Press Release – For Immediate Release
04 June 2021
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

On the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, during which thousands of Chinese protestors calling for democracy and respect for human rights were brutally suppressed, the World Uyghur Congress commemorates the victims and highlights the importance of democracy and freedom of speech and assembly. Students, teachers, activists and civilians were among those killed during the Tiananmen Square massacre, merely for exercising their right to freedom of assembly and calling for democracy.

“Democracy, freedom and human rights, which are at the core of a life free from oppression and violence, should never be taken for granted”, said WUC President, Dolkun Isa. “As the situation in China is getting increasingly critical, we cannot stop speaking out against these injustices in the hope of a better life for all those under the authoritarian CCP regime, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Southern Mongolians, and Chinese human rights defenders.” 

Events like the Tiananmen Square massacre, and the failure of the international community to take immediate and adequate action to hold those responsible to account, have indeed set a dangerous precedent for the further dramatic erosion of freedom of speech and assembly throughout China. The years that followed the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 saw many other peaceful demonstrations brutally oppressed by the Chinese authorities. In East Turkistan, examples that stand out are the Ghulja Massacre of 1997 and the Baren Uprising of 1990. The gradual deterioration of Uyghurs’ rights and basic freedoms accelerated dramatically in the 2010s, and has evolved in the full-scale, ongoing genocide that is visible today. 

The events of the past year(s) in Tibet and Hong Kong have further shown that the Chinese government will not shy away from violently cracking down on peaceful demonstrations that call for democratic rights. The erosion of the democratic system in Hong Kong in particular, as well as the expansion of China’s repressive regime abroad, should serve once more as a warning to the international community of the threat that China’s authoritarianism poses to the international rules-based order and the international community as a whole.  

In light of this, the WUC reiterates its calls on the international community to take appropriate steps to ensure that those responsible for violations of freedom of expression and assembly in China are held accountable. Most of all, it is imperative that the international community, including national governments and the European Union, firmly puts the promotion of human rights and democracy at the center of all their relationships with China.

On the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the WUC honours the memory of those who lost their lives striving for freedom and human rights. Governments and citizens who consider these values to be universal and indivisible should come together in unity and determination to work towards a world where no one is deprived of them.