Uyghur American Association
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The Uyghur American Association ( ug, ئامېرىكا ئۇيغۇر جەمئىيىتى, ئامېرىكا ئۇيغۇر بىرلىكى, translit=Amérika Uyghur Birliki, ; zh, s= 维吾尔裔美国人协会, p=Wéiwú'ěryì Měiguórén Xiéhuì;
abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
UAA) is a prominent Uyghur American non-profit advocacy organization based in
Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
in the United States. It was established in 1998 by a group of Uyghur overseas activists to raise the public awareness of the
Uyghur people The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia, Central and East As ...
, who primarily reside in
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, also known as
East Turkestan East Turkestan ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان, Sherqiy Türkistan, bold=no; zh, s=东突厥斯坦; also spelled East Turkistan), is a loosely-defined geographical and historical region in the western provinces of the People's Republic of ...
. The Uyghur American Association is an affiliate organization of the
World Uyghur Congress The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups that claims to "represent the collective interest of the Uyghur people" both inside and outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's R ...
and works to promote the Uyghur culture and improved human rights conditions for Uyghurs.


History

The UAA was founded in 1998. The UAA has had tax-exempt status since April 1998. Uyghur activist
Rushan Abbas Rushan Abbas ( Uyghur: روشەن ئابباس; Chinese: 茹仙·阿巴斯; born June 14, 1967) is a Uyghur American activist and advocate from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. She is the founder and executive director of the n ...
played a significant role in the establishment of the UAA. She went on to become UAA Vice President and was the first Uyghur reporter to broadcast daily to the Uyghur region, for ''
Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editoriall ...
'', in 1998. In April 2004, the
National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...
provided US$75,000 for the UAA. This was the first time the American government had provided aid to a Uyghur exile group.Mackerras, Colin
'Pivot of Asia' sees China-Pakistan maneuvers
. ''
Asia Times Online ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...
''. 13 August 2004
In 2004, with a supporting grant from the National Endowment for Democracy, the UAA founded the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) for the purpose of promoting improved human rights conditions for Uyghurs and other minority groups in China's
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
on the premise that the assurance of basic human rights will facilitate the realization of the community's democratic aspirations. In 2006, the UAA established a UHRP satellite office in
Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
. An article published by the ''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'' on October 10, 2008, quoted Elshat Hassan and
Nury Turkel Nury Ablikim Turkel (; ; born 1970) is a Uyghur American attorney, public official and human rights advocate based in Washington, D.C. He is currently the Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Turkel was born ...
, two leaders of the Uyghur American Association, about plans for American-Uyghurs to help the
Uyghur detainees at Guantanamo Bay Starting in 2002, the American government detained 22 Uyghurs in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. The last 3 Uyghur detainees, Yusef Abbas, Hajiakbar Abdulghupur and Saidullah Khalik, were released from Guantanamo on December 29, 2013, and lat ...
acclimatize, once they have been admitted to the USA. Court records included a detailed plan by the UAA to assist Uyghur detainees in resettling in the United States. In July 2009, Chinese officials singled out
Rebiya Kadeer Rebiya Kadeer ( ug, رابىيە قادىر, translit=Rabiye Qadir; born 15 November 1946) is an ethnic Uyghur businesswoman and political activist. Born in Altay City, Xinjiang, Kadeer became a millionaire in the 1980s through her real estate ...
, then UAA President, for inciting the
July 2009 Ürümqi riots The July 2009 Ürümqi riots were a series of violent riots over several days that broke out on 5 July 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in northwestern China. The first day's rioting, which ...
. The Chinese government said that a photograph provided by the UAA which was supposed to be East Turkestan separatist protesters in
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
was actually the scene of a traffic accident in
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
, China. In December 2009, the UAA expressed concern at the return of 20 Uyghur refugees from
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
to China. In February 2012, the UAA and UHRP announced the launch of their redesigned websites, including a
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
version. Alim Seytoff, UAA President, said that China was increasingly able to leverage its economic and strategic weight in countries such as Thailand to seek the forcible return of individuals in disregard of international human rights conventions and norms. In a 2015 ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
'' report, Australia's
Refugee Review Tribunal The Refugee Review Tribunal was an Australian administrative law tribunal established in 1993. Along with the Migration Review Tribunal, the Refugee Review Tribunal was amalgamated to a division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 1 July 201 ...
was reported to have reviewed an unnamed Uyghur man's asylum application from September 2011. The review cited sworn testimony from UAA President Alim Seytoff that, "there is an extensive network of spies including some Uyghurs, who regularly monitor the activities of Uyghurs throughout the Western world and report on their activities to the PRC (People’s Republic of China) authorities." On August 16, 2016, the Board of Directors of the UAA voted to separate the UAA from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP). In a 2016 interview with ''
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
'', UAA President Ilshat Hassan said that his family had faced repeated harassment over his activism. On October 18, 2019, an exhibition named "A Prison Without Walls — East Turkestan Today", was opened, featuring photographs of re-education camps, the everyday lives of Uighurs and the
July 2009 Urumqi riots July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...
opened at
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
's 228 Memorial Museum. The exhibition was originally organized by the UAA and the One Voice, One Step initiative and has been presented in 33 cities in 15 countries. The exhibition was to run for one month. In a 2019 ''CNN'' interview, Nury Turkel, former head of the Uyghur American Association and chairman of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, discussing
cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...
issues encountered by these organizations, reported that the UAA and UHRP, "were constantly attacked. Our websites were shut down at times, and I was personally the target of email-based hacking attempts."


Organization

As of late 2008, the Uyghur American Association had approximately 600 members. More than 200 members attended the Eighth Congress of the UAA in 2016. The organization has a president and a board of directors which, as of the founding in 1998, consisted of nine members: Chairman, Vice Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer, Director of Public Relations, Director of Education, Director of Communication, Director of Publication, and Director of Cultural Affairs. The UAA has received funding from the
National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...
. As of 2005, the UAA's website was one of the two most active websites among Uyghur migrants. The UAA website has been described as a key information provider on Uyghur issues. The UAA renounces the use of violence to achieve political ends.


Presidents

* Turdi Ghoja (from 2000) * Nury A. Turkel (2004-2006), Vice President Omer Kanat *
Rebiya Kadeer Rebiya Kadeer ( ug, رابىيە قادىر, translit=Rabiye Qadir; born 15 November 1946) is an ethnic Uyghur businesswoman and political activist. Born in Altay City, Xinjiang, Kadeer became a millionaire in the 1980s through her real estate ...
(2006-2011) *
Alim Seytoff The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups that claims to "represent the collective interest of the Uyghur people" both inside and outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's ...
* Ilshat Hassan Kokbore (from 2016) * Kuzzat Altay


Congresses

The First Congress was held in Arlington on May 23, 1998. The Second Congress was held in Washington, DC on May 28, 2000. The Fourth Congress was held in Washington, DC on May 29, 2004. The Fifth Congress was held on May 29, 2006. The Seventh General Congress of the UAA was held in Annandale, VA on November 10, 2012. The Eighth General Congress was held in June 2016.


See also

*
Uyghur Americans Uyghur Americans are Americans of Uyghur ethnicity. Most Uyghurs immigrated from Xinjiang, China, to the United States from the late 1980s onwards, with a significant number arriving after July 2009. History Uyghurs' history in the United St ...
*
East Turkestan independence movement The East Turkestan independence movement ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان مۇستەقىللىق ھەرىكىتى; zh, s=东突厥斯坦独立运动) is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan, a large and spa ...
*
World Uyghur Congress The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups that claims to "represent the collective interest of the Uyghur people" both inside and outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's R ...


References


External links


Uyghur American Association websiteUyghur News websiteUyghur-Han Conflict in China
(interview of Alim Seytoff on C-SPAN)
Human Rights in ChinaStatement by Sokrat Saydahmat
Member of the Board of Directors of the Uyghur American Association, 2002- starts at 12:40) {{Authority control Central Asian American culture East Turkestan independence movement Political advocacy groups in the United States Asian-American culture in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 1998 Turkic diaspora in North America Uyghur diaspora Uyghurs 1998 establishments in the United States