On November 12, 1933, the First Eastern Turkestan Republic was proclaimed in Kashgar. This brief but significant event marked an important moment for the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples of Central Asia, as it was the first time they could envision a state reflecting their culture, language, and religion, free from Chinese imperial control. However, less than a year later, the republic was destroyed, once again becoming a victim of the ambitions of more powerful states. Nevertheless, this date continues to live in memory: every year on November 12, Uyghurs in exile celebrate the Day of Independence of Eastern Turkestan as a symbol of an unfulfilled dream. Today, that dream seems particularly distant.
Since the People's Republic of China established control over the territory now known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Uyghurs have faced a system of repression that is one of the most unprecedented attempts to suppress culture in modern history. Beijing claims that its actions are aimed at combating extremism and ensuring stability. However, reports from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, paint a completely different picture: it is a state program of coercion to change identity through fear and pressure. In 2022, the OHCHR noted that China's actions may constitute international crimes, particularly crimes against humanity, citing mass arbitrary detentions, surveillance, forced labor, and suppression of cultural and religious practices.
According to independent researchers, since 2017, over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim Turkic people have been placed in so-called "vocational training" or "re-education" centers, which is a euphemism for prisons. Former detainees report physical violence, ideological indoctrination, and sexual abuse. Many were detained simply for practicing Islam, possessing religious materials, or having relatives abroad. The main goal of these activities appears not to be rehabilitation, but the destruction of cultural identity and the formation of loyalty to the Communist Party.
Life outside the camps in Xinjiang remains under the strictest control. Surveillance systems, biometric checks, and digital monitoring track people's movements and communications. Families are torn apart: parents are detained, and children are placed in state-run boarding schools where the Uyghur language is replaced with Mandarin, and religious education is substituted with lessons on loyalty. Mosques are demolished or repurposed, cemeteries are destroyed, and villages are renamed, leading to the erasure of Islamic and Turkic symbols. Satellite images show religious and cultural sites disappearing across the region.
Beijing justifies its actions as necessary to combat extremism; however, the mass repression of citizens, scholars, poets, and religious leaders calls this position into question. Forced sterilization of women, criminal penalties for observing Ramadan, and mass destruction of cemeteries confirm that this is about the cultural reorientation of the population, not the fight against terrorism.
Control over Xinjiang is of strategic importance to China, as this region is at the center of the Belt and Road Initiative, borders eight countries, and is rich in natural resources. Stable control over this territory ensures economic access, political stability, and ideological coherence. International diplomacy and propaganda support this control: in 2019, over thirty countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt, praised China in the UN Human Rights Council for its "remarkable achievements" in human rights in Xinjiang.
The global response remains uneven. The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on individual Chinese officials and restricted the import of goods produced using forced labor. However, a full international investigation has yet to take place, and major corporations continue to use supply chains involving Uyghur labor.
On November 12, 2025, a protest organized by the Norwegian Uyghur Committee took place in Norway in front of the parliament in Oslo, calling for recognition of the independence of the Eastern Turkestan Republic. Participants held photographs of victims and urged authorities to recognize and support the republic, highlighting the ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs.
The protest condemned human rights violations, China's debt diplomacy, and the exploitation of natural resources. It demonstrated the persistence of the Uyghur diaspora in their quest for recognition and accountability amid global inaction.
The situation in Xinjiang has a broader context: the Chinese experience of digital control is a combination of surveillance, data analysis, and ideological indoctrination that could serve as a model for other countries seeking to manage their populations. The moral cost of such actions is enormous: a civilization that has existed for thousands of years and made significant contributions to Islamic science, trade, and culture in Central Asia is now on the brink of extinction in its own land.
Proponents of China's policies argue that Western media exaggerates the problem. However, the suppression of the Uyghurs is confirmed not only by Western sources but also by satellite data, leaks of internal documents, and testimonies from survivors. Even if one assumes that the fight against extremism is a justification, the scale of collective punishment and cultural destruction far exceeds any reasonable measure.
Every year on November 12, Uyghurs around the world remember their history while their homeland remains under strict control and censorship. Kashgar, once a center of Central Asian culture, has turned into a propaganda showcase. The gap between promised autonomy and reality has become particularly evident.
The tragedy of Eastern Turkestan is not just a regional issue but a serious test for the world's conscience. Ignoring the situation under the pretext of internal affairs means accepting that economic power justifies crimes against humanity. The international community must demand accountability rather than turn a blind eye to cultural destruction.
On this commemorative day dedicated to the First Eastern Turkestan Republic, the Uyghurs need not only sympathy but also recognition, justice, and active protection of human rights. No "national reconstruction" can create a true nation by destroying the identity of its own people.
