Washington/Ottawa, April 6 (NationPress) - Representatives of the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) alongside members of the Uyghur community organized demonstrations throughout the United States and Canada. They are demanding international accountability and immediate action regarding what they characterize as China’s “ongoing genocide” in East Turkistan, also referred to as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.

These protests took place on Sunday in Washington and Edmonton, Canada, commemorating the 36th anniversary of the 1990 East Turkistan Uprising, often called the “Baren Uprising”. The ETGE described this event as “one of the most significant acts of national resistance” against China’s “colonial occupation” of the area.

The ETGE reports that thousands of East Turkistanis rose up on April 5, 1990, in Baren Township to protest against China’s “genocidal enforcement of coercive population control policies”, where it claims over 250 Uyghur women faced forced abortions.

In response, the ETGE claims that Chinese authorities deployed over 20,000 troops, along with helicopter gunships and heavy artillery, resulting in over 3,000 fatalities and more than 7,600 arrests following the uprising.

Labeling the Baren Uprising a legitimate act of “anti-colonial resistance”, the ETGE stated, “Mass imprisonment, forced labor, coercive population control, family separation, and the systematic destruction of Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic cultures continue across occupied East Turkistan.”

During the rally in Washington, Salih Hudayar, ETGE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security, emphasized, “The martyrs of Baren did not die fighting for so-called ‘genuine autonomy', ‘improved human rights conditions', or mere ‘cultural rights’ under the Chinese invaders. They died fighting for the restoration of the East Turkistan Republic.”

He added, “Guided by their sacrifice, we reaffirm our collective vow to continue our national liberation and independence struggle with unyielding strength until the occupation ends and East Turkistan’s national independence and sovereignty are fully restored.”

The ETGE alleged that in February, senior Chinese officials formally advocated for the “normalization and continuation of genocidal policies in occupied East Turkistan,” which was followed by the enactment of the “so-called Ethnic Unity Law,” purportedly aimed at “erasing all non-Chinese languages, cultures, and identities.”

Stressing that these developments reflect China's lack of intention to cease its atrocities, the exiled authorities asserted, “The conflict between East Turkistan and China is an international conflict between an occupied nation and an occupying power, not an internal affairs matter of China.”

Abdulahat Nur, Prime Minister of the ETGE, who spearheaded the protests in Edmonton, stated, “Canada must not remain silent while a genocide unfolds.”

The ETGE urged the governments of the US and Canada, along with the international community, to officially recognize East Turkistan as an “occupied country” under international law and to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials “responsible for genocide.”

Additionally, they called for a ban on imports linked to forced labor and supported international accountability initiatives, including an investigation by the International Criminal Court into China’s “ongoing genocide.”