dogu-turkistan-sempozyumu

FREEEAST TURKISTAN SYMPOSIUMof Uyghur people. The following words of the general secretary of the Xinjiangregional party, Wang Guan, were quoted in the report: “…the most importantduty of the authorities in Xinjiang is to control and guide the religion. Thus,it will serve the central administration in preserving the economic structure,the homeland integrity and the national unity.” Let us now focus a little on themost important part of this report as mentioned in the published summary. Thefollowing issues are mentioned in detail in the report:Current regulations governing religious activities in Xinjiang, A booklet regarding the application of a policy that is related to religiousissues for minorities, which was distributed within the party and governmentin 2000. Details about several suppressive applications, which later becamelaw, are given in this booklet. In the report it is mentioned that in one of thebooklets some “irregularities” are mentioned; according to these the authoritiescan ban religious freedoms for any reason whatsoever. Such irregularities arementioned as “…the execution of further activities that will damage the stabilityof the population...” and “…those that give rise to separatist elements and majorreactionary elements…” In other parts of the booklet it is stated: “It is essentialthat the Marxist theories be verified regarding religion in all kinds of materialpublished related to research or evaluations of Islam (including news broadcastsand news papers) and that they be in parallel with the religious policies andpractices of the government and party.” A paper signed by the vice director of there-education department indicates the following: There are laws preventing children from participating in any kind ofreligious activity. An example of such a law can be found in an official documentstated as follows: “Parents and legal guardians are forbidden from allowing theirchildren to participate in religious activities.” 19 Documents show an increase in the numbers of Uyghur people who havebeen jailed or arrested on the basis of fabricated crimes of religious activity andcrimes committed against national security. Among the penalties imposed, thereis a penalty of being sent to “re-education in work camps,” an infamous formof punishment. Those who prepared the report indicate that religious controland forced intervention continues to encompass everything. The organization ofreligious activities, schools, cultural institutions, publishers and even the outlook324