East Turkistan Leader Calls Out China Over Continued Uyghur Genocide

East Turkistan Leader Calls Out the Continued 'Genocide' Against Uyghurs in China

China is continuing its assault on Uyghurs as the world turned its attention to Russia's atrocities in Ukraine.

A leader with the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile is raising concerns over the continued "genocide" against Uyghurs in China, just as the world's attention is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Salih Hudayar, prime minister for the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile, continues to raise awareness of the atrocities of the Chinese Communist Party against the Uyghur minorities in China.

Faithwire reported that Hudayar is one of several international representatives of East Turkistan, the region that the Chinese government calls the Xinjiang Province. The East Turkistan leader recently explained the region's history and the purpose of a "government-in-exile," calling East Turkistan "a country that is currently occupied by China."

Hudayar recounted how in 1949, China invaded East Turkistan and "overthrew the independent East Turkistan Republic." Now, Hudayar is just one of several East Turkistan leaders who have been elected to represent the region.

Hudayar explained that the base for the East Turkistan government-n-exile is in Washington, D.C. and it is an external government that is a "democratically elected official body representing East Turkistan and its people." The group includes a democratically elected Parliament in the East Turkistani diaspora, which then elects leaders such as Hudayar as representatives. The East Turkistan leader was one of several leaders who decried the 2022 Winter Olympic Games that took place in Beijing.

"It was shameful," Hudayar remarked. "The fact that the International Olympic Committee awarded China, knowing that multiple governments across the world, including the U.S. government and parliaments of nine different other countries, have officially designated China's atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkestan as a genocide."

Hudayar reminded people all over the world that the Chinese government has long been engaging in "mass internment and mass atrocities" against the Uyghurs despite the sanctions and diplomatic boycotts implemented by the U.S. and other countries against China, which he believes is not enough. He l lamented, "The 'Genocide Olympics' have ended, but the genocide in East Turkestan is continuing."

Hudayar hopes that the U.S. holds China accountable for the continued "genocide" against Uyghurs and the Chinese government's persecution of the religious minority in Xinjiang. He also suggested bringing the issue to the U.N. Security Council, as he believed it would be a notable move even if China vetoes the effort.

The East Turkistan leader added that there are other ways to pressure China into stopping the "genocide" against Uyghurs, including by urging businesses and individuals to speak out on the issue. He argued, "Many people...follow these celebrities and look up to them. If these celebrities, if these corporations are silent, this is only going to embolden China to continue engaging in further atrocious acts."

Hudayar issued a warning about the silence in response to the "genocide" against Uyghurs in China, saying that this will "embolden China" and "embolden other regimes like the Chinese Communist Party" in other parts of world. In fact, Forbes reported in February that lawyers for the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project have appealed for a judicial review of the Government of Canada's "acts and omissions in relation to the ongoing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China."

The Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project has accused the Canadian government of "violating its international obligations, by failing to prevent the ongoing genocide in that region, thereby contributing to the crimes committed against the Uyghur population, here and abroad."