dogu-turkistan-sempozyumu

The Future of East Turkistan: An Evaluation through the SWOT Analysis Method / Assoc Prof Erkin Ekremthese weaknesses are remedied. In other words, the independence of East Turkistanwill not be easy. The most serious problem with the said model is that the peopleof East Turkistan may miss some opportunities due to their weaknesses. If thisis the case, then it is likely that the people of East Turkistan will be disappointedin their goals. Organizations in East Turkistan need to keep this issue on theinternational agenda at all times; the staff of these organizations should becomequalified and the organizations should become institutionalized. Thus, they willbe able to receive the material and moral support of the international society;this is the only way in which the organizations can make contributions to theindependence of East Turkistan. Otherwise, East Turkistan should abandonher dreams of independence or define gradual targets towards the final goal ofindependence.If half of the factors affecting the future of human beings are fortune, theremaining half is human effort. 9 This statement, made by Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527), tells us that human beings can shape their future with their ownhands. A famous futurologist, Herman Kahn (1922-1983) had similar thoughtstoo. Namely, even though human beings cannot predict their future, they canprefer their future. 10 In fact, the shaping of the future in East Turkistan is partiallyin the hands of the people of the country. In other words, what they do today willshape their tomorrow. In this sense, the organizations of East Turkistan shouldhave a comprehensive knowledge about their own country and they also need tobe aware about international factors. As Michael E. Howard, a famous militarystrategy expert, expressed: There is little point in considering where we shouldbe going if we do not first decide where we are starting from. 11 In the same waythat the cost of yesterday’s mistakes is paid today, today’s mistakes will be paidfor tomorrow. Likewise, any positive steps taken today shall turn out to be awardsfor us tomorrow. In this context, foresight is needed to prepare a better future. 12The power of all powers is the mind. Strategic plans built out of comprehensiveknowledge always have the chance to succeed. There are plenty of things that theorganizations of East Turkistan can do to prepare for an emerging China.571