East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE)@ETExileGov
📰East Turkistan and Tibet Demand U.N. Action on China’s Genocide and Colonial Occupation
NEW YORK — The East Turkistan Government in Exile and the East Turkistan National Movement joined the Tibetan Youth Congress and other Tibetan activists outside United Nations headquarters on Monday, July 13, to demand action against China’s genocide, colonial occupation and destruction of East Turkistan and Tibet.
The demonstration followed last week’s U.N. General Assembly debate on preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Organizers criticized the assembly for failing to address China’s actions in East Turkistan and Tibet.
The protest came 11 days after Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen died after self-immolating outside U.N. headquarters on July 2 while calling for Tibetan independence. His death underscored the urgency of confronting China’s colonial rule in Tibet.
Participants chanted, “Act now, U.N.! Act to end China’s ongoing genocide,” along with “China out of East Turkistan,” “China out of Tibet,” “We want justice,” “Independence for East Turkistan” and “Independence for Tibet.”
“The United Nations’ refusal to act in the face of documented genocide and colonial occupation is a grave failure of its Charter responsibilities and a betrayal of the principles it was created to defend,” said @SalihHudayar, foreign minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and leader of the East Turkistan National Movement. “We call on the United Nations and its member states to support an ICC investigation, impose targeted sanctions, recognize East Turkistan and Tibet as occupied countries, place them on the U.N. decolonization agenda, and support the restoration of their independence.”
The demonstration also marked six years since the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the @ETNational Movement filed a complaint with the @IntlCrimCourt seeking an investigation into genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Chinese authorities. The organizations have submitted four sets of evidence since 2020, but no investigation has been opened.
The groups also condemned China’s “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law,” saying it codifies forced assimilation, demographic colonization and the destruction of distinct national identities in East Turkistan, Tibet, Southern Mongolia and other territories under Chinese rule.
They called on the United Nations and its member states to demand repeal of the law, sanction the officials and institutions enforcing it, and act to prevent and punish China’s ongoing genocide. They also urged the General Assembly to place East Turkistan and Tibet on the U.N. decolonization agenda and affirm their peoples’ right to national self-determination and restored independence.
The groups said the United Nations cannot credibly commemorate past genocides while refusing to confront genocide and colonial occupation in the present.
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