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East Turkestan Liberation Organization

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East Turkestan Liberation Organization
LeaderMehmet Emin Hazret
Dates of operation1997–2003
MotivesIndependence of East Turkestan from China
Active regionsXinjiang
IdeologyUyghur nationalism, Separatism, Islamism, Turanism
StatusChina Designated as a terrorist organization (15 December 2003)
Kazakhstan Designated as a terrorist organization (November 2006)
Kyrgyzstan Designated as a terrorist organization (September 2007)
East Turkestan Liberation Organization
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese東突厥斯坦解放組織
Simplified Chinese东突厥斯坦解放组织
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDōng Tūjuésītǎn Jiěfàng Zǔzhī
Uyghur name
Uyghurشارقىي تۇركەستان ئازاتلىق تەشكىلاتى‎
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiŞärqiy Türkestan Azatliq Teşkilati
Siril YëziqiШәрқий Түркестан Азатлиқ Тешкилати

The East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO) was a secessionist Uyghur organization that advocated for an independent Uyghur state named East Turkestan in the Western Chinese province known as Xinjiang.[1] The organization was established in Turkey in late 1997 to fight against the Chinese government in Xinjiang, a territory of ethnic Uyghur majority.[2]

ETLO has been described by scholars as demanding total independence and supporting or being indifferent to more radical methods driven by religious and ethnic motives.[3][4] ETLO is a designated terrorist organization by the governments of China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.[5][6][7]

History

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Amnesty International reports that "The Chinese government’s use of the term "separatism" refers to a broad range of activities, many of which amount to no more than peaceful opposition or dissent. Over the last three years, tens of thousands of people are reported to have been detained for investigation in the region and hundreds, possibly thousands, have been charged or sentenced under the Criminal Law; many Uighurs are believed to have been sentenced to death and executed for alleged "separatist" or "terrorist" offenses, although the exact number is impossible to determine."[2]

In 1998, ETLO members were accused by the government of China of organizing 15 arson incidents in Ürümqi, and in 1999, Istanbul police arrested 10 ETLO members for a series of attacks on Chinese people in Turkey.[8]

Since 9/11, 2001, China has effectively used the international climate to build an international coalition against Uyghur separatist movements.[9] On 15 December 2003, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security issued a list of East Turkestan terrorists and terrorist organizations which named four organizations and several individuals: the East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO), the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the World Uyghur Youth Congress (WUYC), and the East Turkestan Information Center (ETIC).[10] Many analysts[who?] claim that Russian and Chinese authorities exaggerate the potency of the Uyghur groups to justify their repressive counter-terror policies.[11]

In a 2002 Chinese documentary, "On the Spot Report: The Crimes of Eastern Turkestan Terrorist Power," Wang Mingshan, Deputy Director-General of the Yili-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Department, claimed that in 1998 Mehmet Emin Hazret, the leader of the ETLO, ordered Hamid Mehmetjan, an Egyptian ETLO member, to go to China to recruit members, receive a delivery of weapons on 6 April, and to compile a list of targets for assassination and bombings in Xinjiang. Mingshan also claimed that police and ETLO members exchanged gunfire on 24 April 1998, and that members later stated during interrogation that they were trained at camps in Afghanistan.[12]

On 15 December 2003, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security issued a list of East Turkestan terrorists and terrorist organizations which named four organizations and several individuals: the East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO), the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the World Uyghur Youth Congress (WUYC) and the East Turkestan Information Centre (ETIC).[10] At the same time, the official Chinese press initiated a campaign detailing terrorist incidents allegedly carried out by the individuals listed. Amnesty International regarded these allegations "uncorroborated and no credible evidence was provided to substantiate these claims. Indeed, much of the "evidence" appeared to have been obtained from other individuals under interrogation. In view of the ongoing and widespread use of torture and ill-treatment by police in China, particularly to extract confessions from detained suspects, Amnesty International believes any "evidence" obtained in this way must be treated with deep suspicion."[2] In January, Hazret, who avoids public appearances, called into Radio Free Asia to respond that ETLO wishes to work by peaceful means, but spoke of the "inevitability" of a military wing targeting the Chinese government.[8] He also stated that the principal goal of the ETLO was to pursue independence through peaceful means,[13][14] and denied any participation in terrorist activities or connections to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.[13] Amnesty International has criticized the Chinese government response to ETLO, which it says include human rights violations, such as torture and ill-treatment by police.[2]

Designation as a terrorist organization

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The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members of China,[15] Kazakhstan,[16] and Kyrgyzstan, respectively,[5] have designated ETLO as a terrorist organization. According to Amnesty International, the listing of ETIM and ETLO was in keeping with previous allegations made by China against these groups. Both were highlighted in China's official report on East Turkestan terrorists of January 2002.[2]

The organization operates primarily in Xinjiang, China, but operates throughout Central Asia and in Pakistan. The ETLO is allied with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and the Taliban.[citation needed] Kazakhstan banned the ETLO, designating it a terrorist organization, on 17 November 2006. The United States State Department says the ETLO has engaged "small politically-motivated bombings and armed attacks".[16] The Global Defense Review writes that it is "widely acknowledged" that Al-Qaeda gives funding and training to the ETLO and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.[17][18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kyrgyz authorities arrest fugitive Uighur separatist, Archived 2007-02-19 at the Wayback Machine International Herald Tribune, February 15, 2007
  2. ^ a b c d e "People's Republic of China: Uighurs fleeing persecution as China wages its "war on terror"". Retrieved 2007-04-02. People’s Republic of China Uighurs fleeing persecution as China wages its "war on terror," Amnesty International
  3. ^ Özkan, Güner (2023), "The Uyghur Movement in Exile", in Shei, Chris; Chen, Jie (eds.), Routledge Resources Online – Chinese Studies, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780367565152-RECHS60-1
  4. ^ Reed, J. Todd; Raschke, Diana (2010). "The Contemporary and Historical Contexts of Uyghur Separatism". The ETIM: China's Islamic Militants and the Global Terrorist Threat. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780313365416.
  5. ^ a b Islamic groups banned in Kyrgyzstan Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine Central Asia Caucasus Institute
  6. ^ "Terror list with links to al-Qaeda unveiled". www.chinadaily.com.cn.
  7. ^ East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO) Globalsecurity.org
  8. ^ a b "Separatist Leader Vows to Target Chinese Government". Radio Free Asia. 2003-01-29. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  9. ^ [1] Nicolas Becquelin, Criminalizing Ethnicity: Political Repression in Xinjiang, China Rights Forum, 2004, No:1
  10. ^ a b http://hrw.org/reports/2005/china0405/4.htm#_Toc100128615 Devastating Blows Religious Repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang, Human Right Watch
  11. ^ Pike, John. "East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO)". www.globalsecurity.org.
  12. ^ Shichor, Yitzhak (May 2006). "Fact and Fiction: A Chinese Documentary on Eastern Turkestan Terrorism" (PDF). China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly. 4 (2). Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  13. ^ a b Gladney, Dru C. (2006). Derek S. Reveron and Jefferey Stevenson Murer (ed.). "Xinjiang". Flashpoints in the War on Terrorism. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-95491-6.
  14. ^ Harmsen, Peter (2003-01-30). "As repression mounts in Xinjiang, separatists mull military groups". Agence France Presse.
  15. ^ China releases 'terror' blacklist of Uyghurs Archived 2005-11-13 at the Wayback Machine RadioFreeAsia
  16. ^ a b Uyghur group added to Kazakh terror list RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
  17. ^ "AFP: US lawmakers seek review of Uighur 'terror' label". Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  18. ^ Goldstein, Ritt (24 April 2009). "Freed from Guantánamo, a Uighur clings to asylum dreams in Sweden". Christian Science Monitor.
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