Ghulja Massacre remains a stain on China’s human rights record

For immediate release
February 4, 2011, 11:15 am EST
Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 478 1920

On the fourteenth anniversary of the Ghulja Massacre, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) calls on Chinese authorities to fully account for the brutal actions they took on that day and during the ensuing crackdown. On February 5, 1997, police shot at unarmed Uyghur demonstrators in the city of Ghulja [Ch: Yining] in the northwest part of East Turkestan. Witnesses reported that most of the ten to fifteen thousand demonstrators were young men, but women and children who were present among the crowds were among those injured and killed by fully armed paramilitary police. Authorities subsequently rounded up thousands of Uyghurs, including fleeing demonstrators, people who were suspected of participating in the demonstration, and even their family members.

The Chinese government has ignored calls from international human rights groups, including Amnesty International, to investigate allegations of serious human rights violations in Ghulja, and to address the grievances of demonstrators. Groups such as Amnesty have underscored the urgent need to address the grievances that sparked both the Ghulja protests in 1997 and the protests that took place in the regional capital of Urumchi on July 5, 2009.

Despite the arrival of Xinjiang Party chief Zhang Chunxian in April 2010, whose replacement of former Party Secretary Wang Lequan caused some observers to hope for a more transparent regional government, there has been no indication that authorities have opened up criminal and judicial procedures to more public scrutiny. Reports emerged in the latter half of 2010 of Uyghur journalists and bloggers being sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including life, in closed trials that were not officially reported. In addition, courts in East Turkestan continued to rely heavily on “state secrets” charges to persecute Uyghurs, and to crack down on Uyghur dissent with impunity.

In a report published early this year on human rights conditions around the world, Human Rights Watch criticized the Chinese government for its failure to facilitate investigations into the protests that took place in Urumchi in 2009 and Tibet in 2008:

“The Chinese government has still not issued invitations to the UN high commissioner for human rights or a half-dozen other special rapporteurs who requested visits in the wake of the Tibet and Xinjiang protests.”

On July 5, 2009, Uyghurs took to the streets to call for justice following deadly attacks on Uyghur workers in Guangdong Province. Demonstrators in Urumchi who were interviewed by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) stated that long-standing concerns over such issues as arbitrary detention, employment discrimination and the elimination of the Uyghur language in education also fueled the protests. Eyewitnesses interviewed by UHRP reported that Chinese police used live deadly fire against protestors, as well as other types of extreme force. Eyewitness reports contrast sharply with the Chinese government’s version of events.

Chinese authorities have refused to allow an independent and international investigation into the July 5 unrest, and have attempted to manage and control information about unrest that rocked Urumchi in both July and September. An Internet and cell phone lockdown implemented in the region beginning the night after July 5 prevented both residents and international observers from obtaining information about what was happening in Urumchi. The communications blackout also aided authorities’ efforts to obscure information about ongoing arbitrary detentions, unfair trials, and executions of individuals alleged to have taken part in July 5 protests and violence.

Demonstrators in Ghulja took part in a non-violent march calling for an end to religious repression and ethnic discrimination in the city. Among the policies that sparked the demonstration was the prohibition on traditional Uyghur gatherings known as “meshrep”. Chinese authorities banned “meshrep” just prior to the demonstration, despite the fact that they had been successful in fighting alcohol and drug abuse among Uyghur young people.

Ironically, Chinese officials submitted “meshrep”, which continues to be banned, to the UNESCO list of ‘intangible heritage’ traditions around the world that need to be protected. UNESCO accepted China’s submission, adding “meshrep” to the list of traditions that require urgent safeguarding. Chinese authorities’ calls to protect “meshrep” without lifting the ban on the gatherings is even more ironic in light of the government’s destruction of the Old City of Kashgar, which began in February 2009. Chinese officials have ignored the pleas of domestic and international preservationists and human rights groups to stop razing the Old City, and to add the city to its submission to UNESCO of Chinese Silk Road locations.

It is estimated that the majority of the Old City will have disappeared by the end of 2011. Kashgar, and particularly the Old City, has long been viewed as the cradle of Uyghur culture, and served as an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Evidence suggests that authorities ignored the deep concerns over the project held by the more than 200,000 Uyghur residents who lived in the Old City prior to February 2009. Residents were not given a choice regarding whether or not they wanted to move, and there have many reports of inadequate compensation for property that had been in Uyghur families for generations.

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