Call to Action: Recognition and Remembrance of East Turkistan's Plight

The East Turkistan Government in Exile commemorated East Turkistan Genocide Recognition and Remembrance Day on January 19, urging global leaders to confront China's alleged genocide of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz. Accusing China of cultural erasure, they called for international court intervention and emphasized the need for external self-determination.

On January 19, the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) observed the East Turkistan Genocide Recognition and Remembrance Day, commemorating the millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic ethnic groups who reportedly suffered under alleged atrocities by the Chinese government. Through a post on the media platform X, the ETGE honored those who lost their lives and called for urgent international intervention, attributing the crisis to China's colonization and occupation of East Turkistan.

The ETGE highlighted that the sovereign East Turkistan Republic was overthrown by the Chinese Communist regime on October 12, 1949, marking 75 years since these events took place. The ETGE accuses China of imposing harsh repression and cultural assimilation since then. They allege the worst of these efforts began in May 2014 when Chinese President Xi Jinping purportedly expressed intentions to eliminate their ethnic lineage and identity without mercy.

The ETGE warns that by 2025, millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples will remain detained in modern-day concentration camps, facing forced labor and denied basic human rights. With East Turkistan reportedly holding the world's highest incarceration rate—580,000 people imprisoned—the ETGE states that nearly a million children are forcibly re-educated, and hundreds of thousands of women are compelled to undergo sterilization. Moreover, China is accused of destroying over 16,000 mosques and cultural monuments, and facilitating forced marriages and over 3.7 million abortions to erase the ethnic identity of East Turkistan's people.

The ETGE called upon countries worldwide to condemn China's genocidal practices and recognize its unauthorized dominance over East Turkistan, advocating for the use of international courts to hold China accountable for genocide and crimes against humanity. Stressing the importance of justice, freedom, and sovereignty in ending the genocide, the ETGE supports East Turkistan's quest for self-determination and independence, urging allies of freedom and human rights to vocally support their fight and avoid complicity through silence. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)