dogu-turkistan-sempozyumu

The Role of the International Community in East Turkestan / Prof Dru C. Gladneywere to compare ETIM with many of these other groups, it could be argued thatETIM as so described is not even as radical as some of the other groups, basedon their publications.As noted above, since September 11, 2001, very few groups have publiclyadvocated terror against the Chinese state and most have denied any involvementin terrorist activities, though they may express sympathy for such activities. Acase in point is the East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO), led by thesecretive Mehmet Emin Hazret. In a January 24, 2003 telephone interview withthe Uighur service of Radio Free Asia, Hazret admitted that there may be a needto establish a military wing of his organization that would target Chinese interests;nevertheless he denied any prior terrorist activity or any association with theEast Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). “We have not been and will not beinvolved in any kind of terrorist action inside or outside China,” Hazret said. “Wehave been trying to solve the East Turkestan problem through peaceful means.But the Chinese government’s brutality in East Turkestan may have forced someindividuals to resort to violence.” 57 Hazret, a former screenwriter from Xinjiang,migrated to Turkey in his 40s; he denies any connection between his organizationand al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden. Nevertheless, he has perceived an increasingneed for military action against Chinese rule in the region: “Our principal goal isto achieve independence for East Turkestan by peaceful means. But to show ourenemies and friends our determination on the East Turkestan issue, we view amilitary wing as inevitable…The Chinese people are not our enemy. Our problemis with the Chinese government, which violates the human rights of the Uighurpeople.” Once again, a common pattern to his response regarding Chinese rule inthe region is not to stress Islamic jihad or religious nationalism, but to emphasizehuman rights violations and Uighur claims on Eastern Turkestan.Chinese authorities are clearly concerned that increasing internationalattention to the treatment of its minority and dissident peoples has put pressureon the region, with the US and many Western governments continuing to criticizeChina for not adhering to its commitments to signed international agreements andhuman rights. In 1998, China ratified the International Covenant on Economic,Social, and Cultural Rights. Article One of the covenant says: “All peoples havethe right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their491