CFU PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 5, 2025, 8:00 AM 

Contact: [email protected]

+1 650-703-4523

https://campaignforuyghurs.org 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the 28th anniversary of the Ghulja Massacre, Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) solemnly honors the memory of the Uyghur men and women who, on February 5, 1997, peacefully stood against injustice only to be met with brutal violence by Chinese security forces. Their bloodshed was not an isolated incident but a harbinger of the ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan, now known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

What began as a peaceful demonstration for basic human rights; the right to cultural expression, religious freedom, and assembly, was crushed with merciless force. Security forces opened fire, executed detainees, and disappeared thousands into China’s vast network of prisons and labor camps. In the aftermath, mass arrests, extrajudicial killings, and collective punishment became routine, marking a dark escalation of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) war against Uyghur identity.

Today, 28 years later, the same authoritarian policies that fueled the massacre have evolved into a genocide. The CCP has systematized its repression through concentration camps, forced sterilizations, family separations, and the eradication of Uyghur language, culture, and religious practices. The voices that called for justice in 1997 were silenced with bullets and torture while the injustice and oppression not only continued but escalated. 

Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs, reflected on the massacre’s enduring significance: “The Ghulja Massacre was a pivotal moment when the world had an opportunity to recognize China’s trajectory towards mass atrocities—and failed to act. That failure emboldened the CCP. Today, as Uyghurs endure genocide, history repeats itself. The price of inaction is paid in human lives, and every day without accountability reinforces the Chinese regime’s belief that it can commit atrocities without consequence.”

CFU calls on the international community to break the cycle of impunity. Governments must take decisive action to hold the Chinese government accountable, enforce existing sanctions, and stand against the economic and political coercion that allows Beijing to suppress global criticism of its crimes.

As we remember the victims of the Ghulja Massacre, CFU reaffirms its commitment to justice. Their sacrifice was not in vain. The world must honor its legacy by taking action today.