.
Ms Kadeer was referring to ethnic Mongols and Tibetans who have their own independence struggles.