A Conference on Uyghur crisis and professor Ilham Tohti
Posts by ilhamtoh
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Timeline of Ilham Tohti’s Case
Human Rights Watch September 15, 2014 Late 2005 Living in Beijing and teaching at Beijing’s Minzu University of China, Ilham Tohti establishes “Uighur Online,” a website published in Chinese and Uighur “to provide Uighurs and Hans with a platform for discussion and exchange.” The website serves as a platform for Uighur social and cultural issues, as well as Chinese policies in Xinjiang. Authorities periodically shut the website down. 2008 May 15 Uighur Online is permanently shut down by the government. 2009 March 06 In his interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA), Tohti criticizes Chinese policies in Xinjiang. He questions the central government’s policy of encouraging Han people to move to Xinjiang where the unemployment rate among Uighurs remained high. Tohti also refers to the then-governor of Xinjiang as “unqualified.” March 26 Tohti is interrogated by the police, who tell him not to speak to the media again. July 07 Tohti goes missing after the July 5th violence in Urumqi. Tohti is later found to have been detained by Chinese authorities for posting materials on his website that they allege “stirred up” the ethnic clashes. 2010 July 25 Manager of Uighur Online, Gheyrat Niyaz, was sentenced to 15 years for “endangering state security”. 2011 January 17 Ilham Tohti publishes an article, “My Ideals and the Career Path I Have Chosen”《我的理想和事业选择之路》, explaining that his reason for launching the website was to promote “mutual understanding as well as dialogue among ethnic communities.” Tohti writes that the website contained no “pro-independence, separatist, or irresponsible inflammatory postings” nor “anything subversive.” September Beijing’s Minzu University of China cancels Tohti’s class on economic development, immigration, and discrimination in Xinjiang. 2012 August Tohti is interrogated for 10 hours after speaking to journalists and publishing an article on Uighur Online about Chinese armed forces monitoring Uighurs during Ramadan. October-November Tohti is held under house arrest ahead of the Chinese leadership change during the 18th Party Congress. 2013 February 02 Chinese […]
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Ilham Tohti awarded “Citizen Power Award 2017”
Mr. Enver Can received the “Citizen Power Award 2017” from the “Initiative for China” in Tokyo on behalf of Prof. Ilham Tohti on 16th November 2017 during a special Ceremony held at the Japanese Parliament.
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Founding Assembly of the ITI (2016)
The official Foundation Assembly of ITI was held at the Bavarian Parliament on 12 of December 2016 in a Conference hosted by the Greens led by Ms. Margarete Bause. The Conference was attended by prominent Scholars, human rights activists and Uyghur politicians such as Prof. Marie Holzmann, Ursuala Gauthier, Louisa Greve (NED) Erkin Alptekin and Orkash Devlet from Taiwan.
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European Parliament Conference Launches Ilham Tohti’s Candidature for Sakharov Prize
On 25 May 2016, activists and specialists convened in the European Parliament to answer the question “Does China Want Real Ethnic Harmony?” The conference focused on the unjust imprisonment for life of Professor Ilham Tohti, a renowned Uyghur economist and writer. The conference, organised by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) in conjunction with the newly founded Ilham Tohti Initiative (ITI), the Society forThreatened Peoples and chinachange.org, further discussed how Ilham Tohti’s story mirrorsthe plight of the Uyghur People. Tohti’s peaceful approach to the plight of his people has been moderate, dignified and focused on conciliation rather than separation, as was evident in both the speeches dedicated to the man and his life’s work, and in their drive to gain recognitionand freedom for Tohti through his candidacy for the European Union’s 2016 Sakharov Prizefor Freedom of Thought. The conference was opened by the hosting MEP, Mr Ilhan Kyuchyuk (ALDE), who, after discussing the parallels between the efforts in Bulgaria to persuade ethnic minorities to work together, gave the floor over to a number of experts on the situation of the Uyghur people and Ilham Tohti himself. As the first to take the floor, Professor Dru C. Gladney (Pomona College) gave a general overview of the situation in China and in East Turkestan (Xinjang) in particular, where the majority of the Uyghur population is based. He surmised that the problems and instances of conflict between ethnic groups that have become more frequent over the last few years could probably be attributed to the huge influx of Han Chinese to the region – a flow that has not been regulated, but rather encouraged by the Chinese government. Also picking up on this theory, Dr Vanessa Frangville (ULB) pointed out that over the last two decades the democratic shift in the region, triggered […]
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