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The East Turkistan Genocide Recognition and Remembrance Day was commemorated on January 19, by the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), in remembrance of the millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples who suffered alleged atrocities by China.
In a post on X, the ETGE honoured those who have suffered and lost their lives, the day served as a call to action for immediate international action to address what ETGE claims is the primary cause of the crisis--Chinese colonization and occupation of East Turkistan. The sovereign East Turkistan Republic was overthrown by the Chinese Communist regime on October 12, 1949, 75 years ago, as per the post shared by ETGE. According to ETGE, East Turkistan has since been facing harsh repression, cultural absorption, and unrelenting colonization. They point out that the most heinous phase of this campaign occurred in May 2014, when Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly stated his intention to "wipe them out completely, destroy them root and branch, break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections, and break their origins...show them absolutely no mercy." By 2025, millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples would still be imprisoned in contemporary concentration camps, compelled to work, and denied their fundamental human rights, the post claims. East Turkistan has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with more than 580,000 people serving terms ranging from five years to life in jail. Nearly a million children have been taken from their homes and placed in state-run facilities for brainwashing, and hundreds of thousands of women have been forced to get sterilized. The ETGE also emphasized how China's drive to eradicate the identity and legacy of East Turkistan's indigenous peoples has resulted in the demolition of more than 16,000 mosques and other cultural heritage monuments. Furthermore, ETGE has characterized state-sponsored forced marriages of Uyghur and Turkic women to Chinese men and forced abortions totalling more than 3.7 million as efforts to systematically eradicate their ethnic identity. The ETGE urged countries to denounce China's genocidal tactics and formally acknowledge its unlawful occupation of East Turkistan. Citing genocide and crimes against humanity, they called on world powers to use international courts to make China responsible for its deeds. Since justice, freedom, and sovereignty are crucial to putting a stop to the genocide, ETGE supports East Turkistan's right to external self-determination and independence. ETGE urged other countries, especially those who support freedom and human rights, to support East Turkistan in its fight, stressing that remaining silent amounts to complicity. (ANI)
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