Page 146 - Communist Chinas Policy of Oppression in East Turkestan

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Prominent Names in East

Turkestan's Struggle For Freedom

T when national and spiritual feelings in East Turkestan
The beginning of the twentieth century was a time

began to stir. This "national awakening" of the Uighur
Turks came about by means of Abdulqadir Damulla, who began his ac-
tivities following a trip to Muslim countries such as Turkey, Egypt and
Syria. One of the most important needs of the time was for the people
to be made aware of their sacred values and historical heritage.
Damulla opened a school called the Matla'ul Hidayat, and began to
teach the young people of East Turkestan about their
history, as well as helping to raise the popular con-
sciousness by means of the books he published.
Following Damulla, the struggle in East
Turkestan was taken on by the "the Three Mas-
ters," Isa Yusuf Alptekin, Muhammed Emin
Bugra, and Mesud Sabri Baykuzu. Baykuzu's
struggle ended with his arrest by the communist
Chinese administration in 1951 (and he was mar-
tyred by lethal injection the following year). Alptekin
Isa Yusuf
and Bugra continued the struggle until the very
Alptekin
end of their lives.
Alptekin served as the secretary of the East Turkestan Provincial
Government, itself subordinate to China, and spent his whole life
speaking about the rightful claims of East Turkestan on international
platforms and trying to free the Muslims. He started working at the
Chinese Consulate in West Turkestan at the age of 26. This was a time
when the Soviet oppression of the Turkish Muslims of West Turkestan

Communist China’s Policy
of Oppression in East Turkestan