Anwar Yusuf Turani

Anwar Yusuf Turani ( ug, ئەنۋەر يۈسۈپ تۇرانى, ) is an ethnic Uyghur nationalist and separatist leader. Born into a family branded counter-revolutionary 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 1983. Turani came to the United States on August 12, 1988 and became the first Uyghur political asylee. In 1995, Turani established the East Turkistan National Freedom Center (ETNFC), a non-profit human rights organization based in Washington, D.C. He is the first person to start the East Turkistan independence movement in the United States. Having spearheaded the formation of the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) on September 14, 2004 in Washington, D.C., Turani went on to become the first Prime Minister of the entity.

Activism

East Turkistan National Freedom Center

Turani established East Turkistan National Freedom Center a professional political organization in Washington, DC in 1996 to advocate independence for his homeland, East Turkistan and served as the President of the organization until 2004. Turani organized demonstrations, conferences and cultural events, concerning the situation of East Turkistan. He also met with many international dignitaries, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, Tibetan Leader Dalai Lama and Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, in an attempt to gain their support in ending the occupation of his nation.

In April 1996, Turani met with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, forging an alliance between East Turkistan and Tibet against the Chinese government. Later that month, Turani and representatives of occupied Tibet and Inner Mongolia organized an Independence Walk from the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. to the United Nations in New York City. At the end of the two-week walk, Turani spoke in front of the United Nations headquarters, addressing the Chinese human rights violations in East Turkistan since 1949.

In June 1997, along with the support of the Tibetan Independence Movement, Turani cut one of the five stars from the national flag of China in front of the United Nations. Turani removed the star as a symbolic gesture of his desire for separation of Xinjiang from China.

In February 1998, Turani visited Taiwan at the invitation of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations, along with Erkin Alptekin; Professor Thubten Jigme Norbu, elder brother of the Dalai Lama; Tashi Jamyangling, former Home Secretary of the Tibetan Government in exile; and Johnar Bache, Vice Chairman of the Southern Mongolian People's Party. They met Taiwan independence activists and the pro Taiwan independence Democratic Progressive Party members Liu Sung-pan, the President of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan; Chen Shui-bian, former president of Taiwan; and Frank Hsieh, the Mayor of Kaohsiung.

On June 4, 1999, Turani met with US President Bill Clinton in order to persuade him to back the East Turkistan independence movement. Turani told Clinton that his nation is in favor of waging a war of independence against China. Turani claimed to had been funded by wealthy Uyghurs in Saudi Arabia.

On July 20, 2001, Turani received a letter from the United States Department of State on behalf of President George W. Bush in response to Turani's initial letter concerning the Chinese occupation of East Turkistan. In this letter, the U.S. government expressed its willingness to protect the "fundamental human rights -- the rights to freedom of association, assembly, religion, belief, conscience, and expression -- of Uyghurs and others living in China."

East Turkistan Government in Exile

On September 14, 2004, Anwar Yusuf Turani proclaimed the creation of the East Turkistan Government in Exile in Washington, D.C. and was elected Prime Minister. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kong Quan publicly registered his displeasure, referencing such groups' terrorism in the Xinjiang region. 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".

According to East-Turkistan.net, the website widely recognized as the official website of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, Anwar Turani was impeached by the East Turkistan Government in Exile's Parliament for "violating the ETGE's Constitutional Amendment No.4" in 2006. Anwar Turani himself claims that he faced an "attempted coup" on July 28, 2005 by officials of the East Turkistan Government in Exile who sought to "overthrow" him. Turani claims to have "expelled" those against him and continued to run his own government since then. Despite the ETGE's constitution capping the length of office of the Prime Minister and President for any individual at two 4-year terms, Turani has continued to claim himself as "Prime Minister" of the East Turkistan Government in Exile from 2004 until 2019. Since 2019 he has subsequently claimed to be 2nd "president" of the East Turkistan Government in Exile. Other than a few youtube videos uploaded by Turani himself and a few fringe Turkish articles, no mainstream or credible sources has mentioned him as being "prime minister" since 2006 nor has any sources ever mentioned him as being "president."

Activism

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 to use Celil as leverage against Canada, where Celil held citizenship.

Since 2007, Anwar Turani has been addressing the primary issues that the people of East Turkistan are facing both in their homeland and abroad.

In 2011, Rebiya Kadeer accused the Chinese government of intentionally cultivating multiple Uyghur governments in exile in order to divide the Uyghur people. She believes that independence movements have less support in the international community and considers pressing for increased self-determination within a unified China to be a better strategic approach.

On August 3, 2014 Anwar Turani addressed the Chinese human rights violation against the people of occupied East Turkistan at the Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC, following his performance of the National Anthem of East Turkistan with his Tambur (a Uyghur traditional musical instrument)

On July 15, 2015 Anwar Turani addressed the situation of the Uyghur people under the rule of Communist China at the Chantilly Regional Library in Virginia before many scholars and journalists in Washington DC Area.

On July 5, 2016 Anwar Turani told China to out of East Turkistan at the gathering in frond of the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul

On July 29, 2016 Anwar Turani addressed the general situation of East Turkistan before many scholars, politicians, freedom fighters, and journalist at Sulaymania Mosque in Istanbul

On November 14, 2019 Anwar Turani appealed to the US government on behalf his nation during his visit to Istanbul to support the independence movement of East Turkistan in terms of arming his nation against the Chinese occupation.

On November 12, 2020 during his speech at the Independence Day of East Turkistan Anwar Turani called on his fellow East Turkistanis in diaspora to fight nothing but for the independence of his homeland against China.

On Feb 12, 2021 Anwar Turani shared his thoughts and beliefs about the political situation of the United States in the aftermath of the 2020 Presidential election with his fellow countrymen in diaspora.

See also

* Uyghur Americans

References

Further reading

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turani, Anwar Yusuf
Uyghur nationalists
Living people
1962 births
East Turkestan independence activists