It was April 5, 1990, when thousands of Uyghurs took to the streets in the village of Baren (Xinjiang Autonomous Province of China) to protest against the one-child policy and the settlement of Han Chinese at the time. The Uyghur ethnic group had previously demanded that the Chinese central government in Beijing end its rigorous family policy and stop the influx of Chinese from other parts of the country.
The Chinese army used heavy weapons against demonstrators
The Chinese government sent in the army to end the protest with violence against the demonstrators. Heavily armed soldiers fired indiscriminately at unarmed villagers who had been demonstrating peacefully against the policies of the Chinese government. According to Uyghur sources, thousands of Uyghurs were killed or wounded by the Chinese military and over 7,600 demonstrators were arrested, tried and sentenced to long prison terms. Numerous rally participants are said to have been sentenced to death at the trial.
“Uyghur farmers’ struggle against cultural and ethnic oppression”
The Chairman of the Center for Uyghur Studies (CUS), İlşat-Hasan Kökböre, stated in a press release on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Baren Massacre: “The Baren Massacre is a powerful reminder of the courageous struggle of the Uyghur peasants against the cultural and ethnic oppression of the Chinese regime. The sacrifices made by these brave martyrs bear witness to their unyielding commitment to the defense of their patriotism, dignity and right to equality. As we commemorate the Baren massacre today, we honor their legacy by continuing the march for freedom and justice and fighting together against the ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs.”
The Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority who mainly live in the autonomous region of Xinjiang on the territory of the People’s Republic of China. The human rights organization Amnesty International accuses China of serious human rights violations against the Uyghurs and accuses the Chinese authorities of systematically persecuting them since the 1980s. Members of this ethnic group are arbitrarily arrested and detained on the basis of their origin and Muslim religion and sent to internment camps.
In detention, these people have no “contact with the outside world” and are subject to “severe restrictions on their religious freedom and their social and cultural rights”. Every year, Uyghurs around the world commemorate the Baren massacre of April 5, 1990. In Turkish and Azerbaijani historiography, the term technicus Mezalim has become established for mass violent crimes against the Muslim civilian population.