DOĞU TÜRKİSTAN’DA İNSAN HAKLARI: GÜNCEL İHLALLER VE GELECEK BEKLENTİLERİ

Authors : Osman ERCAN, Hakan KOLÇAK

Pages : 75-136

View : 19 | Download : 15

Publication Date : 2021-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article examines many oppressive assimilation policies enforced by the communist Chinese regime in East Turkestan. According to the article, these repressive policies violate various negative rights that are recognised and set out by international, regional and domestic legal documents, such as the right to a fair trial, the freedom of religion, the freedom of expression, the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of movement. It is asserted that numerous restrictions imposed by these policies render some positive rights almost impossible to exercise, e.g. the right to education, the right to protect and promote ethno-cultural identities and several economic rights. The article maintains that Turkey would play a key role in softening and, if possible, nullifying these policies. It suggests that Turkey would establish a Turkish consulate general in Urumqi, the capital of East Turkestan, enabling Turkey to identify and comprehend all human rights abuses locally. The article stands up for the establishment of representative offices by the cultural diplomacy agencies of Turkey in the Turkic-dominated cities of East Turkestan, e.g. Kashgar and Turpan. These offices would contribute to the diplomatic struggle for softening the assimilationist East Turkestan policy. All materials collected by these diplomatic entities would be utilised by the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey in the preparation of analytic and systematic reports on human rights breaches in East Turkestan. Such reports would then be brought forward to international platforms by Turkish diplomats. It would also be possible for these reports to be added to the agenda of bilateral discussions pursued with China. The communist regime, which wants to improve its global reputation, would not turn its back on all these reports and it would take the essential steps to soften the East Turkestan policy.
Keywords : Human rights, Uighurs, Turkic communities, East Turkestan, China