East Turkestan Liberation Organization

East Turkestan Liberation Organization
LeaderMehmet Emin Hazret
Dates of operation1997–2003
MotivesIndependence of East Turkestan from China
Active regionsXinjiang
IdeologyUyghur nationalism, Separatism, Islamism, Turanism
StatusChina Designated as a terrorist organization (15 December 2003)
Kazakhstan Designated as a terrorist organization (November 2006)
Kyrgyzstan Designated as a terrorist organization (September 2007)
East Turkestan Liberation Organization
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese東突厥斯坦解放組織
Simplified Chinese东突厥斯坦解放组织
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDōng Tūjuésītǎn Jiěfàng Zǔzhī
Uyghur name
Uyghurشارقىي تۇركەستان ئازاتلىق تەشكىلاتى‎
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiŞärqiy Türkestan Azatliq Teşkilati
Siril YëziqiШәрқий Түркестан Азатлиқ Тешкилати

The East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO) was a secessionist Uyghur organization that advocated for an independent Uyghur state named East Turkestan in the Western Chinese province known as Xinjiang.[1] The organization was established in Turkey in late 1997 to fight against the Chinese government in Xinjiang, a territory of ethnic Uyghur majority.[2]

ETLO has been described by scholars as demanding total independence and supporting or being indifferent to more radical methods driven by religious and ethnic motives.[3][4] ETLO is a designated terrorist organization by the governments of China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Kyrgyz authorities arrest fugitive Uighur separatist, Archived 2007-02-19 at the Wayback Machine International Herald Tribune, February 15, 2007
  2. ^ "People's Republic of China: Uighurs fleeing persecution as China wages its "war on terror"". Retrieved 2007-04-02. People’s Republic of China Uighurs fleeing persecution as China wages its "war on terror," Amnesty International
  3. ^ Özkan, Güner (2023), "The Uyghur Movement in Exile", in Shei, Chris; Chen, Jie (eds.), Routledge Resources Online – Chinese Studies, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780367565152-RECHS60-1
  4. ^ Reed, J. Todd; Raschke, Diana (2010). "The Contemporary and Historical Contexts of Uyghur Separatism". The ETIM: China's Islamic Militants and the Global Terrorist Threat. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780313365416.
  5. ^ Islamic groups banned in Kyrgyzstan Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine Central Asia Caucasus Institute
  6. ^ "Terror list with links to al-Qaeda unveiled". www.chinadaily.com.cn.
  7. ^ East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO) Globalsecurity.org