Replies

Please read the article and see for yourself.

Because in Uyghurs eyes, US still scores much higher than our Muslim neighbors who share a similar culture, language and religion.

Yeah, but is that sentiment real, or is it "taqqiyah?" We've been jerked around a lot by the rest of the Ummah--don't blame me for wondering.

I have mixed feelings. I deeply sympathize with the plight of all oppressed people, and I appreciate that this article recognizes America's freedom and promise. However, the following paragraph gave me serious pause. It seems to imply that we will bear part of the blame if Uyghers increasingly turn to violence. That doesn't wash with me -- it smells faintly of blackmail. The most successful liberation movements in this country -- rights for African Americans and women -- happened because very wise people such as Susan B. Anthony and Dr. Martin Luther King pursued NON-violent resistance. This is the only kind of protest most Americans will accept.

The US listing of ETIM as terrorist organization has very little real impact on ETIM. It may not have any significant assets to freeze, it may be already ceased exist even though its leader Hasan Mehsum might be hiding somewhere, but, it will have a big impact on the Uyghur population in general. Uyghurs inside East Turkistan might become more desperate and radicalized, and increasingly turn to violence. Most of the violence so far are carried out by individuals or loosely organized small groups who probably acted on their anger. There is lot of pent-up anger since there is no venue for people to express their discontent. Whether China likes or not, the voices of the outside Uyghur activist groups might have served to calm down some of the agitated people inside China by saying what they are dying to say about the government policy, and giving them a glimpse of hope.