But it is becoming clear that some profoundly illiberal forces lie behind the veneer of a peaceful campaign for human rights. Abbas currently heads the WUC affiliate organization, , President — Nephew of Rebiya Kadeer. Today, she heads the Campaign For Uyghurs, an organization funded by the National Endowment for Democracy. 31 March, 2021 — The Grayzone. However, an investigation by The Grayzone into the Uyghur separatist movement in the Washington DC area has uncovered a jingoistic, gun-obsessed subculture driven by the kind of right-wing ideology that was on display during the March 21 car caravan through downtown. Altay Defense is led by Faruk Altay, brother of UAA President Kuzzat Altay and nephew of Rebiya Kadeer, who is perhaps the most prominent international figurehead of the Uyghur separatist movement. Proudly dressed in US military fatigues, Altay Defense drill in advanced combat techniques with former members of US special forces who also train private mercenaries and active duty US service members. The NED has granted millions of dollars to the World Uyghur Congress since its … https://t.co/UrCnBiQXaE, — Uyghur American Association (@Uyghur_American) March 22, 2021. We hope that the #UN and governments around the world took this day to recognize the cruelty and human rights abuses the CCP is perpetrating and decides to truly commit to upholding the Universal Declaration of Human … Screenshot of the US-based independent news outlet The Grayzone. “China [p]urposefully, intentionally exported the virus to cause the pandemic,” Altay declared on July 5, 2020. Altay is a staunch supporter of Washington’s new Cold War agenda. #HoldChinaAccountable pic.twitter.com/EAayRykilr, — kuzzat Altay (@KuzzatAltay) July 5, 2020. Despite claiming to represent the interests of China’s Uyghur and Muslim minority populations, many of the UAA’s closest allies represent some of the anti-Muslim, far-right forces in Washington, from Republican Rep. Ted Yoho to the Family Research Council, as well as the FBI. when he decided to blow the whistle on the National Security Agency’s invasive, all-encompassing system of mass surveillance. A veteran of the Uyghur separatist movement, Ataman he works for US military and intelligence contractor, General Dynamics, and has previously held positions at the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Veteran Affairs. “No war has kileed [sic] more people than China’s Virus war.”. , the WUC is a right-wing, anti-communist, and ultra-nationalist network of exiled Uyghur separatists who have stated their intention to bring about the “fall of China” and establish an ethno-state called “East Turkestan” in Xinjiang. Uyghur American Association Uyghur Association of Victoria, Australia Uyghur Refugee Relief Fund Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement Vietnamese Community in Australia/ SA Chapter Voces Tibet Wisconsin Tibetan Association World League for Freedom and Democracy 台灣永社 Taiwan Forever Association, TFA 芝援香港 Global Solidarity with Hong Kong – Chicago . China Purposefully, intentionally exported the virus to cause the pandemic. The WUC has developed deep ties to Washington’s regime change establishment and received extensive US government-funding and training. Ilshat Hassan Kokbore, former President (2016-2019) — Since 2008, Kokbore has worked with notorious private US military and intelligence contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton. China is ALREADY the common enemy of humanity.”, Altay is a staunch supporter of Washington’s new Cold War agenda. In 2020, the UAA organized an. We hope that the #UN and governments around the world took this day to recognize the cruelty and human rights abuses the CCP is perpetrating and decides to truly commit to upholding the Universal Declaration of Human … The UAA is the US-affiliate of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), an international network whose first president outlined an objective to precipitate the “fall of China” and establish an ethno-state in Xinjiang. Members of the militia-style gun club espouse pro-Trump politics and anti-immigrant resentment. , former Vice President – Serves as the WUC’s Chairman of the Executive Committee. Last year its Uyghur … The East Turkistan National Congress split in early 2004 over the issue of independence vs autonomy. Murat Ataman is affiliated with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)– the funding engine of the US government’s regime change apparatus – UAA offshoot Uyghur Human Rights Project. During the pandemic, the UAA and members of its affiliate organizations helped inflame anti-Asian resentment by spreading far-right propaganda referring to Covid-19 as the “Chinese virus,” and claimed that China was waging a “virus war” against the world, “[p]urposefully, intentionally export[ing] the virus to cause the pandemic.”. Salih Hudayar, the self-proclaimed “Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile,” slammed “the UAA’s reckless drive-by” for causing “severe backlash against Uyghurs,” and insisted that Uyghur Americans were “not racist.”, The UAA has attempted to distance itself from accusations of extremism and racism, stating that its members’ actions were misrepresented. Turkel confirmed that the UAA aims to leverage Washington’s support to advance regime change in China. 781 people like this. Far from a lone wolf, Faruk Altay has been joined by leading figures of the Uyghur separatist movement. Established in 1998, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) is a non-partisan organization with the chief goals of promoting and preserving Uyghur culture, and supporting the right of Uyghur people to use peaceful, democratic means to … During a meeting at Radio Free Asia (RFA), Sintash referred to Zenz as “the CIA agent,” and the US government-sponsored broadcasting service as “the original CIA branch of RFA’s headquarters in DC.”, While Sintash may have been sarcastic, the New York Times has described RFA in no uncertain terms as part of a “Worldwide Propaganda Network Built by the CIA.”. . “The most normal thing that I could ever imagine is anti-China activities every freaking day,” Altay stated on July 25, 2020. The veteran operative has a lengthy history of work with the US government, from serving as senior editor of Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur Service from 1999 to 2009 to covering the US wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and interviewing the Dalai Lama for the network. … In a high-profile dust-up on Capitol Hill, he reportedly called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “fucking bitch.” In 2019, Yoho was one of 24 members of Congress to vote against a resolution condemning bigotry because it included anti-Muslim discrimination. As documented above, Altay is a rabid anti-communist and ardently pro-US. The World Uyghur Congress is an umbrella organization of Uyghur nationalist groups such as the World Uyghur Youth Congress, and was formed in November 1996 and some members of the East Turkestan National Congress. He has also shared an anti-immigrant meme comparing Central American migrants to the international criminal gang MS-13. by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) due to its extreme anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice, and anti-Muslim ideology. The UAA has worked closely with Republican Rep. Ted Yoho, a homophobic, anti-abortion ultra-conservative who once told a Black constituent that he was not sure if the Civil Rights Act was constitutional. As Ajit explains in “US-funded Uyghur activists train as gun-toting foot soldiers for empire”… Leading figures of the UAA (Uyghur American Association) operate a right-wing gun club known as Altay Defense. Yoho was one of only four lawmakers to, legislation making lynching a federal hate crime. According to the article, despite claiming to represent the interests of China's Uyghur and Muslim minority populations, many of the UAA's closest allies represent some of the foremost anti-Muslim, far-right forces in Washington, from Republican Rep. 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The Network founded by Kuzzat Altay, the Uyghur Human Rights Project and the Uyghur American Association, all of which receives funding from the NED, are operating closely. Social media posts show UAA President Kuzzat Altay, Murat Ataman, and Bahram Sintash, among others attending Altay Defense training sessions. From 2016-2019 alone, a subsidiary of the Uyghur American Association — the Uyghur Human Rights Project — was funded to the tune of 1.2 million dollars through NED. Under Kadeer’s leadership, the WUC and UAA forged close ties with the Bush administration. An investigation by The Grayzone uncovered that the Uyghur American Association (UAA) operated the right-wing club and have its members drilled in … On March 21, US-government-funded Uyghur activists were caught on video disrupting a gathering held in Washington DC against anti-Asian racism, a move which drew widespread condemnation on social media, wrote Ajit Singh in an article entitled "'Wipe out China!' “No war has kileed [sic] more people than China’s Virus war.”, in a Wuhan lab and the World Health Organization was, published by Shadow Hawk Defense outlines a goal to train “elite armed security professionals, who serve the high threat needs of the US government, military, and intelligence communities,” including “hosting and training classified security personnel.” The facility employs “trainers [who] have years of experience training contractors for the U.S. Government” with the goal of “achieving mission readiness.”, , Shadow Hawk’s co-founder and Director of Training, Randy Weekely, described his work in detail: “I teach military contractors before they deploy to these ‘other places’, defensive tactics, CQB [close-quarters battle], pistol, rifle, bounding, attack on vehicles, all the skills that they need […] before they deploy.”, Altay Defense receives instruction from James Lang, a former US Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and works as a firearm instructor for the US Department of Defense. The Uyghur American Association (UAA) is a Washington-based advocacy organization. Kanat helped found the WUC and has been a permanent fixture in its executive leadership. The UHRP has brought together leading figures of the WUC, including Turkel and Omer Kanat, and NED, with former NED Vice President, Louisa Greve, serving as the group’s Director of Global Advocacy, , former President (2004-2006) — Co-founded the UHRP with the NED. Enditem In his spare time, Sintash keeps company with the far-right, evangelical Xinjiang researcher Adrian Zenz. Throughout the pandemic, Altay and fellow leaders of the Uyghur separatist movement have incessantly spread right-wing conspiracies and outlandish theories blaming China for COVID-19 and all its associated deaths, which has played a key role in whipping up anti-Asian sentiment in the US and the West, it noted. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has been central to the rising international prominence of the Uyghur separatist movement. According to The New York Times, Kadeer’s “[d]issidence brought the end of her Audi, her three villas and her far-flung business empire”. No war has kileed more people than China’s Virus war. Bahram Sintash is also affiliated with the NED-funded UHRP, authoring reports which allege that the Chinese government is demolishing Uyghur mosques and shrines. Thank you to everyone that came out when called upon. the “US army must defend Taiwan” against China. In 2019, Altay spoke on a panel of US government-funded Chinese dissidents organized by the Family Research Council (FRC). He tweets at @ajitxsingh. In 2020, that it has given Uyghur groups $8,758,300 since 2004 (including $75,000 in, ) and claimed to be “the only institutional funder for Uyghur advocacy and human rights organizations.”, “The National Endowment for Democracy has been exceptionally supportive of UAA,”. Aside from the vague, unverified, claims of the UNPO, Radio Free Asia would be the next group to claim that Uyghurs are being put into camps. Boykin is a virulent Islamophobe who believes that the religion is evil and should be outlawed, and that there should be “no mosques in America.” During a sermon at an evangelical church during the US war on Iraq, Boykin boasted of taking on a Muslim warlord in Somalia: “I knew my God was bigger than his. Some have even claimed that the real number of Uyghurs is actually 35 million. As prone as they might be to unalloyed expressions of right-wing jingoism, the leaders of UAA operate at the heart of a multi-million dollar lobbying complex funded and cultivated by the US government. Organized by the Uyghur American Association (UAA), the drive-by heckling of anti-racist demonstrators drew widespread condemnation on social media, including from other sections of the Uyghur separatist movement. In recent years, the WUC has worked closely with US and Western governments, and partnered with fraud-prone pseudo-scholars such as Adrian Zenz to intensify their New Cold War against China, advocating for Chinese policy in Xinjiang to be labeled ‘genocide,’ along with sanctions and boycott. The current UAA prescient, Kuzzat Altay, has organized several separatist events in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in recent years, said the website. “You should help us to stop China. US-funded Uyghur activists train as gun-toting foot soldiers for empire Ajit Singh, Grayzone, Mar 31 2021 On Mar 21, US-government-funded Uyghur activists were caught on video disrupting a gathering against anti-Asian racism in Washington DC, barking insults at demonstrators including, “Wipe out China!” and “Fuck China!” The Uyghur caravan flew American and… Niqnaq. An article published by the US-based independent news outlet The Grayzone unmasked an anti-China organization – namely, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) – laying bare that the UAA, which is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), "works closely with Washington and other Western governments to escalate hostilities with China". The organization, which gives trainings, has taken its Cybersecurity Awareness Training, from the FBI on September 7th 2019. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has been central to the rising international prominence of the Uyghur separatist movement. to intensify their New Cold War against China, advocating for Chinese policy in Xinjiang to be labeled ‘genocide,’ along with sanctions and boycott. Arslan Khakiyev, Treasurer  — Previously worked at Radio Free Asia for over 18 years. April 3, 2021. In recent years, the WUC has worked closely with US and Western governments, and partnered with, fraud-prone pseudo-scholars such as Adrian Zenz. Formation. The UAA did not respond to multiple requests for interviews from The Grayzone sent by email and on Twitter. The US government has engaged in a marriage of convenience with a Uyghur separatist movement that is firmly aligned the gun-obsessed, anti-immigrant subculture of Trumpism. US-funded Uyghur activists train as gun-toting foot soldiers for empire" as published in The Grayzone on March 31. Omer Kanat, former Vice President – Serves as the WUC’s Chairman of the Executive Committee. Despite claiming to be the international representatives of Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim, Uyghur ethnic group, and struggling against religious persecution, Altay and his comrades have routinely teamed up with far-right, Islamophobic forces in the US to advance their separatist campaign. The NED helped the UAA launch the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) in 2004, serving as its principal source of funding, with $1,244,698 in support between 2016 and ’19 alone. Thank you to everyone that shared the messages on social media. of US government-funded Chinese dissidents organized by the Family Research Council (FRC). Ajit Singh is a lawyer and journalist. WUC is the second Uyghur organization that NED has decided to fund. Adrian ZenzAltay DefenseBahram SintashChinaDonald TrumpFaruk AltayKuzzat AltayMike PompeoNational Endowment for Democracyright-wing extremismTed YohoUyghur American AssociationUyghur American CongressUyghur separatistsUyghursXinjiang. The weekly deluge of US media reports of Uyghur oppression in Xinjiang is clearly designed to appeal to liberal sensibilities, presenting the struggle of an oppressed minority against a tyrannical government, and omitting any pieces of context that might prove disruptive to the David-versus-Goliath narrative. which aimed to teach Uyghur Americans about “the role of the FBI in protecting Uyghurs” and how “Uyghurs [can] communicate with the FBI”. Portrayed by Western governments and media as the leading voice for Uyghur … Kuzzat Altay, President — Nephew of Rebiya Kadeer. World-famous UFC champion @TeamKhabib’s father has passed away because of #CCPVirus. Contact Uyghur Refugee Relief Fund on Messenger. 550,000 people died. The UAA is a U.S.-affiliate of international anti-China separation network which received millions of dollars of funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, a U.S. government-sponsored entity. US-funded Uyghur activists train as gun-toting foot soldiers for empire. We are very moved by and grateful for their steadfast assistance,” stated Turkel. , authoring reports which allege that the Chinese government is demolishing Uyghur mosques and shrines. Sintash was a key player in lobbying efforts to urge the US Congress to pass the Uyghur Human Right Policy Act of 2019, visiting more than 380 members of Congress. on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The US government has engaged in "a marriage of convenience with a Uyghur separatist movement" that is firmly aligned with the gun-obsessed, anti-immigrant subculture of Trumpism, while turning a blind eye to the far-right politics of what is now one of its most important proxy groups, it further stated. Murat Ataman is affiliated with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)–, the funding engine of the US government’s regime change apparatus, – UAA offshoot Uyghur Human Rights Project. Population disputes have continued into the present, with some activists and groups such as the Uyghur Congress and Uyghur American Association claiming that the Uyghur population ranges between 20 and 30 million. In 2020, Turkel was appointed a commissioner on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a Page. As The Grayzone previously reported, the WUC is a right-wing, anti-communist, and ultra-nationalist network of exiled Uyghur separatists who have stated their intention to bring about the “fall of China” and establish an ethno-state called “East Turkestan” in Xinjiang. On December 10th 2020, the Uyghur American Association held a candlelight vigil to commemorate Human Rights Day and remember all the lives lost & affected by the #UyghurGenocide. !” Altay posted to Twitter in 2018. She also played a key role in the formation of the Uyghur American Association in 1998, which receives funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Retired US General and undersecretary for defense under former President George W. Bush, Jerry Boykin, serves as the FRC’s vice president. The UAA’s ultra-patriotic reverence of the US and fanatical anti-China politics have been on full display under the organization’s current president, Kuzzat Altay. The most well-known organizations are Uyghur American Association, a Washington D.C. based advocacy organization which was established in 1998 by a group of Uyghur overseas activists to raise the public awareness of the Uyghur people, the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement, a youth led organization which was set up by Uyghur graduate student Salih Hudayar in 2017 and East …