China-Uzbek pact bad news for
Uighurs By N T Tarimi
Bad news
for the Uighurs and their aspirations for genuine
autonomy, democracy or even independence came recently
from the heartland of Central Eurasia. Uzbek authorities
bowed to Chinese demands to further clamp down on any
Uighur activity that appears to support and advocate
human rights and greater political and cultural rights
for the Uighurs in what they call East Turkestan, but
China calls the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
On June 15, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited
Uzbekistan to take part in the summit of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, which began on June 16 in
Tashkent. During the visit, Hu and his Uzbek counterpart
Islam Karimov signed a joint statement on further
developing friendly cooperation and partnership.
According to the joint statement, "China and
Uzbekistan agreed that terrorism, separatism, and
extremism still pose a major threat to regional security
and stability. China and Uzbekistan will, in accordance
with Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Combating
Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism and the
China-Uzbekistan Agreement on Cooperation in Combating
Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism, further strengthen
coordination and cooperation among relevant agencies of
both countries and continue to adopt powerful measures
to fight all forms of terrorism, including terrorism
waged buy the so-called 'East Turkestan terror groups'
in order to engender peace and tranquility in the two
countries and in the region. The two countries agreed
that the crackdown on the 'terrorist forces of East
Turkestan' is a major part of the international
anti-terrorism campaign."
China also announced
it would give Central Asian countries US$900 million in
credits and it gave Uzbekistan about $2.5 million in
humanitarian assistance. The two countries are close but
they do not share a common border.
According to
Uighur intellectuals in Uzbekistan, Uzbek authorities
will strengthen their control over any activities of
Uighurs in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian republics.
New Sino-Uzbek cooperation against the Uighur movement
for independence and democracy will cast a shadow over
the future of Uighur people who have migrated to
Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan has a large number of
what is called the Uighur diaspora. Uzbekistan's stance
on this matter is unique in Central Asia. Although other
Central Asian countries, particularly Kyrgyzstan and
Kazakhstan, have also curtailed and limited Uighur
movements of the same character, they did allow Uighurs
to carry out some activity within the boundary of their
existing laws. However, Uzbekistan has not given Uighurs
the right to organize in support of their ethnic
brothers in East Turkestan, or Xinjiang.
Uzbekistan's position on the issue is not new.
It is a historical fact that the Ferghana Valley has
been a rear base for the Uighur national liberation
movement since the 19th century. Uzbek-Uighur relations
in politics, economics, and culture have affected Uighur
liberation movements throughout history. Well aware of
these facts, Uzbek authorities, just after the country's
independence from the former Soviet Union, closely
monitored the Uighur movements that were gaining
momentum in its territory. Fearing that Uzbekistan's
Uighur movements, which support the Uighurs' struggle
against the Chinese government, would negatively affect
Sino-Uzbek relations, the Uzbek government has clamped
down on the Uighur movements since independence.
The Uighurs of Uzbekistan have made significant
contributions to the development of social, economic,
and cultural life in Uzbekistan. Today, as citizens of
Uzbekistan, they are fulfilling their civic duties and
roles. However, the Uighurs in Uzbekistan are currently
going through rough times. Just like other people in
Uzbekistan, their freedom of speech and expression are
severely curtailed by the current Uzbek regime. Their
freedom to carry out political and human rights
campaigns aimed at supporting the political, social, and
cultural rights of their ethnic brethren in East
Turkestan, or Xinjiang, is severely restricted. Uighurs
therefore feel the need of democratization in Uzbekistan
even more intensely than some Uzbeks.
Uzbeks
ban pro-Uighur, anti-China messages Following the
intensification of economic and political relations
between Uzbekistan and China and the entry of Uzbekistan
into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Uighur
problem increasingly has been spotlighted and
scrutinized. The Uzbek government has prohibited
pro-Uighur and anti-Chinese messages in the state and
any other media outlets. According to some Uighurs in
Uzbekistan, who asked not to be identified, the Uighur
press in Uzbekistan has been severely restricted. The
Uzbek media refuses to publish papers which mention the
political problems of the Uighurs. Furthermore, the
importing of books and newspapers and any other
publications concerning East Turkestan, or Xinjiang,
which are published in Turkey, Germany and other
countries, is now prohibited. Hence, there is no
publishing house in Uzbekistan that publishes literature
in the Uighur language.
Only a short Uighur
service is allowed on Uzbek Radio and is strictly
controlled. Actually the Uighur radio service was
created in 1947 and used as a tool for anti-China
propaganda, but the situation has changed. The current
Uighur radio service is the continuation of that old
service but it operates under a very different mandate.
Anything about Uighur human rights issues or political
problems in East Turkestan, or Xinjiang, is not allowed
to be broadcast.
The restrictions on the Uighur
movement in Uzbekistan came into force in 1994 after the
visit of Chinese premier Li Peng to the country and the
signing of a bilateral agreement between the two
governments. Since then, establishment of Uighur
organizations that advocate human rights and
independence for the people in the Xinjiang Uighur
Autonomous Region is prohibited. Therefore, there are
currently no Uighur political organizations in
Uzbekistan. Only the Uighur Cultural Center is
functioning as a non-political organization.
This is in sharp contrast to other Central Asian
Republics, specifically Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, where
Uighurs are allowed to organize into political
organizations. According to some Uighur intellectuals in
Uzbekistan, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Uighurs
are not even allowed to participate in conferences and
meetings about Uighur issues that are held in other
countries. The Uzbekistan government considers any
pro-Uighur activities in Uzbekistan or by Uzbek citizens
as harmful to Sino-Uzbek relations and Uzbek national
interests. After joining the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, the Uzbek government quickly responded to
the call of the Chinese government to crack down on
terrorism, ethnic separatism and religious
fundamentalism. By actively supporting China's crackdown
on Uighur independence movements, Uzbekistan wanted to
get China's help in its own fight against the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan.
As a people united by
national origin, history, culture and tradition, Uighurs
have a relatively long history in Uzbekistan. From the
second half of 18th century they began migrating to the
land which is now called Uzbekistan. The majority of
immigration took place in three periods. The first
period was between 1759-1911. This is the period in
which Uighurs periodically revolted against Manchu
rulers. In this period, many Uighurs migrated to the
Ferghana Valley to escape Manchu-Chinese persecution.
The second period was from the beginning of the 20th
century to 1937. During this period, many Uighurs went
to Uzbekistan in search of a better life. The third
period was between 1955 and 1962. In this time, many
Uighurs who were against the deal reached between their
leaders and the Chinese communist government and who
were skeptical of Chinese communist rule in East
Turkestan or Xinjiang moved to Uzbekistan.
Number of Uighurs in Central Asia
unknown The exact size of the Uighur population
in Central Asia has been a very contentious issue. In
the 1920s, Abdulla Rozibakiyev, one of the Uighur
leaders of that time, asserted that the Uighur
population in Soviet Central Asia was 600,000, the
majority of whom were living in Uzbekistan. According to
official Soviet demographic information in the 1930s,
there were about 300,000 Uighurs living in the Soviet
Union at that time. In 1937, during Stalin's campaign of
purging "counter-revolutionaries" across the Soviet
Union, many Uighurs were forced to change their ethnic
affiliation. There is no precise information concerning
the number of Uighurs living in Uzbekistan from
1950-1960. Official Soviet statistics in 1979 put the
Uighur population at 29,104 and official statistics in
1989 put that number at 35,700. Today, there is no
official data on the number of Uighurs in Uzbekistan,
however, Uighur intellectuals in Uzbekistan assert that
a great number of Uighurs live there. One member of the
Uighur Cultural Center of Uzbekistan said that
approximately 200,000 Uighurs are living in Uzbekistan.
And according to a Uighur professor of the Uzbekistan
Academy of Sciences, who asked not to be identified,
approximately 500,000 Uighurs currently are living in
Uzbekistan.
In the beginning of the 20th
century, Uighurs in Uzbekistan enjoyed a brief
renaissance in art and literature. The cities of
Tashkent and Andijan became the main centers of Uighur
culture. The first Uighur language newspaper
Kembigheller Avazi (the Voice of Poor) was published in
these two cities in 1921. The first Uighur novel,
written by Momen Hamraev (1907-1955), was published in
Tashkent in 1930. Following in the footsteps of Hamraev,
other Uighur novelists such as Nur Israilova
(1910-1953), Abdulla Muhammadi (1901-1937) and Omar
Muhammadi (1906-1931), published important works of
Uighur literature. A new genre of free verse in Uighur
poetry was introduced by Uighur poets such as Hezim
Iskandarov (1906-1970) and Hebib Zakiri (who died in
1937) during this period. The State Uighur Theater of
Uzbekistan was created in Andijan in 1930 and soon the
motion picture industry was also created with the
participation of Uighur actors. A series of dramatic
performances were presented. Uighur technical schools
also were established in Andijan in 1930.
However, the Uighur cultural renaissance in
Uzbekistan did not last long. In 1937-1938, during
Stalin's campaign of purges, Uighur cultural centers and
activities became targets for persecution. In this
campaign, a great number of Uighur scholars were
arrested and executed, Uighur cultural centers,
theaters, newspapers and schools in Tashkent and Andijan
were closed. Uighur cultural organizations were moved to
Kazakhstan.
However, following the Sino-Soviet
split in the 1960s, the Soviet government restored
Uighur cultural centers in Uzbekistan. Tashkent became a
center of anti-Chinese propaganda that targeted the
Uighur population in Xinjiang. Uighur theaters, radio
stations and other centers in Tashkent became very
active. The Uighur radio service in Tashkent broadcast
two hours daily, exclusively for the audience in
Xinjiang. The Soviet government launched Uighur study
programs in the Institute of Oriental Studies of State
Academy and Tashkent State University. All this had a
profound impact on the Uighurs' independence sentiment
in Xinjiang. As mentioned earlier, all of the Uighur
activity in Uzbekistan came to an end following the
collapse of Soviet Union.
Today, the Uighurs are
recognized as an ethnic minority in the Republic of
Uzbekistan. However, their right to establish cultural
and political organizations was and still is severely
restricted and vehemently opposed by the Uzbek
government. The Uighur movement in Uzbekistan is in a
stage of hibernation.
After the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States,
Uzbekistan became an important ally in America's war on
terror. The Uzbek government provided military bases for
the US war in Afghanistan. Since then, US-Uzbek
relations in politics, economics, and military
cooperation have grown significantly. Relations with the
US have become one of the cornerstones of Uzbekistan's
foreign policy. Unlike other Central Asian countries,
Uzbekistan previously refused to participate in any
regional organizations, except for the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, led by Russia. The
international community hoped that closer US-Uzbek
relations would help change the autocratic character of
the Uzbek regime and make it more democratic and
respectful of human rights. However, two years later
nothing has changed in the Uzbek regime's treatment of
its dissidents and in its own human rights record.
After September 11, China has been using its
economic power to strengthen cooperation with Central
Asian countries and crack down on Uighur political
activities in the region, using the excuse of fighting
terrorism, separatism, and extremism.
