CFU commemorates 40th anniversary of historic Uyghur student protests in Urumchi

Washington, DC [US], December 14 (ANI): Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) commemorated the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Urumchi Student Movement, one of the most significant student protests in recent Uyghur history and a crucial moment in the Uyghur struggle against oppression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The movement marked the first such protest against communism in the Eastern bloc, according to a CFU press release.
On December 12, 1985, approximately 20,000 Uyghur students from seven universities and institutes took to the streets of Urumchi to protest discriminatory practices. These included disparities in education and job opportunities, enforced sterilisations, catastrophic atmospheric nuclear testing at Lop Nor, and the transfer of criminals from other parts of China into the Uyghur region.
CFU Founder and Executive Director Rushan Abbas was involved in planning and organising the protests and honoured the students who risked their safety in their fight for justice and dignity for the Uyghur community.
Between 1964 and 1996, China conducted a total of 45 nuclear weapons tests at Lop Nur in the Uyghur region, transforming nearly 100,000 square kilometres of desert into the world's largest nuclear testing facility. Authorities claimed the area was "barren and isolated, without permanent residents," overlooking the fact that Uyghur herders and farmers had lived on that land for centuries.
The nuclear testing contaminated land and water sources, resulting in significant health issues and long-term harm to Uyghur communities.
Although Chinese officials agreed to meet with student representatives, they later interrogated and punished leaders of the movement. Rushan Abbas also faced repercussions for her involvement after graduating from Xinjiang University in 1988, which she detailed in her book Unbroken: One Uyghur's Fight for Freedom.
Despite repression, the protests inspired further student mobilisation across East Turkistan and contributed to shaping democratic youth movements, the CFU press release said.
"Forty years ago, I stood with fellow Uyghur students in Urumchi to claim dignity and equal rights. Our voices at that time marked the inception of the first democratic movement in the history of East Turkistan after 35 years of CCP colonisation," said Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs.
"Today, forty years later, our people are enduring a full-scale active genocide. The bravery and honour exhibited in the 1985 student movement serve as a reminder to the world of its ongoing responsibilities. Remembering alone is insufficient; accountability and action are necessary," she added, as cited in the CFU report.
Four decades later, the situation in East Turkistan has significantly deteriorated. An independent tribunal, the United Nations, and several countries, including the United States, have recognised China's actions as genocide and crimes against humanity, with evidence of ongoing abuses continuing to accumulate.
Authorities have imposed more than 4.4 million cumulative years of prison sentences on Uyghurs, and in 2023 alone carried out 3.2 million forced labour transfers.
Numerous Uyghur villages have been renamed, and researchers estimate that since 2017, more than 16,000 mosques have been destroyed or damaged. In some of the most Uyghur-populated regions, the birth rate among Uyghurs has fallen to zero per cent, qualifying as an act of genocide.
The Chinese government celebrated these initiatives by declaring, "Uyghur women are no longer baby-making machines."
These actions reflect the same policies opposed by students in 1985, now implemented on a much larger scale, as Beijing continues crimes against humanity and genocide targeting the Uyghurs, according to the CFU release. (ANI)