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East Turkistan National Awakening Movement

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East Turkistan National Movement (also known as East Turkistan National Awakening Movement)
AbbreviationETNM / ETNAM
FormationJune 2017; 7 years ago (June 2017)
TypeNon-Profit NGO
PurposeAdvocating for the human rights of East Turkistan's people and the independence of East Turkistan.
Location
Region served
International
Official languages
English, Uyghur
Founder and President
Salih Hudayar
Websitenationalawakening.org

The East Turkistan National Movement (abbr. ETNM; Uyghur: شەرقىي تۈركىستان مىللىي ھەرىكىتى) also known as the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (abbr. ETNAM; Uyghur: شەرقىي تۈركىستان مىللىي ئويغۇنۇش ھەرىكىتى) is a non-profit human rights and political advocacy organization established in June 2017[1] in Washington D.C.[2] Salih Hudayar, a Uyghur American consultant and graduate student founded the group after pre-existing Uyghur organizations failed to openly call for East Turkestan independence deeming it "controversial".[3]

Advocacy

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According to ETNM, it seeks to establish "unity, democratic values and compassion" amongst the people of East Turkistan.[4]

ETNM strongly believes that the East Turkistan National Movement is not exclusive to the Uyghurs but all Turkic peoples of East Turkistan including Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tatars, and others.[5] The group advocates for "the end of China's colonization and occupation of East Turkistan and actively strives to restore the independence of East Turkestan."[6]

ETNM shares an office with the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile (ETGE). Although the ETGE has existed since 2004, ETNM is the most prominent Uyghur NGO to not portray the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan as a simply a "persecuted minority," but rather as an occupied nation.[2]

Activities

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Since its founding, ETNM has organized numerous demonstrations calling for the independence of East Turkistan[7][8] and lobbied members of the US Congress to enact bills to help "protect" the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples of Xinjiang.[9] On 20 December 2018, in remembrance of the 69th anniversary of China's occupation of East Turkistan, the group organized a march from the White House[10] to the State Department and called on the US government to "recognize the genocide occurring in East Turkistan" and also called on the United Nations to "act according to the UN Genocide Convention and stop the 21st century Holocaust".[11]

Hudayar gave a speech calling on support for achieving East Turkestan's independence at a Committee on the Present Danger: China event on 9 April 2019.[12]

In 2019, researchers with the ETNM claimed to have identified at least 124 internment camps,[13] 193 prisons, and 66 bingtuan labor camps along with 37 military facilities in Xinjiang".[citation needed]

On 1 October 2019, the 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China, Hudayar joined dozens of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Mongolians, and Kazakhs in front of the United Nations in New York City, where he called on the United Nations to recognize China's atrocities against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and others as a genocide and to recognize East Turkistan, Tibet, and South Mongolia as Occupied Territories.[14] On 11 October 2019, ETNAM participated in a joint rally for Hong Kong hosted by the College Democrats and the College Republicans of the Catholic University of America where Hudayar joined former Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the White House, Brigadier General Robert Spalding in calling for support for Hong Kong.[15]

On 12 November 2019, the 86th Anniversary of the First East Turkestan Republic and the 75th Anniversary of the Second East Turkistan Republic, ETNM held a press conference where they released the coordinates of 182 suspected concentration camps, along with producing a map of East Turkistan containing 209 points labeled prisons, and 74 points labeled labor camps.[16][17][18] ETNM stated it would release further coordinates of prisons and labor camps in coming weeks.[19] After the press conference, ETNM also held a joint demonstration with the East Turkistan Government in Exile in front of the US Capitol, where they called on the US Congress to pass the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and to recognize East Turkistan as an Occupied Territory.[20]

In late February 2020, ETNM called on the international community to turn their attention to the alleged plight of the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] Starting in early March 2020, Hudayar, who was elected Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile on 11 November 2019, spoke to numerous journalists and media outlets about China's forced transfer of Uyghur and other Turkic peoples to Chinese provinces for forced labor which he described as "slave labor."[22][23][24] On 19 June 2020, ETNM held a demonstration in front of the White House to thank the United States Government for passing and signing the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act into law.[25] ETNM also called on for independence for East Turkistan and condemned China's oppression of Uyghur and other Turkic peoples.[26]

ICC Case

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On 6 July 2020, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that the East Turkistan National Movement (ETNM) and the East Turkistan Government in Exile filed an official complaint urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute Chinese officials for genocide and other crimes against humanity.[27][28] The complaint is the first attempt to use an international legal forum to challenge China over allegations of extensive human rights abuses against Muslim Turkic people in Xinjiang.[29][30] The 80-page complaint included a list of more than 30 senior Chinese officials, including Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, whom the organization holds responsible.[31][32] The next day, ETGE and the ETNAM held an online press conference in Washington, DC and The Hague.[33] Hudayar told Radio Free Asia's Chinese service that "for too long we have been oppressed by China and its Communist Party and we have suffered so much that the genocide of our people can be no longer ignored."[34]

On 9 July 2020, the US Government sanctioned 3 senior Chinese officials including Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo and Zhu Hailun who were among the 30 officials mentioned in the complaint to the ICC.[35] Hudayar told Radio Free Asia that the ETGE welcomed the sanctions and that Uyghurs wanted real justice. He stated that the Chinese officials should be put on trial like the Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "East Turkistan National Awakening Movement Inc". GuideStar. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b Lepeska, David. "Uighurs accuse Turkey of betrayal, seek new friends". Ahval News. Ahval News. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  3. ^ Shenoy, Rupa. "As families are lost to China's 're-education camps,' US Uighurs are split". PRI's The World. Public Radio International. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  4. ^ "About ETNAM – East Turkistan National Awakening Movement". nationalawakening.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Amerikida Otkuzuliwatqan 2 Ayliq Namayish Toghrisid Mexsus Sohbet". Uyghur Nida Television and Radio. Uyghur Nida Television and Radio. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  6. ^ Shimron, Yonat. "A young Uighur American cries out for justice". Religion News Service. Religion News Service. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  7. ^ Pasquini, Elaine. "Rally for Uyghurs Held Outside White House". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  8. ^ Shafik, Mandai. "Uighurs marking 'independence day' call for international help". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  9. ^ Essa, Azad. "'If we remain silent, it might get worse': Uighurs fear for loved ones in China". Middle East Eye. Middle East Eye. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Gallery: The best photos from around the world". The Sydney Morning Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  11. ^ "ABD Uygur Türklerini baskı altına alan Çin'e ABD'de protesto". Euro News. Anadolu Agency.
  12. ^ "Salih Hudayar Speaks at 'Committee on the Present Danger: China' Event". YouTube. Secure Freedom. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  13. ^ Lake, Eli (16 July 2019). "China's Campaign Against the Uighurs Demands a Respons". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Only Independence Can Save Us" – via www.facebook.com.
  15. ^ "Students Stand in Solidarity with Hong Kong". 17 October 2019.
  16. ^ "China has 500+ Uighur camps and prisons and is holding far more than one million, activists say". 12 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Uighur activists say China running hundreds more camps". aljazeera.com.
  18. ^ Perper, Rosie. "Uighur activists say China is running nearly 500 detention camps and prisons in East Turkistan ("Xinjiang") based on satellite images". Business Insider.
  19. ^ "COORDINATES". 12 November 2019.
  20. ^ "New Chinese Labor Camp Coordinates Released by Uyghur Activists | Subverse News" – via www.youtube.com.
  21. ^ Hudayar, Salih (26 February 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Uyghurs Languishing, Starving Under China's Coronavirus Quarantines". War Room Pandemic. War Room. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  22. ^ "How the coronavirus impacts religious minorities encountering human rights abuses in China". One America News Network. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Persecution of Ehtnic Minorities in China - Salih Hudayar". YouTube. Dove Tv. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  24. ^ "East Turkistan Government in Exile Prime Minister Salih Hudayar on CBN". Christian Broadcasting Network. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  25. ^ "ETNAM Holds Demonstration to Thank The United States for Signing Passing the Uyghur Act". East Turkistan National Awakening Movement. 20 June 2020. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  26. ^ Dvorak, Petula (19 June 2020). "'This feels good': Hope and commerce near the White House". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  27. ^ Simons, Marlise (6 July 2020). "Uighur Exiles Push for Court Case Accusing China of Genocide". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  28. ^ Areddy, James T. (6 July 2020). "Representatives of China's Uighurs File Evidence to International Criminal Court". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  29. ^ Sewell, Tia (21 July 2020). "Unpacking the Recent Uighur ICC Complaint Against Chinese Leaders". Lawfare. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  30. ^ Smith, Samuel (10 July 2020). "ICC urged to investigate Chinese leaders for genocide abuses against Uighur Muslims". The Christian Post. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  31. ^ Bajwa, Muzaffar Ahmad Noori (7 July 2020). "Uyghur Muslims finally dragged Chinese Communist Party to ICC for their crimes against humanity". The Eastern Herald. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Exiled Uighurs approach International Criminal Court seeking justice against China". ANI. The New Indian Express. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  33. ^ East Turkistan Government in Exile (7 July 2020). "Uyghur Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity ICC Complaint". YouTube. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  34. ^ Tang, Jane (15 July 2020). "Uyghur Exile Groups Seek International Criminal Court Probe of Chinese Officials For 'Genocide'". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  35. ^ Riechmann, Deb (9 July 2020). "US sanctions Chinese officials over repression of minorities". AP News. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  36. ^ 唐家婕 (10 July 2020). "美制裁四新疆官员后 中国外交部要对等反击". Radio Free Asia - Chinese Service. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
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