Anwar Yusuf Turani
Anwar Yusuf Turani ئەنۋەر يۈسۈپ تۇرانى | |
|---|---|
 Anwar Yusuf Turani speaking at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on November 22, 2004. | |
| Born | August 3, 1962 |
| Organization(s) | East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGIE), East Turkistan National Freedom Center (ETNFC) |
| Title | Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile |
| Movement | East Turkistan independence movement |
Anwar Yusuf Turani (Uyghur: ئەنۋەر يۈسۈپ تۇرانى) is an ethnic Uyghur nationalist. Born into a family branded counter-revolutionary, Uyghur nationalist, and separatist by the Chinese government, Turani was raised in a labor camp where he faced economic hardship and political oppression. Turani attended Kashgar Teacher's College and graduated from the Department of Physics in July of 1983. Turani came to the United States on August 12, 1988 and became the first Uyghur political asylee. As the first person to start the East Turkistan Independence Movement in the United States, Turani established the East Turkistan National Freedom Center (ETNFC) in Washington D.C. in 1995. In 2004, Turani set up the "East Turkistan Government in Exile" (ETGIE) and was elected Prime Minister.
Activism
On June 4, 1999, Turani met with US President Bill Clinton in order to persuade him to back the Uyghur independence movement of Xinjiang from China.[1] Turani told Clinton that he was not afraid of starting a war of independence against China;[2][3] articles from his organization in 2008 and 2009 continue to assert a "legitimate right to wage war" against China. Turani claimed to had been funded by wealthy Uyghurs in Saudi Arabia.[4]
On September 14, 2004, Anwar Yusuf Turani proclaimed the creation of the "East Turkistan Government in Exile" in Washington, D.C.,[5] and was elected Prime Minister.[6][7] China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kong Quan publicly registered his displeasure, referencing such groups' terrorism in the Xinjiang region.;[8][9] In November, the United States Government declared that it "does not recognize any East Turkestan government-in-exile, nor do we provide support for any such entity".[10]
In 2007, Turani criticized the People's Republic of China for imprisoning Uyghur imam Huseyincan Celil. Turani compared Celil's arrest to that of Rebiya Kadeer and theorized that the PRC wanted the to use Celil as leverage against Canada, where Celil held citizenship.[11][12]
References
- ^ Gladney, Dru C. (2004). Starr, S. Frederick (ed.). Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland. Armonk, New York: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. p. 382. ISBN 0-7656-1317-4. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Gladney, Dru C. (2004). Dislocating China: Muslims, Minorities, and Other Subaltern Subjects. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 245. ISBN 0-226-29775-6. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Gladney, Dru C. (2004). Starr, S. Frederick (ed.). Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland. Armonk, New York: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. p. 387. ISBN 0-7656-1317-4. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Gladney, Dru C. (2004). Starr, S. Frederick (ed.). Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland. Armonk, New York: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. pp. 388–389. ISBN 0-7656-1317-4. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "The Formation of the East Turkistan Government in Exile" (Press release). PR Newswire. 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Reed, J. Todd; Raschke, Diana (2010). The ETIM: China's Islamic militants and the global terrorist threat. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-313-36540-9. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Karrar, Hasan Haider (2009). The New Silk Road Diplomacy: China's Central Asian Foreign Policy since the Cold War. Vancouver, British Columbia: UBC Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-7748-1692-2. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "China Protests Establishment of Uighur Government-in-Exile in Washington". Voice of America. 2004-09-21. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "China Protests Establishment of Uighur Government-in-Exile in Washington". The Chosun Ilbo. 2004-09-22. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "China - No Recognition of Any East Turkestanmore Government in Exile (Taken Question)". United States Department of State. November 22, 2004.
- ^ Steel, Kevin (2007-05-21). "The Uyghur pawn". Western Standard. p. 2. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
- ^ Steel, Kevin (2007-05-21). "The Uyghur pawn". Western Standard. p. 3. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
External links
- About Anwar Yusuf Turani – East Turkistan government-in-exile website