dogu-turkistan-sempozyumu

FREEEAST TURKISTAN SYMPOSIUMAnother harsh, cruel and inhuman practice that has adversely affected andrestricted the fundamental rights and liberties of the Uyghur population in theregion is the practice of compulsory abortions. Chinese families are restrictedto having one child and minorities are allowed two; when a pregnancy whichtakes the family beyond this limit is detected by the state, the pregnant motheris forced to have an abortion. “The compulsory-abortion practice” results in thevoluntary abortion of female babies, and thus a serious gender imbalance occursin the population. Such an imbalance is true not only for the Uyghur people, butalso for the Chinese. However, the Uyghur people have more than the allowednumber of children, registering them through illegal channels, such as bribery.The children who cannot be registered are officially deemed not to exist. Thesituation of “nonexistent children” is a potentially serious issue. The life of peoplewho are not officially registered is highly difficult. Poor education, health andemployment opportunities for “nonexistent” children makes the quality of lifeeven worse for them and the Chinese police carry out regular security and IDchecks on the streets; those without IDs are arrested and severely punished.The assimilation policies pursued by China have resulted in increased ethnicconflicts and tension in the region. Such tension became evident on 28 June,2009, when Uyghur Turks protested and demonstrated against the battery andlynching of Uyghur Turks by the Han Chinese in Urumchi in their work place.The Han Chinese people were supported by the security forces, and observersreported that about one thousand people were killed after the intervention ofarmed troops. The unarmed, defenceless Uyghur Turks were fired upon, andthere were attempts by large groups with cudgels to lynch the Uyghur Turks. TheUyghur Turks, who were the victims in these events, suffered more oppressiondue to the resulting mass executions. The pictures of two Uyghur Turks who hadbeen pounded with rocks and lynched by the Chinese security forces should bea bitter lesson for all of humanity. It is impossible to report the exact number ofcasualties. As a result of such actions, the Uyghur Turks could only make theirfeelings public for a week, as they were stoned to death in the streets. These eventshave revealed that the Chinese government practices extreme oppression againstany resistance or action that is opposed to their goals, which have already beenlisted; they do not hesitate to use the most brutal methods to do so.442