On 9/11, Remembering the Victims of Terrorism

For immediate release
September 11, 2007, 3:30 PM EST
Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 349 1496

On the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) remembers the tragic loss of life at the hands of terrorists, and offers condolences to victims of terrorism throughout the world.

“The Uyghur people will always stand with the people of the United States against terrorism,” said prominent Uyghur leader and human rights activist, Rebiya Kadeer. “Lasting political change can only be accomplished through peaceful and democratic means. Since the terrible events of 9/11, the Uyghur people have become victims, as the PRC government has used the ‘global war on terror’ to persecute Uyghurs both in China and all over the world.”

In the past six years, the PRC has maneuvered to utilize the threat of “terrorism” as a justification for its repressive treatment of Uyghurs in East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or XUAR) and the pursuit and harassment of Uyghur refugees who have fled the PRC for other countries.

This campaign against the Uyghur people has resulted in a deteriorating human rights situation in East Turkestan. A series of crackdowns have led to detentions, arrests, torture, and executions, as the PRC government has attempted to silence all forms of Uyghur protest, no matter how peaceful, by labeling them as “terrorism”. Internationally, the PRC has used its influence within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to pressure neighboring countries to return Uyghur activists to China, where they are subjected to the country’s arbitrary and non-transparent legal system. In addition, the government has attempted to influence overseas Uyghur activists by harassing family members who remain in East Turkestan.

“The PRC government must stop using the concept of ‘terrorism’ to persecute the Uyghur people,” stated Ms. Kadeer. “Chinese authorities should work to end human rights abuses, stop trying to intimidate Uyghurs living outside of China, and address the legitimate concerns of the Uyghur people in East Turkestan.”

Since East Turkestan was incorporated into the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Uyghurs, who make up the region’s largest ethnic group, have lived without the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and religion, and without the freedom to use and develop their language, all rights that are guaranteed under PRC law and in the PRC Constitution.