Press Release – For Immediate Release
03 June 2022
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) commemorates the 33^rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. On June 4, 1989, thousands of Chinese protestors in Beijing called for democracy and respect for human rights.As a result, the Chinese government brutally cracked down on the peaceful protestors and the peaceful demonstrations. Countless students, teachers, activists, and civilians were killed during the Tiananmen Square massacre, for merely exercising their freedom of speech and assembly.

‘’Thirty-three years ago, the Chinese Communist Party killed thousands of students demanding democracy,’’ said WUC President, Dolkun Isa. ‘’Today, the CCP has interned millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps in East Turkistan. The world must wake up and hold the CCP to account for its past and ongoing crimes.’’

A year before the Tiananmen protests, a similar protest was organized in the capital region of East Turkistan, Urumchi, where thousands of Uyghur students mobilized to demand the same democratic rights. It was brutally suppressed by the Chinese government. It serves as a reminder that the central government sees democracy and human rights as a threat. 

The recent ‘’Xinjiang Police Files’’ which exposed over 5,000 police photographs of Uyghurs retrieved from the hacked files between January and July 2018 portrays the brutal nature of the Uyghur genocide. This must be our wake up call.

The visit of the UN High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet failed to consider the urgent demands of the Uyghur community, turning this visit into a propaganda blitz. With this missed opportunity to hold the Chinese government accountable, the UN and the international community must explore alternative avenues of justice and accountability.