Washington, July 22 (IANS) Turkey’s collaboration with the Chinese intelligence to suppress the independence movement of East Turkistan and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing efforts to “divide and co-opt Uyghur organisations abroad” were spotlighted during a US Congressional Briefing on Captive Nations convened in the Rayburn House Office Building of the US Congress to commemorate the ‘Captive Nations Week 2025’, on Monday, US time.
The event gathered representatives from East Turkistan, Tibet, Southern Mongolia, US national security experts, and Congressional staff to address the ongoing occupation, repression, and erasure endured by people of the said region.
“East Turkistan was explicitly named in the 1959 Captive Nations Resolution, not as part of China, but as a nation subjugated by Communist imperialism. That law remains in force. And tragically, so too does our captivity,” said Salih Hudayar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security for the ‘East Turkistan Government in Exile’, during a compelling keynote address.
Giving details of the “ongoing genocide”, Hudayar mentioned that while millions have been locked in concentration camps and prisons, between 25,000 to 50,000 Uyghur and Turkic youth are killed annually and their organs sold.
Hudayar urged Congress to recognise East Turkistan as an “occupied nation”, conduct hearings on East Turkistan’s struggle for independence, and investigate and stop “Chinese infiltration and transnational repression” in the East Turkistani/Uyghur diaspora.
“Removing the CCP is not enough. The Chinese empire must be dismantled. The restoration of liberty and independence for East Turkistan is not a dream. It is a duty enshrined in the Captive Nations Resolution,” he said.
Enacted in 1959, the Captive Nations Resolution identifies nations subjugated by communist imperialism, calling for US support to restore their liberty and independence. It explicitly mentions captive nations, “such as Turkistan and Tibet”, urging support for their liberation and the right to self-determination.
Tenzin Wangdue, a Tibetan-American representative of the Tibetan Rangzen (independence) movement, emphasised Tibet’s distinct identity, stating, “Tibet has never legally been a part of China… We had our own government, our own culture, our distinct identity for over a thousand years”.
He declared, “The Chinese occupation of 1951 was an invasion and not a liberation… The time for empty statements is over. We need concrete action.”
Wangdue stressed that only “independence” can ensure the survival of the Tibetan people.
Se Hoon Kim, a Korean-American journalist representing Southern Mongolia, highlighted the systematic erosion of Mongolian identity, stating, “For decades the Mongolian people of Southern Mongolia have faced systematic efforts to erode their cultural identity, suppress their language, and marginalise their traditional way of life… What we are witnessing is not merely a crackdown, it is a deliberate assimilation that threatens the survival of an ancient heritage”.
Major Ben Loswen (Retd.), a former US Army attache in Beijing, underscored the global reach of CCP threats, warning, “The attack of the Chinese Communist Party on the United States is proceeding as quickly as the CCP can facilitate and as we will allow”.
He further called on the US government to prioritise the liberation of captive nations, stating, “We need to establish an office of East Turkistan affairs… fund warfare, frankly, the political warfare that the CCP is funding against us.”
The briefing concluded with a Joint Statement and Proclamation from representatives of East Turkistan, Tibet, Southern Mongolia, and other oppressed peoples, declaring: “The right of all captive nations to recover their independence and exercise national sovereignty is absolute and non-negotiable. We will not cease our efforts until independence is restored, liberty is secured, and justice is achieved for all captive nations,” they affirmed.
–IANS
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