Uyghur diasporas commemorated the 86th anniversary of the Islamic Republic of East Turkistan, which was established on November 12, 1933 in Kashgar, and the 75th anniversary of the Republic of East Turkistan, which was established on November 12, 1944 in Ghulja.
12th November is the Republic Day of East Turkistan, which also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Uyghurs, Kazakhs, kyrgys and other native ethnic groups of East Turkistan had esteblished two independet republics during the first half of 20th centurey before the vast region occupied by Communist China in 1949.
On Tuesday, November 12th, Uighurs in many areas, including Istanbul and Munich, held various celebrations. East Turkestan organizations such as the World Uyghur Congress and the East Turkestan Civil Society Association organized various events including flag-raising ceremonies, various commemorative events and conferences. Uighurs living in various countries celebrate Republic Day with each other through social media such as Facebook. People are immersed in the festive atmosphere.
East Turkistan located in Central Asia, it spans over 1.6 million km2 (640,000 square miles). East Turkistan borders the countries of Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan , Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir). East Turkistan also borders the Tibet and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The most well-known route of the historical Silk Road ran through the territory from the east to its northwestern border.
In recent decades, abundant oil and mineral reserves have been found in East Turkistan and it is currently China's largest natural-gas-producing region.
Since the East Turkistan was occupied by China, the East Turkestan people have suffered from ethnic discrimination, cultural destruction and religious persecution of the Chinese government. Especially in recent years, there have been credible reports that the Chinese authorities have established large-scale concentration camps in East Turkestan, and more than three million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims have been detained there. According to the narratives of the concentration camp survivors, detainees in concentration camps were subjected to torture and various human rights violations, including sexual assault and brainwashing.
The United States, the European Union and the United Nations, as well as Human Rights Watch and other international human rights organizations have severely criticized China’s concentration camp policy and called for the immediate closure of concentration camps and the unconditional release of detainees.
By Turkistan Times
Nov. 12 2019
