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.