Uyghurs Without Borders? - Foreign Military Studies Office - U.S. Army

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Uyghurs Without Borders? The Economic and Social Status of Uyghurs in Kazakhstanand Its Impact on Interethnic Conflict and Transnational ThreatsMatthew SteinThe one year anniversary of the July 2009 Urumqi Riots, the clash between Chinese andUyghurs in the Xinjiang capital, came and went without any major incidents. Severaldemonstrations took place around the world where Uyghur expatriate groups live, including inTurkey and the United States, 1 but violence did not erupt in Xinjiang as had been anticipated,due in part to tight security measure put in place. 2While attention was paid to Xinjiang, nonotice was on the Uyghurs in Kazakhstan. This despite a large demonstration that took place atthe Palace of the Republic in Almaty, Kazakhstan a year previously, where several thousandUyghurs gathered to voice frustration over the July 2009 Riots. 3The protest was unique in itssize and nature, as Uyghurs in Kazakhstan do not often come together in support of Xinjiang nordoes the government in Kazakhstan freely give out permission to do so. It also brings to light animportant and less considered point; that Uyghurs in Kazakhstan may demonstrate support fortheir kin across the border in Xinjiang, but do not support separatism or extremism there.In the context of security concerns in Central Asia, particularly interethnic conflict andtransnational threats, Uyghurs in Kazakhstan should be looked at for three reasons. First, theyare the largest group of Uyghurs outside of Xinjiang and they inhabit areas of Kazakhstan thatborder the region, specifically where a large part of Kazakh-Chinese trade transits through. Thiseconomic link is becoming increasingly fundamental to both countries, and they will takeappropriate measures to protect it. Secondly, significant attention on Uyghurs around the worldis on their involvement in extremist activities and their lobbying actions for a homeland. This isnot to say that this attention is misguided or that these things do not happen among certain2
groups, but that it does not include all aspects of Uyghur interests, especially in Kazakhstan.This leads to the third reason; that Uyghurs in Kazakhstan have a high enough economic andsocial status that they are integrated to a point where their loyalty and view towards their kin inXinjiang may not be in line with other Uyghur interest groups. If another incident like the July2009 Riots occurs, this group’s status can determine their level of support for violent elements inXinjiang. Their status and integration levels can also be an indicator of how likely they are to beinvolved in interethnic clashes if a Kyrgyzstan type situation, where interethnic violence betweenUzbeks and Kyrgyz occurred in June 2010, were to happen in Kazakhstan. Ultimately, thisgroup of Uyghurs could be looked at as an integration model for ethnic minorities in CentralAsia.BackgroundBefore examining Uyghurs’ status and integration in Kazakhstan, it is necessary to givesome historical background on this ethnic group, particularly how they came to be inKazakhstan. Uyghurs are Turkic people, originating in the Eurasian Steppe region. Theirhistory stretches back to 744, when they formed their own khanate in the Orkhon Valley, presentday Mongolia. 4The history of Uyghurs is well documented after the formation of this khanate,but the focus of this article is what historical events have most influenced Uyghurs inKazakhstan, which is in more recent history. These events start with the Russian Empire’sexpansion in the Central Asian region; eastward into Siberia during the sixteenth througheighteenth centuries, and south into Central Asia during the Great Game. 5This expansionhappened in areas to the west and north of Xinjiang, the region that modern Uyghurs view astheir homeland.3
Page 4 and 5: Russian interests in the Xinjiang r
Page 6 and 7: together and some shared infrastruc
Page 8 and 9: Despite being largely pushed out of
Page 10 and 11: y expatriate Uyghurs living in Euro
Page 12 and 13: While the government closely watche
Page 14 and 15: If integration continues along its
Page 16 and 17: 21 Sean R. Roberts, “A “Land of

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