{"id":2289,"date":"2025-11-13T10:51:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T10:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akademiye.org\/en\/?p=2289"},"modified":"2025-12-09T16:16:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:16:15","slug":"east-turkistan-republic-day-commemorated-in-ankara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/?p=2289","title":{"rendered":"East Turkistan Republic Day Commemorated in Ankara"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

A commemorative meeting was held in Ankara to mark the anniversaries of the two republics declared in East Turkistan on November 12, 1933, and November 12, 1944.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The event, organized by the Uyghur Academy Foundation and the East Turkistan Research Foundation, took place at \u0130Z Hotel in Ankara to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the East Turkistan Islamic Republic, founded in Kashgar in 1933, and the 81st anniversary of the East Turkistan Republic, established in Ghulja in 1944.<\/p>\n

More than 40 distinguished guests attended the event, including \u2014 foremost \u2014 Osman Mesten, Bursa Deputy for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party); Associate Professor Dr. Sel\u00e7uk \u00d6zda\u011f, Group Chairman of the New Path Party in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey; Fahrettin Yoku\u015f, former \u0130Y\u0130 Party Deputy; Dr. Re\u015fide Y\u00fcksel, Vice President for Relations with Turkic States at AK Party Headquarters; \u015eerafettin Deniz, President of AVAZ Research and Strategy Center; Mehmet Fatih \u015eahin, President of Ulu\u011f Group; Arzuman Azafl\u0131, President of the Azafl\u0131 Social Aid and Culture Association; along with the presidents of associations representing Southern Turkistan, Southern Azerbaijan, and Syrian Turks, as well as representatives of major Turkish political parties, Turkic and Turkic World organizations, and members of the press.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The meeting began with a moment of silence in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for their homelands in Turkey, East Turkistan, and the Turkic World, followed by the singing of the Turkish National Anthem and the East Turkistan national anthem. Afterwards, Abd\u00fclhamit Karahan, President of the Uyghur Academy Foundation, and Dr. Abd\u00fclkerim Bu\u011fra, President of the East Turkistan Research Foundation, delivered their opening remarks.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In their speeches, they emphasized that commemorating East Turkistan Republic Day with the participation of representatives from various Turkish political parties and the broader Turkic World held great significance for Uyghurs. Speakers underlined that it is crucial for both the ruling and opposition parties in Turkey to view the East Turkistan issue as a national cause, to take a firm stance against China\u2019s assimilation and genocide policies, and to support the Uyghur struggle for independence. They also extended their gratitude to the guests for their attendance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Following the opening remarks, Osman Mesten, AK Party Deputy for Bursa, took the floor first. Mesten stated that Turkey supports its Uyghur brothers and sisters to the best of its ability and described the Uyghurs as a noble and civilized Turkic people. He also noted that he chairs the Uzbekistan Friendship Group in the Turkish Parliament and has a deep appreciation for the history and culture of both Uzbeks and Uyghurs. He added that he and his party are working to help alleviate the difficulties Uyghurs face, as they do for other oppressed Turkic communities.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Next, Associate Professor Dr. Sel\u00e7uk \u00d6zda\u011f, Group Chairman of the New Path Party, stated that both he and the New Path Party fully support the Uyghurs\u2019 just national struggle. He mentioned that he has raised the East Turkistan issue multiple times in Parliament and actively participates in the initiatives of organizations such as the World Uyghur Congress. \u00d6zda\u011f emphasized that preserving their national identity is essential for Uyghurs in resisting Chinese repression.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Subsequently, Dr. Re\u015fide Y\u00fcksel, Vice President for Relations with Turkic States at AK Party Headquarters, conveyed the greetings of Turkish President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, as well as Professor Dr. K\u00fcr\u015fat Zorlu, Head of the AK Party\u2019s Turkic States Affairs Department. Y\u00fcksel noted that the AK Party recently established a special division to strengthen relations with Turkic States and pays special attention to oppressed kin across the Turkic World, especially Uyghurs. She affirmed that Turkey will continue to stand by Uyghurs to the greatest extent possible.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Other speakers included Fahrettin Yoku\u015f, former \u0130Y\u0130 Party Deputy; Eser Saka T\u00fcrkistanl\u0131, Vice Chairman of the Victory Party responsible for the Turkic World; and Professor Dr. Filiz Av\u015far, Vice Chairman of T\u00fcrk Ocaklar\u0131. They also commemorated November 12, East Turkistan Republic Day, and expressed their belief that East Turkistan would eventually be liberated from Chinese oppression and regain its independence. The speakers emphasized that Turkey remains a source of hope for Uyghurs and that the Uyghur people must never lose faith in their eventual freedom.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Following the speeches, Professor Dr. Erkin Emet, Spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress, delivered a presentation on the founding processes of the East Turkistan republics, the victories achieved by the national army against China, and the reasons for their eventual collapse. Emet stated that this historic day serves as an inspiration for Uyghurs to rise again, free themselves from Chinese occupation, and re-establish an independent East Turkistan. He expressed his belief that China would eventually disintegrate and that Uyghurs would live freely in their own sovereign state.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Finally, Abd\u00fclhamit Karahan, President of the Uyghur Academy Foundation, addressed the participants once more, presenting a detailed report outlining the history of the Uyghurs, as well as the geographical, demographic, and economic characteristics of East Turkistan. The report documented China\u2019s ongoing policies of assimilation and genocide and emphasized that Uyghurs were among the earliest Turkic peoples to establish civilization, possessing rich spiritual and material heritage. Highlighting East Turkistan\u2019s population, geography, and abundant resources, Karahan stressed that Turkey\u2019s recognition of the East Turkistan issue as a national matter would strengthen Turkey\u2019s own position vis-\u00e0-vis China and accelerate Uyghurs\u2019 path to freedom.<\/p>\n

The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session and discussions on potential solutions to the East Turkistan issue, followed by closing remarks and a group photo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A commemorative meeting was held in Ankara to mark the anniversaries of the two republics declared in East Turkistan on November 12, 1933, and November 12, 1944. The event, organized by the Uyghur Academy Foundation and the East Turkistan Research Foundation, took place at \u0130Z Hotel in Ankara to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-central-asia","category-activities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/101021"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2289"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2300,"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions\/2300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.uyghuracademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}