5 July Urumchi Massacre: Remember & Resist
15 years since Urumchi Massacre
Protest for Uyghur freedom
6-7pm Friday 5 July
Chinese Embassy
49-51 Portland Place, London (map)
In June 2009, a racist mob murdered two Uyghur workers in Shaoguan, southern China. Days later, on 5 July, Uyghurs took to the streets in Urumchi in the Uyghur homeland. They protested, demanding justice and against the racist and exploitative treatment of their people.
The protest was confronted by militarised riot police. Violence broke out. Inter-communal clashes erupted, and many civilians were killed - including both Uyghur and Han Chinese people.
Chinese authorities seized on these events and responded with a brutal, sweeping crackdown on the Uyghur population. There were hundreds or possibly thousands of arrests, disappearances and killings by the state, as well as racist mob violence targeting Uyghurs.
Determined to maintain its grip on the Uyghur people and their homeland, the Chinese state escalated its repression after 2009.
Within a decade, the Chinese state had built its now-infamous regime designed to suffocate and forcibly assimilate the Uyghur people: mass internment and re-education; forced labour; involuntary contraception and sterilisation; and intense cultural and religious repression.
So please help us spread the word and this Friday, join Workers Against the CCP and Uyghur community organisations including Stop Uyghur Genocide and UK Uyghur Community: to mark the 15th anniversary of the Urumchi massacre, and protest for Uyghur rights and freedom today.