An independent Republic of East Turkestan briefly existed prior to the assumption of control by the People's Liberation Army in 1949 (Nations Without States 1996, 166; UNPO n.d.; CSIS Spring 1998). However, since 1949 the same geographic area has been incorporated into the People's Republic of China (ibid.). The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) was established in 1955 (ibid.). A Human Rights Watch report states that after the fall of independent East Turkestan

The defeated Uighur leadership fled to Turkey, where one of the main opposition movements is still based; several other Uighur separatist groups, including the United Revolutionary Front of East Turkestan, maintain headquarters in Almaty, the capital of neighbouring Kazakhstan (1998).

The report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) referred to above provides additional background on the origins and nature of nationalism in Xinjiang.

The section on China in Country Reports 1998, available in Regional Documentation Centres, contains general information regarding the treatment of the Uighur within Xinjiang. According to a recent appeal by Amnesty International for persons reportedly arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang:

Following ethnic unrest in February 1997 in the city of Gulja (Yining) in the west of the XUAR, the authorities have tightened controls over the local population and repressed any activity suspected of lending support to Uighur nationalism - officially termed "separatism" - including peaceful religious activities (Jan. 1999).

The attached Human Rights Watch report provides both historical context and an examination of the effects of the "Strike Hard" (yan da) campaign in Xinjiang.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Amnesty International (AI). January 1999. "Appeal for Uighurs Arbitrarily Detained." (AI Index: ASA 17/02/99) [Internet] http://www.amnesty.org [Accessed 15 Mar. 1999]

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Spring 1998. Dr. Paul George. "Commentary No. 73 - Islamic Unrest in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region." [Internet] http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca [Accessed 22 Feb. 1999]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1999. Washington, DC: US Department of State. [Internet] http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report [Accessed 1 Mar. 1999]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1998. "Xinjiang: China's Restive Northwest." [Internet] http://www.hrw.org [Accessed 15 Mar. 1999]

Minahan, James. 1996. Nations Without States: A Historical Dictionary Of Contemporary National Movements. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). n.d. "Eastern Turkestan." [Internet] http://www.unpo.org/member/eturk/eturk.html [Accessed 15 Mar. 1999]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1998. "Xinjiang: China's Restive Northwest." [Internet] http://www.hrw.org [Accessed 15 Mar. 1999]