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IN MEMORY OF EAST TURKISTAN
From: Tikan Chemenlik <tikan@usa.net>
November 12, 2000, marks the 56th anniversary of one of the greatest events in
history of the people of Eastern Turkistan in this century - establishment of
the Eastern Turkistan Republic (ETR). Let us take a moment to
cherish the memory of our forefather's who fought for independence and freedom
of our nation. On November 12, 1944, the Ghulja Liberation Organization declared
the establishment of the ETR, and voted Mr. Alikhan Tore to be its president.
ETR government adopted a national flag, which is green with yellow crescent
and star, representing an Islamic nature of the country. The government
published an official newspaper called Liberated East Turkistan. The newspaper
was circulated in the entire region in Uighur, Kazakh, Russian and Chinese for
more than 5 years. ETR was declared to be a democratic state with the following
governing body.
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THE GOVERNMENT OF EAST TURKISTAN REPUBLIC
Chairman
Alikhan Tore, Uzbek(?)
Vice chairman Ivan J. Polinov
Russian
Vice chairman Akimbay Hoja,
Uighur
Secretary General Abdurup Mahsum,
Uighur
Member of the Governing Council
Akimbay Hoja, Uighur
Abdul Buti, Uighur
Ali Halife, Uighur
Abdurup Mehsum, Uighur
Kerim Haji, Uighur
Bolinov,
White Russian
Mansur,
Uighur
Akhmetjan Khasim, Uighur
Issakhan Muraji, Kirghiz
Rahimjan Sabirhaji, Uighur
Salihjanbay Babajan, ?
Jumahum,
Kazakh (?)
Anwer Musabay, Uighur
Fujia,
?
Ubulheyir Tore, Uighur
Povel P. Moskolov, White Russian
Huseyin Teyji Uighur(?)
Ministry Heads:
Ministry of Internal Affairs:
Rehimjan Sabirhaji, Moskolov
Ministry of Finance; Anwer Musabay
Ministry of Law;
Muhemetjan Mehsum
Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Akhmetjan Khasim
Ministry of Education: Seypidin Aziz
Vice minister:
Hamit
Ministry of Agriculture: Alijan Bay
Ministry of Religious Affairs: Salihjan Bay
Ministry of Propaganda:
Abdukerim Abbasov? Minaigen Hoja(?)
Ministry of Banking:
Gansip Hoja
Ministry of Health:
Muhettin Kanat, M.D. Kasimjan Kembery(?)
Military affairs:
Commander of ETR forces: Peter L. Aleksandrov, Ivan J. Polinov
Vice-commander:
Issakhan Muraji
Chief of staff:
Latifjan Kanat
Special Posts
Yining Police Chief:
Yebijan
Yining District Special Commissioner: Akim Taj
Vice-commissioner:
Abdullah Han
Commissioner of Military Law:
Aini
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On January 5, 1945, ETR government passed a political platform, which
stated:
1) End the Chinese dictatorial rule in the land of Eastern Turkistan.
2) Establish a free and independent Eastern Turkistan based on equality for
all nationalities.
3) In order to fully develop East Turkistan's economy, promote industrial,
agricultural and animal husbandry as well as private businesses. Increase
people's living standard.
4). Since the majority people of Eastern Turkistan believes Islam, so the
government particularly advocate this religion. At the same time, promote
religious freedom for other religion.
5) Develop education, culture and health standard of Eastern Turkistan.
6) Establish friendly relations with all the democratic countries in the
world, especially with the neighboring USSR. In the mean time, promote
political and economical relation with China.
7) In order to protect Eastern Turkistan's peace, recruit people of
all
nationality to establish a strong army.
8) The Bank, Post Service, Telephone and Telegraph, Forestry and all
underground wealth belong to the nation.
9) Eliminate individualism, bureaucratic idea, nationalism and
corruption among the government officials.
Since the formation of ETR until early 1950 when Communist Chinese
government gain control over the three districts, ETR had effectively
existed for about 6 years and was a de facto independent nation.
ETR covered more then 20 percent of the region and consisted about 25
percent of the region's population, it strongly challenged the Chinese
sovereignty not only in Ghulja, Altay, Chochek three districts, but also
throughout all region of UAR.
During its administration, ETR government formed an army with about 25,000
members, the army completely wiped out the Chinese Nationalist Army forces
from the three districts and greatly weakened the control of Nationalist
over the whole region, which according to Chinese communist sources:" Three
region revolution contributed a great deal for the peaceful liberation of
Xinjiang and for the victory of people's democratic revolution in whole
China."
In August, 1949, in a letter addressed to one of the leaders of ETR,
Mr.
Akhmetjan Khasim, Mao Zedong wrote:
"Many years of your struggle is one of the component of whole Chinese
people's democratic revolutionary movement." This statement imply the
importance of Three Regions Revolution toward the establishment of the
People's Republic of China in 1949.
It is a historical fact that Eastern Turkistan was peacefully handed over to
the communist Chinese state. One of the main reasons is that the Chinese
government promised to give local Turkic people self-ruling power.
After about a half century later, however, the reality for the indigenous
people is that, instead of gaining self -determination, they were eventually
deprived of everything achieved through the Three District Revolution.
The tragic and mysterious death of the leaders of the ETR government on
August 27, 1949, signaled a decline of the ETR. 11 members of the ETR's
highest officials were reported dead as a result of an airplane crash in the
mountains around the Soviet lake Baikal on their way to Beijing to attend
the "Political Consultant Conference".
Shortly after this event, the Chinese government started to "clean up"
the
ETR, by, first, "promoting" higher ranking ETR officials to Urumqi and
other
regions where ETR had less influence, and second, dismissing the ETR
National Army by transforming it to agricultural units.
Most of the ETR officials who had been assigned to work in the provincial
government were eventually prosecuted or displaced in 1950's during the
so-called "Against Right-Wing" campaign, and in 1960's during the
"Great
Cultural Revolution".
Nowadays, the few "lucky" minority cadres, who have an administrative
power,
are constantly under danger of being labeled as "splittist" if they
dare to
speak up for the local people. Basically, every, more or less key,
position
in XUAR is held by a Chinese.
The ET revolution, which is described by the official Chinese historians as
an "important component of the Chinese revolution", is only slightly
mentioned in the Chinese history textbooks. There is no single history
book
in China that talks in detail about the Eastern Turkistan Republic,
although, the country had existed for 6 years.
The Chinese government wants to erase the history of Eastern Turkistan
Revolution, and makes everything possible to the Uighur youth to forget
about the great event. It is up to us whether the Chinese communists
succeeded in this. Let us try to learn and remember every single moment of
our history. People without history is a people without future.