Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests and the honorable Members of the Nonviolent Radical Party – Mr. Marco Panella, Mr. Marco Perduca, Mr. Marco Cappato, Mr. Matteo Meccaci and Ms. Emma Bonino, and others.

2009 marks one of the most turbulent periods in the modern history of East Turkestan. Unrest, state brutality and ethnic violence have exposed deep social rifts and grossly flawed Chinese government policies. The bloodshed that took place in East Turkestan this July, and an unprecedented crackdown on Uyghurs in East Turkestan, have brought great sadness and fear into the hearts of many.

At a July 5, 2009 protest in the regional capital of Urumchi, mostly young men and women, some of whom carried the flag of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), assembled and marched peacefully toward Urumchi’s People’s Square. The demonstrators asked for an investigation into the killings of Uyghurs in an attack in Guangdong Province, and expressed sympathy with the families of those killed and injured in the attack. Protestors also asked to meet with government officials but none came out to meet with them.

On the days that followed the protest, a number of innocent Uyghurs and Han Chinese were killed in violent unrest on the streets of Urumchi. Beginning on July 5, the Chinese government instigated and exacerbated much of the violence and the ethnic tension that has continued to plague East Turkestan in recent months, and it has shown no signs of working to achieve real peace and ethnic harmony in the region. Against a barrage of “ethnic unity” propaganda, key government officials have actively worked to exacerbate disharmony between Han Chinese and Uyghurs.

Ethnic relations between Han Chinese and Uyghurs are at their lowest point in decades, and the first step toward creating peace and stability in the region is for the Chinese government to acknowledge that serious problems exist. The Chinese government must take active steps to address these problems, by creating space for dialogue, and putting in place a mechanism through which Uyghurs may express their legitimate grievances. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can only create a harmonious society in East Turkestan through a genuine respect for and adherence to China’s constitution and Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law. The CCP must also actively promote Uyghurs’ economic, social and cultural rights. The path forward involves an introspective look at the Chinese government’s policies regarding indigenous, non-Chinese peoples, employment opportunities, and the preservation of cultural and religious traditions in East Turkestan. Without such introspection, it will be impossible to achieve progress, prosperity and peace for all people living in the region.

However, what we have seen since the Urumchi unrest has been the complete opposite. On October 1, 2009 while the Chinese Communist Party observed the 60th anniversary of its rise to power through a massive parade in Beijing, Uyghurs thousands of miles away in East Turkestan were left mourning the brutal crackdown that has been ongoing in the region since unrest first swept the regional capital of Urumchi on July 5. Tens of thousands of Uyghurs suffered in prisons as parade floats displayed smiling Uyghurs meant to show Uyghurs’ gratitude for the prosperity bestowed upon them by the CCP. Chinese President Hu Jintao’s carefully choreographed review of row upon row of missiles and tanks was eerily reminiscent of the immense military presence currently enforcing a climate of fear in East Turkestan’s major cities.

In the build-up to October 1, 130,000 additional Chinese troops were mobilized to East Turkestan. Reports emerging from cities such as Urumchi, Kashgar and Ghulja indicate widespread, arbitrary arrests of Uyghurs, which was initially prompted by protests and violence on July 5 but which continued in the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Uyghurs who have publicized information about police abuses, such as two men living in Qorghas County who told Radio Free Asia about the death of a Uyghur detainee in police custody, have also been detained. The Chinese government’s contradictory statements on the details of trials for Uyghurs detained in the wake of unrest in Urumchi indicate an absence of transparency surrounding criminal and judicial procedures, as well as a process driven by political motivations.

I would like to take the opportunity here to condemn the nine executions carried out recently in East Turkestan, which resulted from these non-transparent trials. The executions have only served to exacerbate the terror and helplessness of Uyghurs in East Turkestan, whose friends and loved ones have been killed and detained since July 5.

The time has inexorably come for the PRC to fundamentally reform its policies toward the non-Han Chinese people within its borders.

If we have learnt one thing from the unrest in Urumchi this July and in Tibet in March 2008, it is that the Chinese government is out of policy ideas in addressing the increasing marginalization of non-Han Chinese people in China, besides endless rounds of crackdowns and “Strike Hard” campaigns.

It is time for the Chinese government to sit and talk with me, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and all those leaders of non-Han Chinese communities who have been vilified, imprisoned and slandered just because we happen to disagree with a bankrupt official policy.

In 1979, the Chinese government made a bold move and began a process of economic reform, which helped maintain its grip on power. The Chinese government now needs to make an even bolder move and enact political reform toward all people in the PRC, but especially toward non-Han Chinese people, who have largely missed out on the benefits of economic reform, to maintain any semblance of legitimacy beyond its status as the world’s creditor.

This call for political reform toward non-Han Chinese people also has the support of Han Chinese. Signatories of “Charter 08”, a manifesto for political reform drafted by prominent and ordinary Chinese citizens, asked from the government for “an institutional design to promote the mutual prospects of all ethnicities”.

In order for any future political reform process to have validity, the Chinese government must engage in a genuine and transparent dialogue with non-Han Chinese people built on a foundation of trust and equality.

The dismissal by the Chinese authorities in its statements, whether by officials or by the state media, of the fact that true discontent exists with its policies in East Turkestan means that it cannot and will not build trust with the Uyghur people. Building trust with the Uyghur people also stems from telling the truth about the events in Shaoguan and in Urumchi, but the Chinese government has decided against doing this.

If President Hu Jintao wishes to create a genuine “harmonious society” in East Turkestan, he must move the mindset of his government from a deep-rooted suspicion and institutionalized discrimination of Uyghurs to one where Uyghurs are respected as equals and are freed to meaningfully participate in the determination of their future. Nevertheless, Chinese authorities are creating an atmosphere in East Turkestan that is contrary to the development of ethnic harmony. In the villages, towns and cities in which generations of their families have lived, Uyghurs are treated as suspects by Chinese authorities.

Since the tragic events of 9/11 in the United States, and in a desperate attempt to garner sympathy with the international community for its repressive policies, the Chinese government has used the Uyghurs’ Islamic faith against them and labeled peaceful dissenters, including myself, as terrorists. This strategy, in the eyes of officials at the central, regional and local level, has given Chinese criminal and judicial authorities carte blanche to unlawfully detain, torture, and in some cases execute Uyghurs. The inflammatory rhetoric emanating from officials in Beijing and Urumchi only exacerbates the suspicion and further alienates Uyghurs from Han Chinese. The systematic repression of Uyghur political rights under the pretext of the war on terrorism only stigmatizes Uyghurs and will not encourage harmony or a process leading to genuine autonomy.

Chinese officials have accused the World Uyghur Congress, and have especially singled me out, for fomenting the unrest in Urumchi. This pointing of fingers at everyone but themselves is not a new strategy for Beijing. In March 2008, Chinese officials blamed His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the unrest in Lhasa; similarly, it has blamed me for organizing the unrest in Urumchi. I have publicly stated on numerous occasions that I am not responsible for the unrest in Urumchi. I feel pained by the loss of so many lives, Han Chinese and Uyghur, and condemn the violence that took place in Urumchi.

The real context for the unrest is six decades of repressive policies by a Chinese Communist administration that has long sought to dilute Uyghur identity.

Currently, the Chinese government’s intensified repressive polices aimed at the eradication of the Uyghur identity include the forced transfer of young Uyghur women to Chinese sweatshops; the demolition of Uyghur cultural heritage in Kashgar; a monolingual language-planning policy; discriminatory hiring practices and curbs on freedom of religion. These policies illustrate that Chinese authorities do not value the traditions, customs and culture of the Uyghur and therefore do not consider Uyghurs their equal.

The indiscriminate killing of Uyghur protestors in Urumchi is consistent with systematic political, economic, social and cultural human rights abuses from a government obsessed with the maintenance of its control of a strategic and resource rich area.

At this point, the Chinese government needs to conduct a rigorous self-examination of its performance in East Turkestan, as well as to come clean about Shaoguan and Urumchi. These are concrete steps toward creating the conditions for dialogue with Uyghur leaders.

I am ready to discuss with the Chinese government the ways in which we can address its policy failures of the past sixty years and seek political reform.

The Chinese government should first of all respect its own constitution and Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law and grant Uyghurs genuine religious freedom, economic opportunity, cultural rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law.

The Chinese government must end its transfer of young Uyghur women and girls from East Turkestan to eastern China. It must end the use of the death penalty for Uyghur prisoners; release political prisoners and end its arbitrary detention of innocent Uyghurs; and end its torture of Uyghur political prisoners. The government must also refrain from considering every Uyghur who participates in peaceful protests as a criminal.

The government must end policies diluting Uyghur culture and must stop distorting our history. These are policies aimed to assimilate Uyghurs and show no regard for our distinct identity as a people. The government should stop its cultural genocide of the Uyghur people.

The Chinese government must also stop the killing of Uyghurs in police detention, in the cities of East Turkestan and in executions that have resulted from non-transparent judicial proceedings.

The time has come for the Chinese government to reform its failed policies, not only in East Turkestan and Tibet, but also in all of China. The time has come for China to embrace human rights, freedom and democracy, and become a respected member of the international community. Uyghurs, Tibetan, Chinese and all ethnic groups in China have suffered too long under the Chinese Communist Party administration’s repressive policies. The time has come for healing and reconciliation.

However, the track record of the Chinese government makes it clear that this is all a long way off; therefore, the international community should monitor its performance in East Turkestan. It is the responsibility of multi-lateral organizations, such as the United Nations, to protect the universality of human rights and to monitor those states who are signatory to international human rights instruments. It is also the responsibility of democratic nations to speak forcefully to egregious human rights abusers, such as China. It is not only in the economic and political interest of the international community to have stability in East Turkestan, but a moral principle that should never be negotiable. If censure of China fails to happen, the human rights abuses will only continue unabated.

To you, the freedom loving people, Parliament and government of Italy, and especially the Nonviolent Radical Party, I ask for your continued support. The Uyghur people have long appreciated your interest in our culture and in our struggle for human rights, freedom and democracy. Please ask your representatives to raise Uyghur issues in their meetings with Chinese officials and to demand that the Uyghur voice be heard, their legitimate grievances addressed and their rights respected.

To the Uyghur people in East Turkestan and across the world I ask you to be hopeful. I understand the frustrations of life under the Chinese government. With patience, nonviolence, and with the growing attention and support of the democratic world, we can peacefully achieve our goals of self-determination and greater human rights.

Thank you.