Uyghur Americans commemorate 15th anniversary of Urumqi massacre in US capital city

Uyghur Americans commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Urumqi Massacre in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC. The Uyghur Americans Association shared pictures of the protest on X.

In a post on X on Friday, the Uyghur Americans Association stated, “Uyghur Americans commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Urumchi Massacre in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., today.”

The tragic events unfolded on July 5, 2009 as thousands of Uyghurs took to the streets in a march towards the People’s Square in central Urumchi to protest the Chinese government’s handling of the Shaoguan incident.

A large number of people were killed and sustained injuries in three days of violence between ethnic minority Uyghurs and Han Chinese that began on July 5, 2009, in Xinjiang’s largest city, Urumqi. This incident involved the deaths of several Uyghurs at the hands of a mob of Chinese factory workers during a dispute.

The 15th anniversary of the Urumqi Massacre was marked by various groups and individuals concerned with human rights, Uyghur advocacy, and remembrance of the victims. These events typically serve as a platform to raise awareness about the Urumqi Massacre, commemorate the victims, and advocate for justice and accountability.

There are several significant issues concerning Uyghurs in China. Reports from various sources indicate that Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region face widespread human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, forced labour, forced assimilation practices, and religious and cultural repression.

The Chinese government has been accused of detaining hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in internment camps under the pretext of combating extremism and terrorism. These camps are reported to subject detainees to indoctrination, abuse, and harsh conditions.

According to reports, Xinjiang is heavily monitored through surveillance technologies, including facial recognition, AI-driven monitoring systems, and mass data collection.

On July 5, The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), an Uyghur rights organisation based in Munich, Germany in a statement released on Friday, condemned the Chinese authorities for the atrocities they inflicted upon the Uyghur community of East Turkistan.

The WUC slammed Beijing and stated that the country must take responsibility for atrocities in the East Turkestan/Xinjiang region, and compensate the victims for the losses they had suffered.

In a post on X, World Uyghur Congress stated, “On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Urumchi massacre, the WUC & @GfbV demand that the government must finally recognise its responsibility for the massacre of the Uyghurs in East Turkistan and compensate the victims.”