Hello everyone: I hope you're well. My name is Kathy Polias and I am the UN Liaison for the Uyghur American Association (www.uyghuramerican.org), a nonprofit organization in the United States that promotes the human rights of the Uyghur people of East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China). We are having a multi- stop rally for Uyghur people's human rights near the UN in New York City on Tuesday, April 27th, 4 pm - 6 pm. The updated announcement is below with the schedule of the stops. We hope you can attend. In addition to giving a voice to the Uyghur people's pain and suffering, we will also speak out against the Chinese government's violations of the rights of Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, and the other peoples living under this brutal government.
Best wishes, Kathy Polias United Nations Liaison, Uyghur American Association (www.uyghuramerican.org) ******************************************************** PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY MULTI-STOP RALLY FOR UYGHUR PEOPLE'S HUMAN RIGHTS DURING THE PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES AT THE UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK The Uyghur people of East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China) are enduring immense suffering at the hands of the Chinese government. Take to the streets around the United Nations in New York to: urge country missions and intergovernmental delegations to stay true to the founding principles of the United Nations and defend the basic human rights of the Uyghurs at the UN; and raise general awareness -- during the annual Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the UN -- of the Chinese government's relentless persecution and repression of the Uyghur people. We will walk to and hold demonstrations in front of several buildings containing various country missions and delegations to the UN. Date/Time: Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Locations and schedule of stops: 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm (1st stop/demonstration) -- In front of 866 UN Plaza (corner of 1st Avenue and East 48th Street) -- This building houses many country missions to the United Nations, including but not limited to the missions of Japan, Azerbaijan, Finland, Macedonia, Monaco, Uruguay, and Kenya. 4:30 pm - 4:40 pm -- Walk/march across 1st Avenue and through the full length of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza/Park to the 2nd Avenue side of the plaza/park. 4:40 pm - 5:00 pm (2nd stop/demonstration) -- On the 2nd Avenue side of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza/Park (the intersection of 2nd Avenue and East 47th Street -- This location is very busy and is next to/near three buildings that house many country missions to the UN, including but not limited to the missions of Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Jordan, and Chile. 5:00 pm - 5:15 pm -- Walk/march down 2nd Avenue to 222 East 41st Street, which contains the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations. 5:15 pm - 5:35 pm (3rd stop/demonstration) -- In front of 222 East 41st Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenue), which contains the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations. 5:35 pm - 5:45 pm -- Walk/march to Ralph Bunche Park (1st Avenue between E. 42nd Street and E. 43rd Street). 5:45 pm - 6:00 pm (4th stop/demonstration) -- In Ralph Bunche Park, 1st Avenue between E. 42nd Street and E. 43rd Street, across the street from the United Nations. Directions by subway: All of the stops/demonstrations will be within walking distance from the Grand Central Terminal subway stop on the 4,5,6 trains and on the Shuttle (S) train from Times Square. Organized by: The Uyghur American Association (www.uyghuramerican.org) and the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation (www.iuhrdf.org) Background The Uyghur people are indigenous to East Turkestan [also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China]. They are a Turkic, Central Asian people and their dominant religion is Sunni Islam. For many years, the Chinese government has waged an intense and often brutal campaign to repress all forms of Uyghur dissent, crack down on Uyghurs' peaceful religious activities and independent expressions of ethnicity, dilute Uyghurs' culture and identity as a distinct people, and threaten the survival of the Uyghur language. The authorities have routinely equated Uyghurs' peaceful political, religious, and cultural activities with the "three evils" – terrorism, separatism and religious extremism. The authorities have also economically marginalized the Uyghurs in East Turkestan through intense and blatant racial/ethnic discrimination in employment. On July 5, 2009, Uyghurs in the city of Urumchi (the regional capital of East Turkestan) staged a peaceful protest that was brutally suppressed by Chinese security forces. Numerous witness accounts provided to human rights organizations abroad (including but not limited to Uyghur organizations) -- as well as witness accounts provided to the media – indicated that security forces committed extrajudicial killings of protestors. The human rights violations that the Chinese government committed during – and have committed in the aftermath – of the peaceful protest and the ethnic unrest in Urumchi in July 2009 have also included but have not been limited to, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary sentencing of individuals to death after trials plagued with politicization and intense strangleholds on due process, and arbitrary executions. For more information, contact: Kathy Polias, United Nations Liaison, Uyghur American Association (www.uyghuramerican.org), Cell: 347-285-6546, E-mails: [email protected], [email protected]. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
