East Turkistan Government in Exile

TheEast Turkistan Government in Exile(abbreviated asETGEorETGIE), officially theGovernment in Exile of the Republic of East Turkistan,is apolitical organizationestablished and headquartered inWashington, D.C.byUyghurs,Kazakhs, and other peoples fromEast Turkistan(Xinjiang). The ETGE claims to be the sole legitimate organization and a parliamentary-basedgovernment in exilerepresenting East Turkistan and its people on the international stage.
Although the East Turkistan Government in Exile was declared inside Room HC-6 of theU.S. Capitol Building,the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the territory it claims under East Turkistan are unrecognized by the United States.ThePeople's Republic of Chinahas sternly opposed the East Turkistan Government in Exile since its creation in September 2004.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile has been described by scholars as a prominent fringe Uyghur organization that advocates for radical methods driven by religious and ethnic motives.The organization is among several Uyghur groups that demand total independence in contrast to other organizations that advocate for more autonomy and democracy.It has been called the "most prominent Uyghur organization outside theWUC".
Numerous Uyghur organisations representing the Uyghur movement in exile formed around the world from the 1980s to early 2000s but were disorganised and disunited.In April 2004, two such organizations, the Eastern Turkistan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress, merged to form theWorld Uyghur Congress(WUC).
A radical pro-independence minority of the Eastern Turkistan National Congress refused to join the merger and instead established the East Turkistan Government in Exile in Washington D.C. in 2004.They started on the fringes of Uyghur diaspora organizations (including theEast Turkistan Liberation OrganisationandEast Turkestan Islamic Movement) that advocates for "more radical forms of ideological and armed struggle" in contrast to the more moderate methods used by the World Uyghur Congress to influence the Chinese government.In particular, the East Turkistan Government in Exile rejected the autonomy desired by the World Uyghur Congress and instead advocated for independence.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile was formally declared on September 14, 2004, in room HC-6 of theUnited States CapitolinWashington, D.C.by members of the global East Turkistani community under the leadership ofAnwar Yusuf Turani.Ahmat Igambardi, who had previously been the chairman of the first East Turkistan National Congress created inIstanbul,Turkeyin 1992, was elected by the delegates present as president and Turani was elected as Prime Minister.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile claimed to be the "sole organ of the Eastern Turkestan Republic" just four months after the formation of the World Uyghur Congress, threatening the World Uyghur Congress's claim to being the highest Uyghur representative organization and leading to immediate tensions between the two groups.Supporters of the WUC, who were suspicious of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, expressed their concerns on the bulletin board of the Uyghur American Association, which is affiliated with the World Uyghur Congress. They wrote statements accusing Anwar Yusuf Turani of acting under the instructions of the Chinese government, particularly in relation to the strategy of dividing dissident organizations."Turani himself was later impeached by the ETGE's Parliament in 2006 for violating its constitution.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile has been described by scholars as one of several "Uyghur groups advocating radical forms of ideological and armed struggle including terrorist activities".It has become marginalized in Western politics but is still described as a prominent Uyghur organization on the fringes of theEast Turkestan independence movement.
Depending on how large a particular speaker defines the named region, "East Turkistan" has been administered at least in part by thePeople's Republic of China(PRC) as theXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a situation that the ETGE considers an illegitimatemilitary occupation. The position of the ETGE is that "East Turkistan and its people have a long history of independence".The ETGE does not consider themselves as "separatists" because they believe that, "you can't separate from something you don't belong to."The position of the PRC holds that theintegrationof Xinjiang into the PRC in 1949 was a "peaceful liberation", and that the region has "long been a part of China".
The ETGE describes itself as democratically elected parliamentary-based exile government that seeks to end "China's occupation and colonization" ofEast Turkistan, which overlaps with what China calls theXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and seeks to "restore the independence of East Turkistan" which would take the form of ademocraticparliamentary republicwith protections forcivil libertiesfor allpeople groups of the region.The ETGE has convened nine General Assemblies since its creation in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2023.
As the Government in Exile is made up of elected representatives from East Turkistani/Uyghur diaspora communities in over 13 countries, its leaders are based in a number of countries. The present leadership took office on November 12, 2023, following elections at the ETGE's 9th General Assembly in Washington, D.C.
The Parliament is the legislative branch of the ETGE. As the Government in Exile's Parliament is made up of 60 members representing diaspora communities in 13 countries, its leaders are based in a number of countries. The present leadership was announced on November 11, 2023, following elections at the ETGE's 9th General Assembly in Washington, D.C. The Parliament is also made up of six committees that help oversee the government's different ministries.
On July 14, 2020, the ETGE signed onto a joint letter by 64 Canadian MPs and 20 organizations urging Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau, his deputyChrystia Freelandand Global Affairs MinisterFrançois-Philippe Champagneto sanction PRC and Hong Kong officials "directly responsible for the human rights atrocities happening in Tibet, occupied East Turkestan (Xinjiang), and Hong Kong."
On August 15, 2020,Salih Hudayarthe Prime Minister of the ETGE greeted India on its 74th Independence Day and said that "the decades of prolonged Chinese occupation and genocide in East Turkistan has taught us that without independence there is no way to guarantee or ensure even our most basic human rights, freedoms, and our very survival."In a public demonstration, Prime Minister Hudayar urged the United States government and the United Nations to "break their silence and stand up against China."
On August 28, 2020, the ETGE held a global demonstration in Adelaide, Tokyo, Frankfurt, The Hague, Paris, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Edmonton to protest what they claim are China's atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples and urged the international community to recognize the alleged atrocities as a genocide while also recognizing "East Turkistan as an occupied country."
On July 6, 2020, theNew York TimesandThe Wall Street Journalreported that the East Turkistan Government in Exile and theEast Turkistan National Awakening Movementfiled a complaint with theInternational Criminal Court, urging it to investigate and prosecute PRC officials forgenocideand othercrimes against humanity.The complaint is the first attempt to use an international legal forum to challenge China over allegations of extensive human rights abuses against Muslim Turkic people in East Turkistan.The ETGE's Prime Minister,Salih Hudayar, toldRadio Free Asia's Chinese service that "for too long we have been oppressed by China and its Communist Party and we have suffered so much that the genocide of our people can be no longer ignored."
On July 9, 2020, the US government sanctioned 3 senior PRC officials including Xinjiang Communist Party SecretaryChen QuanguoandZhu Hailun, who were among the 30 officials mentioned in the complaint to the ICC.ETGE Prime Minister Salih Hudayar toldRadio Free Asiathat the ETGE welcomed the sanctions and that Uyghurs wanted real justice. He stated that the PRC officials should be tried for human rights abuses by an international court, citing the example theNuremberg Trialsof high-rankingNazi Partyofficials afterWorld War II.
TheEast Turkistan National Awakening Movementand the East Turkistan Government in Exile were the first Uyghur groups to refer toChina's mass surveillanceand internment of the inhabitants of Xinjiang/East Turkistan as a genocide. They have actively lobbied for the U.S. and other countries to declare the policies in Xinjiang as genocide.ETGE and ETNAM held numerous demonstrations, press conferences, and other events urging the world to recognize China's genocide in East Turkistan (Xinjiang).The East Turkistan National Awakening Movement and the East Turkistan Government in Exile filed a complaint urging the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Chinese officials for genocide.The ETGE also successfully lobbied the U.S. Senate to introduce a genocide resolution and urged the U.S. Government to recognize the genocide.
On January 11, 2021, the ETGE made a press statement urging theTrump Administrationto recognize China's actions against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan as a genocide before January 20, 2021.On January 19, 2021, the U.S. State Department formally designated China's actions against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples as genocide.Salih Hudayar, the Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, toldThe Wall Street Journalthat the ETGE had been pushing for the designation for two years and that the ETGE hopes that this designation will lead to real, strong actions to hold China accountable and bring an end to China's genocide.
The ETGE also called on theU.S. Justice Departmentto enact 18 U.S. Code Section 1091 and prosecute Chinese diplomats, specifically Chinese AmbassadorCui Tiankai, for genocide.The ETGE further urged countries to follow suit and recognize the genocide, it also urged theBiden Administrationto "take a more active approach to resolve the East Turkistan issue" by recognizing East Turkistan as an Occupied Country, boycotting the2022 Winter Olympicsin Beijingand meeting with the East Turkistan Government in Exile like the Trump Administration met with theTibetan Government in Exile.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile has actively called on the U.S. and other governments and organizations across the globe to recognize East Turkistan as an occupied country.The ETGE also denounces the use of the Chinese term "Xinjiang".On February 20, 2024, the ETGE spearheaded a joint letter from 61 Uyghur organizations around the world addressed to the U.S. Congress. The letter urged the U.S. Congress to pass the Uyghur Policy Act, appoint a Special Coordinator for East Turkistani Issues, and recognize East Turkistan, as well as to resist China's attempts to erase East Turkistan.Notably, the signatures of pro-autonomy groups like the World Uyghur Congress and its affiliates were absent from this joint letter.
On May 18, 2023, the East Turkestan Government in Exile announced its recognition of theCircassian genocide.