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/ originally/Published by Eastern Turkestan Union in Europe
Eastern Turkestan Information Bulletin Vol. 1 No. 2 (July
1991)
EASTERN TURKESTAN CIVILIZATION
Toward the end of the 19th century and into
the first decades of the 20th, scientific and archeological expeditions to the
region of Eastern Turkestan's Silk Road discovered numerous cave temples,
monastery ruins, wall paintings, as well as valuable miniatures, books and
documents. Explorers from Europe, America and even Japan were amazed by the art
treasures to be found there, and soon their reports were capturing the attention
of an interested public around the world. These relics of Uygur culture today
constitute major collections in the museums of Berlin, London, Paris, Tokyo,
Leningrad and the Museum of Central Asian Antiquities in New Delhi. Together
with the manuscripts and documents discovered in Eastern Turkestan reveal the
very high degree of civilization attained by the Uygurs.
Throughout the
centuries Uygurs have used three different scripts. Confederated with the Kok
Turks in the 6th and 7th centuries, they used the Orkhun script. Later they
adopted what became known as the Uygur script. This script was used for almost
800 years not only by the Uygurs, but also by other Turkic peoples, Mongols, and
by the Manchus in the early stage of their rule in China. After embracing Islam
in the 10th century the Uygurs adapted the Arabic alphabet, and its use became
common in the 11th century.
Most of the early Uygur literary works were
translations of Buddhist and Manichean religious texts, but there were also
narrative, poetic and epic works. Some of these have been translated into
German, English and Russian.
After embracing Islam the Uygurs continued to
preserve their cultural dominance in Central Asia. World renowned Uygurs
scholars emerged, and Uygur literature flourished. Among the hundreds of
important works surviving from this era are the Kutat-ku Bilik by Yusuf Has
Hajip (1069-70), Mahmud Kashgari's Divan-i Lugat-it Turk, and Ahmet Yukneki's
Atbetul Hakayik.
The Uygurs had an extensive knowledge of medicine and
medical practice. Sung Dynasty (906-960) sources indicate that an Uygur
physician, Nanto, traveled to China and brought with him many kinds of medicine
not known to the Chinese. There are 103 different herbs for use in Uygur
medicine recorded in a medical compendium by Li Shizhen(1518-1593), a Chinese
medical authority. Tatar scholar Professor Rashid Rahmeti Arat in Zur Heilkunde
der Uighuren (Medical Practices of Uygurs) published in 1930 and 1932, in
Berlin, discussed Uygur medicine. Relying on a sketch of a man with an
explanation of acupuncture, he and some Western scholars suspect that
acupuncture was not a Chinese, but an Uygur discovery.
Uygurs were also
advanced in fields such as architecture, art, music and printing the Uygurs were
also advanced. Western scholars who have studied Uygur history, culture and
civilization have often expressed a high regard for the cultural level of the
Uygurs. For instance, according to Ferdinand Sassure, Those who preserved the
language and written culture in Central Asia were the Uygurs." Albert von Lecoq
wrote, The Uygur language and script contributed to the enrichment of
civilizations of the other peoples in Central Asia. Compared to the Europeans of
that time the Uygurs were far more advanced. Documents discovered in Eastern
Turkestan prove that an Uygur farmer could write down a contract, using legal
terminology. How many European farmers could have done that at that period? This
shows the extent of Uygur civilization of that time. Prof. Dr. Laszlo Rasonyi
wrote, the Uygurs knew how to print books centuries before Gutenberg invented
his press. In the judgment of Prof. Dr. Wolfram Eberhard, in the MiddleAges,
Chinese poetry, literature, theatre, music and painting were greatly influenced
by the Uygurs.
Chinese envoys such as Hsuan Chang, Wang Yen De and Chang Chun
who traveled through Eastern Turkestan from the seventh to the thirteenth
centuries reported that they were impressed by the high degree of Uygur power,
prestige and culture they encountered there.
Wang Yen De, who served as an
ambassador to the Karakhoja Uygur Kingdom between the years 981 and 984, wrote
in his memoirs: "I was impressed with the extensive civilization I found in the
Uygur Kingdom. The beauty of the temples, monasteries, wall paintings, statues,
towers, gardens, houses and the palaces built throughout the kingdom cannot be
described. The Uygurs are very skilled in handicrafts of gold and silver, vases
and potteries. Some say God has infused this talent into this people only."
This Uygur power, prestige, and culture dominated Central Asia for more than
1000 years went into a steep decline after the Manchu invasion of Eastern
Turkestan, and during the rule of the Nationalist and especially the Communist
Chinese.
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GRATITUDE DAY FOR ISA YUSUF ALPTEKIN
The Turkish Literary Foundation in
Istanbul organized a Gratitude Day for Isa Yusuf Alptekin, a 90-year-old Eastern
Turkestani leader in exile, to thank him for his struggle for human rights,
democracy and the self-determination of his people. Turkish ministers, scholars,
intellectuals and other Turkic representatives living in Turkey and abroad
attended the ceremony.
CULTURAL EVENING HELD The Eastern Turkestan Cultural and Relief Organization in
Kayseri, Turkey, held a cultural evening. Eastern Turkestani leader Isa Yusuf
Alptekin, Turkic representatives and almost ten thousand local people attended
the evening. Mehmet Canturk, chairman of the Eastern Turkestan Cultural and
Relief Organization, said in his speech that the people of Eastern Turkestan are
faced with sinification. There is a deliberate attempt to destroy the language,
religion and culture of the Eastern Turkestani people. Tonight, we are gathered
here to show you some of the relics of the folklore of the unfortunate Eastern
Turkestani people.
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URUMCHI UYGUR MUQAM ASSEMLY VISITS GERMANY
The Urumchi Uygur Muqam Assembly
visited Germany giving concerts in Munich, Berlin, Bochum, Bonn and Cologne. On
the eve of the concert in Munich, Regina Gelber, a leading correspondent of the
Bavarian Radio and TV, interviewed Asgar Can, the Secretary General of Eastern
Turkestan Cultural and Social Association (ETCSA) in Munich, on Uygur history,
culture and civilization.
In a second interview, Regina Gelber criticized the
Chinese authorities for not allowing the Urumchi Uygur Muqam Assembly to attend
a dinner party arranged by the Uygurs living in Munich. In her broadcast Regina
Gelber said, According to Uygur tradition, it is very impolite if the Uygurs
living in Munich had not invited their visiting ethnic brothers and sisters.
Thus, the Uygurs in Munich rented a restaurant and prepared special dishes for
their guests of honor. Although the Urumchi Uygur Muqam Assembly had previously
said that they would be flattered to attend the dinner party, at the last minute
the Chinese authorities accompanying the troop did not allow them to go. What
made the Chinese authorities prevent the Urumchi Uygur Muqam Assembly from
attending the dinner party? Was it that they were afraid that the Uygurs under
their control would be influenced by the self-determination movements throughout
the world, or that some one might find out the truth about the June 1990
uprising in Eastern Turkestan Or did it, perhaps, have something to do with the
International Tibet Year throughout the world?
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CHINESE, JAPANESE OIL FIRMS AGREE TO PROJECT
China's state-owned oil company
and the Japan National Oil Corp. signed an agreement to explore for oil in the
Tarim Basin, believed to hold world's largest untapped oil deposits. The
Japanese company will provide 60 million dollars for the joint project in
Eastern Turkestan. The Chinese and Japanese oil corporations will organize joint
prospecting teams for geological and geophysical surveys in a 30,000 square km
area over the next 4.5 years. Officials estimate the Tarim Basin holds more than
18 billion tons of oil, about one-seventh of China's reserves.
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UYGUR NATIONAL CONFERENCE LELD IN ALMA ATA
Uygurs living in USSR held their
Second National Conference in Alma Ata, Kazakhistan. The Conference was
organized by the Uygur Institute in the Academy of Kazakh Social Science.
Besides local Uygurs scholars from Soviet Central Republics, Eastern Turkestan
and the Uygur scholars living abroad and scholars from Turkey, Europe and the
United States were invited. The aim of the conference was to bring together all
scholars who are doing research on Uygur history, culture and civilization, to
inform each other on their studies and to establish coordination among them.
SOVIET UYGUR NEWSPAPER SERIALIZES THE UYGUR PEOPLE
Soviet Uygur Newspaper
Uygur Avazi (The Voice of Uygurs), published in Alma Ata, Kazakhistan, has
started serializing the history book entitled The Uygur People.
The Uygurs,
written by Turgun Almas, an Uygur scholar living in Eastern Turkestan, along
with two other books, entitled The Huns and Uygur Literture, although printed by
a Chinese government printing house, were banned by Chinese authorities on the
grounds that these books have brazenly advocated independence, agitated for
splitting the country, harmed the ethnic unity and damaged the unity of the
motherland.
TOMUR DAWAMET ACCUSES ISA YUSUF ALPTEKIN
Tomur Dawamet, the governor of
so-called Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said during a press conference held
in Beijing that the small number of splittists in Eastern Turkestan could not
get anywhere despite their support by hostile forces abroad.
Answering a
question raised by a Hong Kong reporter whether the hostile forces mentioned
include Isa Yusuf Alptekin living in Turkey, Dawamet said, I did not want to
identify the person which you have named. Now that you have named him I have to
say something about him.
"Isa has always advocated his so-called Eastern
Turkestan independence and his basic idea remains unchanged so far," he said,
adding we definitely oppose the acts of Isa and his followers.
The situation
on the border with the USSR is "very stable" and the authorities in Eastern
Turkestan, which borders Kazakhistan, Kirghizistan and Tajikistan, strictly
monitor arms trafficking, he replied to another question.
While Chinese
authorities have rarely allowed foreign journalists into Eastern Turkestan in
the last two years, Dawamet claimed they are "welcome" there. But he immediately
used the remoteness of the region, located more than 2,000 kilometers from
Beijing, to justify the policy.
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RIOTS IN EASTERN TURKESTAN
The Chinese magazine, Zheng kng, published in Hong
Kong, wrote in its July 1, 1991 issue, that armed rebellions had taken place in
May and June in Chogchek, close to the USSR in Northern Eastern Turkestan. The
aims of these rebellions were said to be independence, the right to organize
political parties and the localization of troops.
According to the
information a city government building was occupied by armed crowds for 36 hours
and demands were made to hand over power.
The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA),
brought from Urumchi, surrounded the crowds and fierce gun fighting erupted.
According to official reports over 140 East Turkestanis were either killed,
wounded, arrested or surrendered. Chogchek has remained closed to tourists from
outside cities since 20 May.
On June 11 and 12 3000 people gathered before
the city government building in Bole City and demonstrated for the democratic
election of Bole leaders. By the afternoon of June 12 demonstrators had set fire
to and begun stoning Government buildings. The city was placed under martial
law.
GENERAL ON MILITARY'S ROLE
During an interview with a reporter from an
Urumchi TV network, Lieutenant General Hamit Tursun, the deputy political
commissar of Eastern Turkestan Military District, said that the military had
four important tasks to fulfill in Eastern Turkestan, but the most important was
defense of the borders. He said, "Armed forces stationed in Xinjiang must be
aware of the great strategic significance of Xinjiang, which shares 6,400-km
long boundaries with six countries. This being the case, while defending the
border areas, our armed forces must safeguard the peaceful labor of people in
Xinjiang."
PUBLIC SECURITY DIRECTOR ON SPLITTISM
Dong Yangyu, Public Security Director
of Eastern Turkestan, said during a recent interview with the Beijing
publication Remnin Gongan Bao that the struggle for and against splittism has
always existed in Eastern Turkestan. Moreover, he added, the relaxation of
political and ideological education over the last few years had made the
struggle against national splittism more complicated.
According to Dong
Yangyu, a handful of intellectuals stubbornly clinging to their national
separatist positions and people carrying out national separatist activities
disregard the facts and deny the historical fact of the formation and
development of harmonious relationships among all nationalities in China, and
the flesh and blood ties among them. In order to split the region they resort to
rumor mongering to confuse and poison people's minds. On the other hand, hostile
forces outside the borders send their men to the region to carry out activities
in a vain attempt to collaborate with domestic hostile forces and stir up
trouble. The Chinese official concluded that there were, however, more favorable
conditions and a more powerful force for safeguarding the motherland's unity and
opposing national splittism than ever before.
SEYFEDDIN AZIZI ON RELIGION
Seyfeddin Azizi, Vice Chairman of National
Peoples Congress (NPC), was quoted in an interview with the Beijing daily Renmin
Ribao, as saying, "It is necessary to correctly implement the Party's religious
policy. There is freedom of religion: those who believe in religion must be not
forced to give it up, while those who do not believe in religion must not be
forced to accept it. We will not tolerate anyone who opposes socialism and who
hampers the motherland's unity through religious activities. In some places,
some people carry out illegal religious activities. Here, there exists the
problem that they are scrambling with us for the next generation and the
question of what sorts of people we will bring up. Carrying out illegal
religious activities is, in practice, leading normal religious beliefs astray.
Communists must not believe in religion. They should study and propagate
Marxism, and should teach cadres and the masses with dialectical materialism.
Xinjiang should pay attention to addressing this question."
UNPO OFFICE BUILDING INAUGURATED
The city government of The Hague offered
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organizatlon (UNPO) a prestigious office
building in a beautiful part of The Hague, in the Netherlands.
After a press
conference, the building was inaugurated by the Lord Mayor of The Hague and
Erkin Alptekin, the Vice Chairman of UNPO, an Uygur living abroad.
During
the inauguration ceremony, Alptekin said: In the profound conviction that this
building will house the just voice of almost five thousand nations and peoples
who are not represented in the United Nations, hereby I would like to inaugurate
this prestigious building.
ETI is published by the East Turkestan Cultural and Social Association,
Nanga-Parbat Str. 17A, 8000 Munich, Germany, Asgar Can, Editor. All inquiries
and contributions should be addressed to the editor.
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