• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • ABOUT CHINA
    • NEWS
    • TESTIMONIES
    • OP-EDS
    • FEATURED
    • GLOSSARY
    • CHINA PERSECUTION MAP
  • FROM THE WORLD
    • NEWS GLOBAL
    • TESTIMONIES GLOBAL
    • OP-EDS GLOBAL
    • FEATURED GLOBAL
  • INTERVIEWS
  • DOCUMENTS AND TRANSLATIONS
    • DOCUMENTS
    • THE TAI JI MEN CASE
    • TRANSLATIONS
    • EVENTS
  • ABOUT
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • TOPICS

Bitter Winter

A magazine on religious liberty and human rights

three friends of winter
Home / China / Op-eds China

After 26 Years, Uyghurs Remember the Ghulja Massacre

02/03/2023Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur |

On February 5, 1997, a peaceful protest was transformed into a bloodbath by the Chinese police and soldiers. 

by Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur

Some blurred images of the 1997 Ghulja Massacre. From Twitter.
Some blurred images of the 1997 massacre. From Twitter.

The 5th of February is another painful commemoration day for the Uyghurs. Twenty-six years ago, the “Ghulja Massacre” was perpetrated by the Chinese government, and terrorized the Uyghur people as one of the most bloody crackdowns in recent history. It cannot disappear from the memory of the Uyghur nation. Ghulja is the city where the Uyghur independence was declared and East Turkestan Republic was established on November 12, 1944. For the Chinese, this city has always been a sensitive area.

On February 5, 1997, 26 years ago, a peaceful demonstration led by Abduhelil Abdumejit broke out in Ghulja, where Uyghurs showed their discontentment for the Chinese policies of banning the Uyghur cultural gatherings known as Meshrep and Uyghur soccer tournaments, forcefully transferring Uyghur children and girls to mainland Chinese provinces, and allowing and not controlling the widespread drug traffic in the region.

What had started as a peaceful demonstration ended up in a bloodbath due to the actions of the Chinese armed police and soldiers, who used machine guns, fire bombs, and police dogs. While the authorities reported that nine protesters died, conservative independent estimates assessed the victims between 100 and 200.

For two weeks, a state of emergency and martial law was declared, airports and bus stations were closed, all main roads to the city were blocked, and all the houses in the city were searched to arrest thousands of innocent young men. 

The leader of the peaceful demonstration, Abduhelil Abdumejit, was imprisoned and tortured to death. From Twitter.
The leader of the peaceful demonstration, Abduhelil Abdumejit, was imprisoned and tortured to death. From Twitter.

Prisons and detention centers with cold little dungeons in the region were packed with Uyghur youth. Later on, all the men arrested after the incident were gathered in an open square on snow and ice, forced to walk barefoot, and sprayed icy-cold water on their bodies, which caused their fingers and legs to be frostbitten and later amputated. Some froze to death.

All the leaders of the demonstration were given capital punishment, and protesters are still in prison until this day after 26 years.

Uyghurs commemorating the anniversary of the massacre in Washington DC in 2020. From Facebook.
Uyghurs commemorating the anniversary of the massacre in Washington DC in 2020. From Facebook.

Every year, on the 5th of February, we Uyghurs protest around the world commemorating the Ghulja Massacre and grieving for those who sacrificed themselves for freedom. On this day, we expose China’s crimes and genocide against the Uyghurs in the past 74 years. And we remind the world that the genocide still continues today.

Tagged With: Muslim Uyghurs, Religious Persecution

Abdurehim Gheni
Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur

Abdurehim Gheni is a Uyghur activist living in the Netherlands who became famous for his solo protests in Dam Square in Amsterdam. He also educates tourists to the reality of the Uyghur genocide.

Related articles

  • Thank You, Friends from Taiwan, You Are Our Special Translators

    Thank You, Friends from Taiwan, You Are Our Special Translators

  • Xinjiang Governor Erkin Tuniyaz: Slave to Beijing, Tyrant to the Uyghurs

    Xinjiang Governor Erkin Tuniyaz: Slave to Beijing, Tyrant to the Uyghurs

  • Abduxaliq Uyghur, 1901–1933: Uyghurs Remember Their Beheaded Poet

    Abduxaliq Uyghur, 1901–1933: Uyghurs Remember Their Beheaded Poet

  • Iran: “Christians Are Constantly Watched as Spies”

    Iran: “Christians Are Constantly Watched as Spies”

Keep Reading

  • A Uyghur Poet Reminds Us that Uyghurs Are Seeking Justice from the World
    A Uyghur Poet Reminds Us that Uyghurs Are Seeking Justice from the World

    After the Urumqi fire, it is time for the international community to stop the genocide. Perhaps a poem may help.

  • The US-China Balloon Crisis: A Uyghur View
    The US-China Balloon Crisis: A Uyghur View

    Writing in Bitter Winter last year, I prophesied—without a crystal ball—that something similar would happen. And worse incidents in the future, too.

  • Pro-Chinese Propaganda by The World Muslim Communities Council: Uyghurs Strike Back
    Pro-Chinese Propaganda by The World Muslim Communities Council: Uyghurs Strike Back

    A Muslim delegation visited Xinjiang and reported all is well there. Uyghur throughout the world are denouncing its statement as Goebbels-style propaganda.

  • Why We Should Protect Chinese Refugees from the Long Harm of Xi Jinping
    Why We Should Protect Chinese Refugees from the Long Harm of Xi Jinping

    The only way of reducing the number of Chinese refugees in the West is changing the regime in China.

Primary Sidebar

Support Bitter Winter

Learn More

Follow us

Newsletter

Most Read

  • More Uyghur Criticism of Donnie Yen: Wasn’t He More Guilty than Will Smith? by Kok Bayraq
  • Empowering the Next Generation of Uyghurs to Challenge China’s Genocide by Marco Respinti
  • Censorship Frenzy: Do Not Search for “2952” in China or You Will Get Into Trouble  by Tan Liwei
  • Russia: Pastor Moskvitin Sentenced to 1.5 Years in Penal Colony for “Brainwashing” by Massimo Introvigne
  • China’s New Crackdown Targets “Self-Media” by Zhou Kexin
  • Wenzhou, Parents Asked to Sign a “Kindergarten Family Commitment Not to Believe in Religion” by He Yuyan
  • Russia, Hare Krishnas Accused of Planning Attacks Against Military Conscription Bureaus by Massimo Introvigne

CHINA PERSECUTION MAP -SEARCH NEWS BY REGION

clickable geographical map of china, with regions

Footer

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

MASSIMO INTROVIGNE

Director-in-Charge

MARCO RESPINTI

ADDRESS

CESNUR

Via Confienza 19,

10121 Turin, Italy,

Phone: 39-011-541950

E-MAIL

We welcome submission of unpublished contributions, news, and photographs. Each submission implies the authorization for us to edit and publish texts and photographs. We reserve the right to decide which submissions are suitable for publication. Please, write to INFO@BITTERWINTER.ORG Thank you.

Newsletter

LINKS

orlir-logo hrwf-logo cesnur-logo

Copyright © 2023 · Bitter Winter · PRIVACY POLICY· COOKIE POLICY