Message-Id: <3.0.2.32.19970709091001.007c57b0@hella.stm.it>

Date: Wed, 09 Jul 1997 09:10:01 +0200

From: Rangzen@aol.com

Subject: Final Report: 1997 March - Part 2

Final Report: 1997 March for Tibet's Independence (Part 2)

Anwar Yusuf (President, Eastern Turkistan National Freedom Center) spoke next and then he cut out one star.

"I thank you for the opportunity to be here today at this important event. I am pleased to speak to the international community about a part of the world they usually don't hear of--the part of the world that is my homeland: Eastern Turkistan. It is known to Chinese as Xinjiang province. And, I am pleased to stand with others who call out for an end to Chinese occupation and repression of Tibet and Mongolia. And, to stand with Taiwanese who also seek independence.

China does not want the world to know about Eastern Turkistan. In fact, China does not even want the world to pay much attention to Xinjiang. It wishes this part of the world to stay invisible--while the Chinese imprison, torture and all too often kill my countrymen with no justifiable cause, while the Chinese poison the environment, while the Chinese use my nation as a dumping ground for untold thousands of Laogai--the world knows the word better as Gulag--prisoners.

According to Beijing, I am Chinese. But, look at me. I am not Chinese. I do not speak their language. I am connected through thousands of years of history to the Turkic family of nations. I am actually a Uyghur--a race that reaches back for before the time of Ghenghis Khan. My language is Uyghur--Turkic. My religion is Islam. I ask you to look at me and to listen to me and to know my culture. I am not Chinese. I am Uyghur.

Let me tell you some of these truths. Eastern Turkistan was an independent state for many centuries. It was invaded and conquered by the Qing Empire in 1759. The Turkic people rebelled numerous times--by one count 42 times.

Finally, in 1864, the Turkic people succeeded in chasing the Manchus from their homeland. They founded an independent state. China returned, however, in 1877, again conquering my homeland. In 1884, China declared Eastern Turkistan to be China's 19th province, renaming it "Sinkiang." This means "new territory" or "new dominion." Eventually, the province became known as Xinjiang.

After Sun Yat-sen and the Nationalists took power in 1911, Eastern Turkistanis again rebelled. The Qumul Rebellion led to the creation of the East Turkistani Islamic Republic in 1933. A second rebellion led to the creation of a free East Turkistani in 1944. These and other efforts were crushed by China, but they demonstrate the persistent and deep belief of my people that they are not part of China.

Rule under the Communists has been particularly harsh. My land has become a dungeon for its people since 1949. Half a million Eastern Turkistanis have been killed. Hundreds of thousands have been sent to labor camps under the worst imaginable conditions. Three hundred thousand have fled to neighboring countries. China has attempted to destroy the Eastern Turkistani culture as well as its people. Eastern Turkistanis are forced to dress like Chinese, to speak, write, read, eat, sing, and dance like Chinese. China is importing millions of Han, and at the same time forcing Eastern Turkistani families to limit the number of children. Authorities often forcibly sterilize parents and abort the unborn young.

The authorities are also systematically attacking religion. As the Wall Street Journal has reported, Beijing has barred Muslims from prayer as part of their crackdown known as Strike Hard. Normally this repression is undocumented, but my organization has video tape of China's crushing of a 1995 rebellion in the city of Khotan.

Today, Eastern Turkistan is one of the poorest parts of China. This is ironic since the land is rich with natural resources including uranium, platinum, gold, diamonds, iron and silver. Geologists estimate that the province contains 1600 billion tons of coal. One third of China's oil reserves are believed to be within Eastern Turkistan. In 1994, the Washington Post reported that "oil in China's Tarim Basin (the southern part of Eastern Turkistan) may contain nearly as much crude as Saudi Arabia." China's desire to exploit Eastern Turkistan's natural resources has been matched only by its desire to use the land as an environmental dumping ground. Most devastating has been China's nuclear testing program, centered at Lop Nor region which has rates of cancer far higher than the rest of China.

All these are truths about my homeland that China does not want known. Yet, we who believe in the future of Eastern Turkistan believe these truths will be known, and that Chinese rule of our land will end. I am honored to join others from Tibet, Mongolia and Taiwan who also seek to control their future.

The Chinese Empire must come to an end. We raise our voices together to this purpose."

Finally, Chong-Hi Chhoa read a speech and cut out a star for an ailing Peter Chang (Chairperson, World United Formosans for Independence-USA) who was to serve in place of a Manchurian representative.

"As we know, the purpose of this long march is to demand Tibetan Independence. This is why we are here to unequivocally support the Tibetan Independence. Yes, we also come here to support East Turkistan, Southern Mogolian, and Taiwan Independence.

Tibet, Eastern Turkistan, and Southern Mongolia are independent sovereign countries under illegal occupation by China. Taiwan too is an independent sovereign country, and Taiwan has never been ruled by the Communist government in China for even a single day. However, China claims Taiwan is a renegade province and constantly threatens and intimidates Taiwan. The political future of these countries can only be decided, not by China or anyone else, but by the respective peoples of Tibet, Eastern Turkistan, Southern Mongolia and Taiwan. We call upon the international community to recognize these country's sovereignty and to respect their peoples' rights to pursue an independent country.

China's blatant abuse of human rights has been directed against its own people as well as the Tibetans in Tibet and the Uyghur in Eastern Turkistan.

President Clinton himself recently acknowledged that his policy of engagement has not yielded any improvement in China's record on human rights. As a result of unfair trade practices, the United States suffered a $38 billion trade deficit against China last year.

We are calling all people of good will to support independent nationhood for Tibet, Eastern Turkistan, Southern Mongolia and Taiwan. We are appealing to all peace-loving nations to promote these country's membership in the United Nations. We are also calling for evidence of improvement on human rights and trade practices before granting China the Most Favored Nation status.

Say Yes to Tibet Independence!

Say Yes to Eastern Turkistan Independence!

Say Yes to Southern Mongolian Independence!

Say Yes to Taiwan Independence!

Say No to China!

I now cut out a star for the Manchurians who have died for their independence from China."

While other speeches continued, the representatives of Tibet, Southern Mongolia, Eastern Turkistan, and Taiwan delivered only the cut out stars and the rightful flags of their countries to the headquarters of the President (Razali Ismail) of the United Nations' General Assembly. Of course, the door was locked, so the four flags were neatly folded with the stars placed on top, and all were carefully slipped between the gate and the front door.

Following this event, the representatives drove to The PRC Mission to the UN to inform them that if they wanted to fly a PRC flag that they should fly the flag without the smaller stars (or the cut up flag). Of course, once again, the door was locked, but there were definitely people inside ignoring the ringing doorbell. Anwar Yusuf held the cut up flag in front of the video camera outside the door explaining, "Here is your flag. You may notice that we've made some adjustments to it." Finally, it was decided that the cut up flag would be wrapped around the outside door handle. After doing this, the representatives got into a car, drove around the block once (about 4 minutes), and discovered that the cut up flag was removed from the door handle. Apparently, it was now in the hands of The PRC. The demonstration ended and the message definitely had been delivered.

COMMENTS ABOUT THE WALK

1. Sustained, focused, simple, grass root activity can be an effective means of educating people about Tibet.

2. Younger people (8-18 years old) appear to be more receptive to educational programs & they are more motivated to take action on behalf of Tibet. We highly recommend that primary & secondary schools be targeted for such programs.

3. There is strong interdenominational support for Tibet. Members of the following religious communities, for example, supported this walk: Catholics, Methodists, Unitarians, Presbyterians, Hebrew, African Fundamentalists, Muslims, Hindus, Quakers, and Zen Buddhists.

4. Local media coverage was excellent, while the major media basically ignored the walk. Further work is definitely needed to cultivate relationships with the major media. Professional publicists are needed in the Tibet movement.

5. Limited support was obtained from government officials. Further collaboration is needed with our elected officials.

6. There is widespread support for Tibet's independence among Tibetans, Westerners, and Native Americans.

7. To enhance our strength, visibility, and credibility, we MUST NETWORK with our fellow independence fighters from Southern Mongolia, Eastern Turkistan, and Taiwan. Just like Tibet, The PRC wants to eliminate Southern Mongolia and Eastern Turkistan. It also wants to incorporate/eliminate Taiwan. There is little difference in the tragic history of how The PRC has brutally and systematically invaded Southern Mongolia, Eastern Turkistan, and Manchuria.

To be more effective in our non-violent movement, we must join together against our common enemy, The PRC. Then, the world will know the truth about The PRC's past behavior and future plans. It is our responsibility to share the "bigger picture" with the general public. No one else (e.g., the media & government officials) is willing to perform this important task.

8. A small group of devoted people can make a difference.

Next year, we are thinking about walking on the Westcoast of the United States, probably the upper Northwest (Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia). We are also looking at the possibility of walking from Paris to Geneva during the time (March 16 to April 18) of the meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights. We will keep you posted on our plans. Again, thanks for your great assistance with this year's walk.