Washington, DC. July 1, 2010.
- NED President Carl Gershman addressing Uyghur Conference July 1, 2010
Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, told a hushed audience yesterday at NED headquarters in Washington, D.C. “not to despair” in the face of the Chinese Communist government’s repression of Uyghur people and culture. “despair only leads to violence, while hope inspires progress.”
In a soft but firm voice, Mr. Gershman, clearly outlined the Chinese government’s systematic repression of the Uyghur people which he said points to only one objective, the destruction of Uyghur culture. He particularly pointed out the government’s destruction of Kashgar’s Old City, the home of more than 200,000 Uyghurs and an ancient cradle of traditional Uyghur culture.
Mr. Gershman’s speech gave a cogent and sweeping indictment of the Chinese government’s repression of its citizenry including other minorities such as the Tibetans and Mongolians as well as Han intellectuals and victims of forced evictions.
- Uyghur Conference Panelists (LtoR)Dr.Sophie Richardson, Dr. Yang Jianli, Dr. Dru Gladney, Louisa Greve (Moderator), Hans Hogrefe, Kara Abramson, Bhuchung Tsering
The speech was delivered at an NED sponsored conference called “Can Anyone Hear Us? Voices from the 2009 Unrest in Urumchi” that assessed the past and current situation in East Turkestan from many perspectives with particular emphasis on the future for Han and Uyghur relations. During one panel moderated by NED Vice President, Louisa Greve, Bhuchung Tsering from the International Campaign for Tibet, called for Han Chinese to reach out to ethnic minorities in the spirit of understanding. Another panel member, Initiatives for China president, Yang Jianli, a Han Chinese, added that “we are all victims” of the Chinese government’s strategy of divide, dilute, demonize, deceive, and dominate.” Yang also thanked NED for its support of the annual Interethnic/Interfaith Conference that brought together ethnic and religious groups of China to build bridges of understanding and cooperation. “This conference is a unique venue for fostering understanding and cooperation in our common struggle against repression.” said Yang.
The conference also included eyewitness testimony of the events of July 5, 2009 as well as an overview of a research report delivered by Amy Reger and Henryk Szadziewski of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. The report investigates the economic, social and political factors that set the context for the unrest, as well as the information lockdown that followed. More information on this comprehensive report can be obtained at http://www.uhrp.org/articles/3931/1/Can-Anyone-Hear-Us-/index.html