On February 5, 1997, the Chinese government unleashed brutal violence on peaceful Uyghur demonstrators in the city of Ghulja (Yining), East Turkestan (Xinjiang). What began as a non-violent protest for equal rights, religious freedom, and an end to racial discrimination quickly turned into one of the bloodiest crackdowns on Uyghurs in modern history.
๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ
Eyewitnesses recall that the Peopleโs Armed Police and riot police opened fire indiscriminately into the crowd of approximately 10,000 Uyghurs, killing and wounding hundreds on the spot. Official death tolls were never released, but sources report that at least 100 people were killed immediately, with hundreds more wounded and arrested.
According to Amnesty International, more than 200 Uyghurs were executed in the following months after sham trials. Some estimates put the number at over 400. Thousands were detained, and many simply disappearedโpresumed to have been tortured to death or executed in secret. Family members were left with no answers, their loved ones erased by the Chinese stateโs machinery of repression.
๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐, ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐
Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer, who has been at the forefront of exposing Chinaโs crimes, has repeatedly called for justice. โ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ช๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ,โ she stated in 2010.
Survivors have described nightmarish conditions in the aftermath. Those arrested were taken to overflowing detention centers. Some were crammed into a sports stadium, doused with freezing water in sub-zero temperatures, leading to frostbite and amputations. Others were executed in public as a warning to anyone who dared to resist Chinese rule.
The massacre did not end with mass executions. Uyghurs who were merely suspected of being involved faced indefinite imprisonment and systematic torture. Inmates were subjected to electric shocks, beatings, and psychological abuse. In one particularly gruesome form of torture, detainees were forced to sit in iron chairs for days on end, unable to move, eat, or sleep.
๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐ข ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ข๐๐
If history repeats itself, it is because those in power face no consequences. On July 5, 2009, another peaceful protest in Urumchi, the capital of Xinjiang, ended in another bloodbath. Chinese police and military forces cracked down mercilessly, killing untold numbers of Uyghurs. The Chinese government admitted to 197 deaths, but independent estimates suggest thousands were massacred.
Since then, the Uyghur genocide has escalated. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has intensified its campaign of cultural eradication, sending over a million Uyghurs into concentration camps under the guise of โre-education.โ Forced labor, mass sterilization, and relentless surveillance are now the reality for Uyghurs in their own homeland.
For decades, China has suppressed any discussion of the Ghulja Massacre. International inquiries have been blocked, journalists expelled, and families silenced through intimidation and imprisonment. But survivors refuse to forget.
Rebiya Kadeer has called upon the world to act: โ๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐บ๐จ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐๐บ๐จ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ. ๐๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ.โ
Despite overwhelming evidence, China continues to frame the Uyghur struggle as a โterroristโ movement, exploiting global fears to justify its repression. But the world must recognize this for what it is: a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing.
