Uyghur Hopes Play Out in the Great Game

Uyghur Hopes Play Out in the Great Game
-Contributed by G. Hotta

Sandwiched between Russia, China and Central Asian nations, the Uyghurs hope to shape their own destines in the midst of powerful political forces. The shifting alliances surrounding them and their aspirations for self-determination are also the reasons that the Uyghur prisoners of Guantanamo--although deemed non-enemy combatants and ready for release--find themselves homeless and in search of a safe-haven. And for Alim Seytoff, these same political winds shape his life. Seytoff now lives in Washington DC and is Vice-President of the Uyghur American Association, whose members are from the largely Muslim, Turkic-speaking people in Sinkiang, China. As recent events have turned the spotlight on the Uyghurs, Seytoff now finds himself a spokesperson in exile.

Seytoff favors the name East Turkestan, as opposed to the name Sinkiang Autonomous Region. Sinkiang means “new territory” in Chinese and thus defines the Uyghurs through the lens of China. Seytoff says the erosion of Uyghur identity is visible in places like the capital of Sinkiang. “I was raised in Urumqi which used to be a very Uyghur city. Now skyscrapers and apartment buildings wiped-out everything that represents Uyghur culture except for one building built by the government to showcase so-called Uyghur culture for Western tourists.” During economic downturns, Chinese began migrating to Sinkiang in search of better economic opportunities. With migration, a population shift occurred that saw Chinese becoming a majority in some cities of Sinkiang and Uyghurs migrating to other provinces in China.

In June 2009, two Uyghur workers were killed and others injured in a brawl that erupted in a toy factory over the rumor of Chinese women raped by Uyghur men. Protests over their deaths in Urumqi led to confrontations between Uyghurs, Chinese and the police leaving over 180 dead, shops torn apart, and over 1,500 injured. As word of the turmoil spread on the Internet, the words “race” and “Han” (non-minority Chinese) were used, signaling that there's more than just political obstacles to cross. On the You-tube video of the fighting and police crackdown, comments veer towards racial and sexual stereotypes associated with power, with rape. But, at the heart of violence is a struggle of ownership, of who has true dominion over the Uyghur region.

At one time, East Turkestan flourished from the Silk Road trade. And it is the city of Kashgar that Seytoff says, “is the spiritual center of Uyghur people. Islam, Nestorian Christianity, and Buddhism came through Kashgar to China. Religion and science flourished in Kashgar.”

But in the 1800's, neighboring China's power waned and the Manchu people eventually took control of the country. This began, says Seytoff, the “Great Game” as the Manchus extended their control beyond China and annexed East Turkestan. The Manchu's are a non-Chinese people who some scholars say were funded by the British to gain control of East Turkestan. Annexed to China, East Turkestan was a buffer to Russia, preventing passage into India and protecting British interests. The Uyghurs then fell under the control of weak, often corrupt Manchu and later Kuomintang governments of China.

There was one brief period, however, between the end of the Kuomintang and the rise of the Chinese Communist Party that offered hope of an independent Uyghur nation.

In 1944 the Uyghurs declared independence calling their country the East Turkestan Republic. At first Stalin supported independence. But to appease the Chinese Community Party, Stalin pressured Uyghur leadership to abandon their hopes for independence and become an autonomous region of China with the right to self-determination.

The Uyghur leadership resisted Stalin. But on their way Beijing to negotiate with China, the plane carrying the Uyghur leadership mysteriously exploded. Another great game was in full swing.

However, the idea of an autonomous region within China, with governance in recognition of Uyghur cultural identity and political rights, held out hope for many Uyghurs. Seytoff's father was once a believer. But, according to Seytoff, “The Chinese Communists were no better than the Kuomintang.” The Chinese Red Army became an army of occupation resulting in thousands of Uyghurs deaths says Seytoff. His father's hopes for an equal relationship with China faded and he began to speak out for Uyghur rights. Seytoff's father was jailed for ten years for being a “Separatist”. An uncle was also imprisoned for thirteen years for similar reasons. He was later killed by a Chinese military truck that Seytoff's family is convinced was no accident.

After graduating from Sinkiang University, Seytoff believed it was only a matter of time before he would suffer the same fate as his father and uncle. In 1996, he came to the US as a student.

Not long after that, the face of a middle-aged, Eurasian woman cloaked in a scarf, appeared on postcards put out by Amnesty International. Rebiya Kadeer was once a Uyghur representative to the National People's Congress, China's political consultative body. Kadeer rose from working-class roots to become one of the wealthiest women in China. But in 1999, her views on Uyghur rights landed her in prison on a charge of fomenting succession and leaking state secrets. Two sons are now held in prison on similar charges in China. In 2005, Kadeer was released and is now living in the US. She also authored a book, “Dragon Fighter: One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China” that outlines her views about the Uyghur's relationship with China.

In the wake of the turmoil in Urumqi, the Chinese government places the blame on the shoulders of Kadeer. But she states that she isn't the reason for Uyghur anger or for the uprising again Chinese authorities.

Kadeer is president of the Uyghur American Association that receives funds from US agencies like the National Endowment for Democracy. But American's war on terror has turned into a nightmare for some young Uyghurs.

In 1997, several thousand Uyghurs protested against racial discrimination in Sinkiang. Troops were deployed and, says Seytoff, “dozens of Uyghurs were executed. Uyghurs were put on trucks and paraded around villages as a lesson to what happens if you oppose the government.” Some people who were threatened with arrest escaped to neighboring countries. “When we flee persecution, we cannot just buy a ticket to Europe. We flee to Afghanistan, to Central Asian countries,” continues Seytoff.

But when pressured by China, these Central Asian nations returned the Uyghurs to China where they faced persecuted. Then 9-11 took place. Uyghurs in Afghanistan fled US bombs and wound up in Pakistan's border region. Seytoff says that, “at first, they were welcomed. But then the Pakistanis sold them to Americans for $5,000.00 a piece. Then, the US brought the Uyghurs to Guantanamo Bay. But as early as 2003, the US realized they got the wrong guys.”

Seytoff states that Uyghurs are very pro-Western and pro-American Muslims. However, these sentiments have not been well reciprocated. The US public generally opposes re-settlement of Uyghur prisoners, even temporarily, on American soil. Moved like pawns across a game board, the Uyghurs were settled in Albania, in Bermuda, and in the Republic of Palau that has close ties to the US. As of July 2009, some Uyghurs still remain prisoners at Guantanamo.

Seytoff recalls that at one time in their history, the Uyghurs controlled parts of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Their land was rich in resources and a gateway to Eurasia. Seytoff says that for those same reasons, China wants to control the Uyghurs; their homeland now produces oil and natural gas.

And the city of Kashgar, the ancient center of Uyghur life, has come under threat. Citing the danger posed to old buildings by earthquakes, the Chinese government is starting a redevelopment project. Seytoff believes it's a sham and a scheme to get rid of Uyghurs and their culture. “In the 2008 earthquake in China, it was apartments and schools that collapsed, not the old buildings. In Kashgar, the buildings may need remodeling, but that doesn't mean destroying the buildings.”
In Urumqi, the streets still simmer with tension in the aftermath of the turmoil. In the US, although she doesn’t speak English, Rebiya Kadeer has become the main spokeswoman for her people. Through translators like Seytoff, he explains that Kadeer “is always looking for ways to get the Chinese government to negotiate with the Uyghurs.” Seytoff also adds that he thinks, “The first step is for the Chinese to wake up and say 'let's do it, let's talk with the Uyghurs and Rebiya Kadeer.' ”

(Contributed by G. Hotta: journalist, radio producer for the Pacific National Network/ KPFA)