Anwar Yusuf Turani is an ethnic Uyghurnationalist. Born into a family branded counter-revolutionary, Uyghur nationalist and separatist by the Chinese government, Turani was raised in a labor camp where he faced economic hardship and political oppression. Turani attended Kashgar Teacher's College and graduated from the Department of Physics in July 1983. Turani came to the United States on August 12, 1988, and became the first Uyghur political asylee. In 1995, Turani established the East Turkistan National Freedom Center, a non-profit human rights organization based in Washington DC. He is the first person to start the East Turkistan independence movement in the United States. In 2004, Turani set up the East Turkistan Government in Exile in Washington, D.C., and was elected as the first Prime Minister.
Activism
East Turkistan National Freedom Center
As the president of the East Turkistan National Freedom Center, Turani organized demonstrations, conferences and cultural events, concerning the situation of East Turkistan. He also met with many international dignitaries, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, Tibetan Leader Dalai Lama and Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, in an attempt to gain their support in ending the occupation of his nation. In April 1996, Turani met with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, forging an alliance between East Turkistan and Tibet against the Chinese government. Later that month, Turani and representatives of occupied Tibet and Inner Mongolia organized an Independence Walk from the Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. to the United Nations in New York City. At the end of the two-week walk, Turani spoke in front of the United Nations headquarters, addressing the Chinese human rights violations in East Turkistan since 1949. In June 1997, along with the support of the Tibetan Independence Movement, Turani cut one of the five stars from the national flag of China in front of the United Nations. Turani removed the star as a symbolic gesture of his nation's yearning to liberate themselves from Chinese occupation. In February 1998, Turani visited Taiwan at the invitation of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations, along with Erkin Alptekin; Professor Thubten Jigme Norbu, elder brother of the Dalai Lama; Tashi Jamyangling, former Home Secretary of the Tibetan Government in exile; and Johnar Bache, Vice Chairman of the Southern Mongolian People's Party. They met Taiwan independence activists and the pro Taiwan independence Democratic Progressive Party members Liu Sung-pan, the President of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan; Chen Shui-bian, former president of Taiwan; and Frank Hsieh, the Mayor of Kaosiung. On June 4, 1999, Turani met with US President Bill Clinton in order to persuade him to back the East Turkistan independence movement. Turani told Clinton that his nation is in favor of waging a war of independence against China;. Turani claimed to had been funded by wealthy Uyghurs in Saudi Arabia. On July 20, 2001, Turani received a letter from the United States Department of State on behalf of President George W. Bush in response to Turani's initial letter concerning the Chinese occupation of East Turkistan. In this letter, the U.S. government expressed its willingness to protect the "fundamental human rights -- the rights to freedom of association, assembly, religion, belief, conscience, and expression -- of Uyghurs and others living in China."
On September 14, 2004, Anwar Yusuf Turani proclaimed the creation of the "East Turkistan Government in Exile" in Washington, D.C. and was elected Prime Minister. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kong Quan publicly registered his displeasure, referencing such groups' terrorism in the Xinjiang region.; In November, the United States Government declared that it "does not recognize any East Turkestan government-in-exile, nor do we provide support for any such entity". In 2007, Turani criticized the People's Republic of China for imprisoning Uyghur imam Huseyincan Celil. Turani compared Celil's arrest to that of Rebiya Kadeer and theorized that the PRC wanted to use Celil as leverage against Canada, where Celil held citizenship. Since 2007, Turani has been addressing the primary issues that the people of East Turkistan are facing both in their homeland and abroad. Turani regularly issues press releases in the native Uyghur language to educate the Uyghur people of their history and situation, and to show them a path toward their independence. In 2011, Rebiya Kadeer accused the Chinese government of intentionally cultivating multiple Uyghur governments in exile in order to divide the Uyghur people. She believes that independence movements have less support in the international community and considers pressing for increased self-determination within a unified China to be a better strategic approach.
