For immediate release
June 24, 2008, 7:30 EST
Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 349 1496

On Thursday, June 26, 2007, from 2 pm to 4 pm, members of the Uyghur American Association (UAA), the local Uyghur community and supporters of human rights for Uyghurs and human rights in China will gather in the park in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about human rights abuses being committed against the Uyghur people in East Turkistan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China) and other human rights abuses taking place in the People’s Republic of China.

Participants will first gather at the park in Dupont Circle at 1 pm, and will then walk north up Connecticut Avenue towards the Chinese Embassy. The demonstration will feature speeches by Alim Seytoff, UAA General Secretary; T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific for Amnesty International USA; Lucie Morillon, Washington Director at Reporters Without Borders; Yang Jianli, President, Initiatives for China; and Miranda Yen, Project Director of the Laogai Research Foundation.

Members of the public and the media are welcome to attend.

The demonstration will coincide with demonstrations being held by Uyghur groups on the same day in other cities around the world to raise awareness about Uyghur human rights issues. Beijing Olympic organizers recently moved the East Turkistan portion of the domestic torch relay forward one week- the torch was originally scheduled to arrive in East Turkistan on June 25, but passed through East Turkistan from June 17-19.

While the Olympic torch has traditionally been viewed as a symbol of international peace and freedom, its passage through East Turkistan took place in a climate of fear, heavy security, and the exclusion of all but a few hand-picked Uyghurs. In both the regional capitol of Urumchi and the traditionally-Uyghur southern city of Kashgar, areas surrounding the torch’s route were placed under virtual lockdown. Reports indicate that Uyghur residents of these cities were subjected to harassment and particularly harsh security measures, and that thousands of Uyghurs were detained throughout East Turkistan in the period leading up to the torch’s arrival.

The Uyghur people of East Turkistan face a multi-tiered campaign to suppress their identity and culture, as the Chinese government sponsors the mass in-migration of ethnic Han Chinese people; the transfer of young Uyghur women to work in eastern China and of Uyghur high school students to study in special schools in coastal cities; the removal of Uyghur as a language of instruction in schools; and the arrest and detention of Uyghurs who transmit peaceful religious and cultural messages that are at odds with official policy.

Demonstration details:

Park in front of the Chinese Embassy
2300 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20008

June 26, 2008
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

(Interested participants will first gather at the park in Dupont Circle at 1 pm and then walk up Connecticut Avenue toward the Chinese Embassy).