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The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) commemorated the 36th anniversary of the 1990 Baren Uprising, describing it as a "legitimate act of national anti-colonial resistance" against what it called China's "colonial occupation" of East Turkistan.
In a post on X, the ETGE said the anniversary was marked through demonstrations in Washington, D.C. and Edmonton, where officials and members of the East Turkistani community gathered to honour those killed during the uprising and call for international action against China. According to the ETGE statement, the uprising began on April 5, 1990, when thousands of East Turkistanis in Baren Township protested against coercive population control policies, including alleged forced abortions imposed on Uyghur women. The demonstrations, led by Zeydin Yusup, involved a march toward a local Chinese administrative office demanding an end to the policies and Chinese rule. The group alleged that Chinese authorities responded with a large-scale military crackdown involving over 20,000 troops, helicopter gunships, and heavy artillery, resulting in the deaths of more than 3,000 people and the arrest of over 7,600 others. The ETGE stated that the Baren Uprising marked a turning point and foreshadowed what it described as an ongoing genocide in the region, now entering its twelfth year. It cited continued reports of mass imprisonment, forced labour, coercive population control, family separation, and the erosion of Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic cultures. Speaking at the Washington demonstration, Salih Hudayar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security of the ETGE, said the uprising's participants were fighting not for limited reforms but for full independence. "The martyrs of Baren did not die fighting for so-called 'genuine autonomy' or 'improved human rights conditions', but for the restoration of the East Turkistan Republic," he said, adding that their sacrifice continues to guide the movement for national liberation. The statement also referenced developments in February 2026, when senior Chinese officials reportedly called for the continuation of existing policies in the region, followed by the enactment of what ETGE described as the "Ethnic Unity Law," which it claimed mandates the erasure of non-Chinese languages, cultures, and identities. ETGE President Mamtimin Ala said the anniversary reflects an ongoing struggle. "This day does not belong to history alone. It belongs to the living struggle of a nation that has refused, for seventy-six years, to accept erasure," he stated, asserting that the people of East Turkistan would continue to resist. Parallel commemorations were also held in Edmonton, where members of the diaspora called on the Canadian government to take stronger action. Nur Abdulahat, Prime Minister of the ETGE, urged Canada to formally recognise East Turkistan as an occupied country and support what he described as the people's right to decolonisation and independence. The ETGE called on the United States, Canada, and the broader international community to move beyond symbolic measures and adopt concrete steps, including sanctions on Chinese officials, bans on imports linked to forced labour, and support for international accountability mechanisms such as an International Criminal Court investigation. (ANI)
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