World Uighur Congress

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Protest in Munich with the Uighur flag

The World Uighur Congress ( Uighur دۇنيا ئۇيغۇر قۇرۇلتىيى Dunya Uyghur Qurultiyi ; Chinese  世界 维吾尔 代表 大会 , Pinyin Shìjiè Wéiwúěr Dàibiǎo Dàhuì , English World Uyghur Congress, WUC ) is an organization of the Uyghurs in exile based in Munich.

status

The association is classified as separatist by Chinese authorities (both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China in Taiwan ) and international observers . The association acts as an umbrella organization for several smaller groups, including the Uyghur Women's Association Munich e. V. , but also groups from the spectrum of exiled Uighur nationalists . Some members are also accused by the Chinese government of having been involved in planning and carrying out terrorist attacks.

The association was founded in 2004 from a merger of the World Congress of Uighur Youth and the East Turkestan National Congress .

The organization claims to represent the interests of the approximately eight million Uighur minority in China , who are mainly located in the Chinese Xinjiang . The WUC calls for the independence of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, known as " East Turkestan " . However, this claim is not legitimized in the form of a democratic election; rather, it can be assumed that the majority of the Uyghurs in China are unaware of the existence of the WUC. It is also not known whether a majority of the Uyghurs support the political goals of the WUC, openly or tacitly.

In April 2004, Erkin Alptekin was named the first president. He was followed by Rebiya Kadeer , who was unanimously elected at the November 2006 general assembly . The WUC has been led by Dolkun Isa since November 2017, while Perhat Muhammet and Erkin Ekrem are vice-presidents .

According to Chinese representations and the view of some Western terrorism experts, the group was involved in the “Uighur pogrom […] in which 140 Han Chinese died in early July [2009],” Chinese authorities speak of prepared riots. The General Secretary of the World Congress, Dolkun Isa, denies the Chinese allegations that Kadeer, who lives in exile, “orchestrated” the unrest from abroad. Rather, the unrest and riots are a "reaction to atrocities committed by the Chinese". On July 6, 2009, there was an arson attack on the Chinese consulate in Munich, where the World Congress is located.

Some political analysts see the Uyghur terrorist acts in China and the desired alliance with the Tibetans in exile , both for US foreign policy under Obama, which sees Afghanistan as a focus, and for the Central Asian states such as Russia and China, as domestic problems. The policies of these exile movements, which Germany sponsored, are viewed critically above all in Moscow and Beijing. Meanwhile, the USA is granting WUC President Rebiya Kadeer political asylum and taking a critical stance on the conflict. The semi-governmental US National Endowment for Democracy Fund also financially supports the WUC with around 200,000 US dollars a year.

aims

The World Congress describes its goals as “granting democracy, human rights and religious freedom for all Uighurs”. According to their own admission, violence is rejected and postulated that it is the only legitimate Uyghur organization in the world without being able to prove this. He sees himself as a peaceful opposition movement against the Chinese occupation of East Turkestan. The association is particularly active in Munich and regularly organizes demonstrations and vigils. According to a report by the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution in 2009, the association was monitored for intelligence purposes by employees of the Chinese Consulate General in Munich. A case against four suspected spies was initiated.

The WUC works closely with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization , whose co-founder Erkin Alptekin was chairman of the WUC from 2004 to 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b [1]
  2. ↑ Beijing accuses exiled Uyghurs of conspiracy, in: Spiegel online, July 6, 2009 (accessed July 28, 2009)
  3. ↑ The mother of the Uighurs, in: FTD of July 8, 2009 (accessed on July 27, 2009) ( Memento of July 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Report on the WUC General Assembly
  5. ↑ a b Alliance against Beijing, in: GFP of July 24, 2009 (accessed July 27, 2009)
  6. ↑ World Uyghur Congress behind Xinjiang violence: expert, in: China Daily, July 7, 2009 (accessed July 28, 2009)
  7. ↑ China blames Uighur World Congress for unrest in Urumchi, in: RIA.de of July 7, 2009 (accessed on July 27, 2009)
  8. ↑ [2]
  9. ↑ [3]
  10. ↑ sueddeutsche.de from July 12, 2009: Beijing urges Munich tourists to be careful ( memento of the original from August 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sueddeutsche.de
  11. ^ Uyghur conflict: Warning signs for Obama and Medvedev, in: RIA.de, July 6, 2009 (accessed on July 27, 2009)
  12. ↑ Epoch Times, July 31, 2008: Bush Meets Dissidents
  13. ↑ NED.org: NED support for Uyghur Human Rights and Prodemocracy Groups in Exile; accessed April 2011 ( memento from July 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ Self-presentation (accessed on July 31, 2009)
  15. ↑ Report of the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution 2009 p. 207: "Espionage against Uighurs" ( Memento from July 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive )