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Eastern Turkestan lies in the heart of Asia bordering Kazakistan, Kyrgyszstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan India, Tibet and China. The area of Eastern Turkestan is 1.6 million square km., which is about 116 of the total area of the People's Republic of China. Eastern Turkestan is rich in uranium, platinum, gold, silver, iron, lead, copper, sulphur, tin, mica, emeralds, coal, natural gas and petroleum.

According to official Chinese statistics the present population of Eastern Turkestan is slightly over 16 million of these the Uighurs number 7.5 million; Kazakhs 1.1 million; Kyrgyz 130,000; Uzbeks 15,000; Tatars 3.000; the Yellow Uighurs 11,000; Salar 3,000, Tajiks 33,000; Hui (Chinese speaking Muslims) 600,000; Dongxiang 40,000; Boan 300; ethnic Manchus 90,000; Tibetans 5,000; Russians 3,000; Dawoni 5,000; other non Chinese 9,000. The remainder of the population, 6.4 million, is Chinese. The Turkic Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tatars, Salar, Indo-European Tajiks, the Chinese speaking Rule and the Boans are Muslim. The Yellow Uighurs, Tibetans, Mongols and the Manchus are Buddhists. The Russians are Orthodox Christians.

The western part of Turkestan was gradually conquered by Russia in 1865 and was later divided into the independent republics of Uzbekistan, Kazakhistan, Kyrgyszstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Eastern Turkestan, the cradle of Turkic history, culture and civilisation. was occupied by the Manchu rulers of China in 1876, On November 18, 1884 Eastern Turkestan was annexed to the Manchu Empire and given the name Xinjiang.

In 1911, the Nationalist Chinese overthrew the Manchu rule in China established a republic. The Turkic peoples, who also wanted to free themselves from foreign domination, staged several uprisings against Nationalist Chinese rule during this period. Twice, in 1933 and 1944, the Turkic peoples were successful in setting up an independent Eastern Turkestan republic, However. these independent republics were overthrown by military intervention political intrigue of the Soviet Union. In 1949 the Nationalist Chinese forces were defeated by the Chinese Communist Peoples Liberation Army, and the period of communist rule began.

After occupying Eastern Turkcstan in 1949, the Chinese Communists pursued a policy of systematically synthesising the Turkic peoples of Eastern Turkestan, and of trying to eliminate their culture and exterminate their Islamic belief. At present, Eastern Turkestan is officially designated an 'autonomous region', but in reality there is no self rule or self-government.

In order to completely transform Eastern Turkestan into a Chinese province, millions of Chinese have been settled there. To accelerate the assimilation of the Turkic peoples the Chinese Communist encourage mixed marriages by offering bonuses to those who participate. Coercive birth control is carried out by the Chinese authorities to restrain the growth of the Turkic population and a fierce campaign is being carried out to synthesise the language of the Turkic peoples". Under the Chinese Communist domination, modern literature is charged with falsifying Turkic history and undermining Turkic culture and traditions while the official education policy is designed to keep the Turkic, peoples in ignorance. The economic system favours the Chinese setlers and health care in Eastern Turkestan is hard to obtain.

Despite the fierce protests of the Turkic peoples, the Chinese communists continue to conduct nuclear testing at Lop Nor in Eastern Turkstan. This has caused severe ecological damage and endangers human life, as it has for more than three decades. The water, including drinking water, is polluted and so are the food supplies. These harmful effects of the testing are also affecting millions of animals.

These policies of assimilation, political oppression and economic exploitation have gradually turned Eastern Turkistan into a time bomb. Instead of defusing this tense situation Chinese Communists in Eastern Turkestan have turned to ruthless and repressive measures aimed at silencing the Turkic demands for democracy, justice and self-determination. Turkic people seeking only to live with dignity are arrested, tortured and even executed. The death penalty is used extensively in Eastern Turkestan. According to Amnesty International, the number of death sentencesimposed in Eastern Turkestan is proportionately much higher than in the rest of China (2). The Eastern Turkestan leader, Erkin Alptekin, expresses the predicament of the Turkic peoples of Eastern Turkestan tarkly: they are forced to choose between national extintion through gradual assimilation and a mortal struggle to defend their cultural identity.

Eastern Turkestanm is a founding Member or UNPO.

(1) Sources used included "East Turkestan: The Facts", Eastern Turkestani Union in Europe

(2) Eastern Turkestan Information Bulletin, Volume 4, N·4, December 1994, p.2