Washington DC [US] August 11 (ANI): The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile (ETGE) has denounced what it refers to as inaccurate historical assertions made in the propaganda film 'Zuo Zongtang Recovers Xinjiang' produced by the People's Republic of China (PRC).

In a statement, ETGE reiterated that East Turkistan has never been part of China and criticised the film's narrative as an effort to justify colonial rule.

As per ETGE, East Turkistan was a sovereign, independent state until it was invaded in 1878 by the Manchu Qing Empire, led by Zuo Zongtang, an officer pursuing colonial ambitions. Following the invasion, the region was unilaterally renamed 'Xinjiang,' or 'new territory,' in 1884.

The government-in-exile referenced historical Chinese documents from the Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and early Qing dynasties, which referred to East Turkistan and areas to the west of the Jiayu Pass, the historical border of China, as Xiyu, distinctly labelling them as lands beyond China's sovereign boundaries.

ETGE indicated that the Han-era 'Protectorate of the Western Regions represented only a temporary and coerced foreign presence in parts of East Turkistan, likening it to China's current military base in Djibouti, Russia's presence in Syria, or US bases in Japan, South Korea, and Germany. It emphasised that this was a foreign military presence, not an assertion of sovereignty.'

After the Qing occupation, East Turkistan achieved independence twice in the 20th century as the East Turkistan Republic before being invaded and occupied again by the PRC in late 1949. ETGE characterised the current PRC control as an extension of foreign colonial domination, seeking to eliminate the nation's identity through demographic change, political oppression, cultural annihilation, and what it deems genocide.

'The only foreign troops in East Turkistan are the Chinese occupying forces,' the statement concluded, rejecting the PRC's narrative regarding the region's history and advocating for the restoration of its independence.

The persecution of Uyghurs in China, particularly in Xinjiang, involves widespread human rights abuses, including mass detentions in 're-education camps,' forced labour, and heavy surveillance. The Chinese government has been accused of religious repression, cultural destruction, and forced assimilation, limiting the Uyghur language, religious practices, and cultural traditions.

Reports indicate family separations, forced indoctrination, and destruction of Uyghur heritage sites. International bodies and human rights organisations have labelled these actions as genocide and crimes against humanity. (ANI)