THIS ISSUE PAPER WAS PREPARED BY WRITENET ON THE BASIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, ANALYSIS AND

FREEDOM FIGHTERS OR TERRORISTS? EXPLORING THE CASE OF THE UIGHUR PEOPLE By Professor Dru C. Gladney, Ph.D. Pomona College Testimony to the United States Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight Washington, DC June 16, 2009 Written document for testimony only, not for distribution. For further information, please contact: Dru C. Gladney 2284 Jasmine Avenue Upland, CA 91784 Tel: 909-267-5821 Email: dru@pomona.edu TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2. INTRODUCTION 3. CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW 4. CHINESE NATIONALITIES POLICY, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND THE UIGHUR 5. UIGHUR RESPONSE: STRUGGLES TO SUSTAIN CULTURAL SURVIVAL 6. INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS 7. CYBER-SEPARATISM AND ETIM 8. PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE 9. BIBLIOGRAPHY 11. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Honorable Chairman, distinguished members of the subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, it is my privilege to testify to you today on the case of the Uighur people. It is my firm belief that there is very little evidence to support the claim that the people in question, either the detainees in Guantanamo Bay, or the Uighur people in general, are terrorists. Many of them could not either be accurately described as “freedom fighters.” The vast majority of the nearly 10 million ...