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The '''East Turkestan Islamic Movement''' ('''ETIM''', [[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Doğu Türkistan İslâm Hareketi'') is a [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]], a militant organization that advocates the creation of an independent, [[Islamic state]] of [[East Turkestan]], in what is currently the [[Xinjiang]] region of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC).
The '''East Turkestan Islamic Movement''' ('''ETIM''', [[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Doğu Türkistan İslâm Hareketi'') is a [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]], is alleged to be a militant organization that advocates the creation of an independent, [[Islamic state]] of [[East Turkestan]], in what is currently the [[Xinjiang]] region of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC). The existence of the group has been questions by several sources.


The [[United States]] listed the ETIM as a terrorist organization on August 27 2002, following a visit to China of [[Deputy Secretary of State]] [[Richard Armitage (politician)|Richard Armitage]].<ref>
The [[United States]] listed the ETIM as a terrorist organization on August 27 2002, following a visit to China of [[Deputy Secretary of State]] [[Richard Armitage (politician)|Richard Armitage]].<ref>
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}}</ref>
}}</ref>


⚫
The [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese government]] blamed ETIM members for several [[car bomb]] attacks in Xinjiang in the 1990s, as well as the death of a Chinese diplomat in [[Kyrgyzstan]] in 2002.
ETIM is described as a [[terrorist organization]] by the governments of the PRC, [[Kazakhstan]], [[Pakistan]] and the [[United States]], as well as the [[United Nations]]. <ref name=cody>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050900478.html|title=China demands that Albania return ex-U.S. detainees|author=Edward Cody|publisher=[[Washington Post]]|date=2006-05-10|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref><ref name=state>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82734.htm|title=Country Reports on Terrorism|author=|publisher=[[United States Department of State|US State Dept.]]|date=2007-04-30|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref><ref name=UN>{{cite web|url=http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan025885.htm|title=Governance Asia-Pacific Watch|author=|publisher=[[United Nations]]|date=2007-04|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsAug2007/specrep3aug2007.htm The New Face of Jihad<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6876215.html China has particular role in global fight against terrorism: senior UN official, ''People's Daily'']</ref>

⚫
The [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese government]] blamed ETIM members for several [[car bomb]] attacks in Xinjiang in the 1990s, as well as the death of a Chinese diplomat in [[Kyrgyzstan]] in 2002, but the group has neither admitted nor denied such accusations.


ETIM is alleged to have had links with [[Al-Qaeda]]. In its 2005 report on terrorism, the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]] said that the group was "linked to al-Qaida and the international [[jihadist]] movement" and that Al-Qaeda provided the group with "training and financial assistance".<ref name=MIPT>{{cite web|url=http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=4347|title=Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement|author=|publisher=MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base|date=2007-05-17|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref>
ETIM is alleged to have had links with [[Al-Qaeda]]. In its 2005 report on terrorism, the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]] said that the group was "linked to al-Qaida and the international [[jihadist]] movement" and that Al-Qaeda provided the group with "training and financial assistance".<ref name=MIPT>{{cite web|url=http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=4347|title=Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement|author=|publisher=MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base|date=2007-05-17|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref>
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In January 2002, the Chinese government released a report in which it attempted to prove that alleged ETIM leader [[Hasan Mahsum]] met with [[Osama bin Laden]] in 1999 and received promises of money, and that bin Laden sent "scores of terrorists" into China.<ref name=Time>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,218371,00.html|title=One Nation Divided|author=Matthew Forney|publisher=[[Time Magazine]]|date=2002-04-18|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref> However, Hasan Mahsum denied such organizational ties and alleged China exaggerates such claims as a means of enlisting support from the United States.<ref name="MIPT"/><ref name=NOAQ>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/politics/2002/01/27/85871/|title=Uyghur Separatist Denies Links to Taliban, Al-Qaeda|author=|publisher=[[Radio Free Asia]]|date=2002-01-27|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref>
In January 2002, the Chinese government released a report in which it attempted to prove that alleged ETIM leader [[Hasan Mahsum]] met with [[Osama bin Laden]] in 1999 and received promises of money, and that bin Laden sent "scores of terrorists" into China.<ref name=Time>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,218371,00.html|title=One Nation Divided|author=Matthew Forney|publisher=[[Time Magazine]]|date=2002-04-18|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref> However, Hasan Mahsum denied such organizational ties and alleged China exaggerates such claims as a means of enlisting support from the United States.<ref name="MIPT"/><ref name=NOAQ>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/politics/2002/01/27/85871/|title=Uyghur Separatist Denies Links to Taliban, Al-Qaeda|author=|publisher=[[Radio Free Asia]]|date=2002-01-27|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref>


The founder and leader of the organization Hasan Mahsum was shot and killed by the [[Pakistan Army|Pakistani Army]] on October 2, 2003.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3343241.stm|title=Chinese militant "shot dead"|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2007-01-27|date=2003-12-23}}</ref>
The alleged founder and leader of the organization Hasan Mahsum was shot and killed by the [[Pakistan Army|Pakistani Army]] on October 2, 2003.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3343241.stm|title=Chinese militant "shot dead"|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2007-01-27|date=2003-12-23}}</ref>


In July 2009 ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that Chinese security officials conflated several distinct groups under the name ''East Turkestan Islamic Movement''.<ref name=TheGuardian2009-07-06>
In July 2009 ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that Chinese security officials conflated several distinct groups under the name ''East Turkestan Islamic Movement''.<ref name=TheGuardian2009-07-06>
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| quote=Chinese state media often blames the East Turkestan Islamic Movement for stirring violence and planning attacks. But there are several groups that tend to be labelled as ETIM. Experts claim that China is exaggerating the threat posed by the group, which has been deemed a terrorist group by the UN and the US. While there is evidence of links between ETIM and al-Qaida, most analysts believe those connections are historic and several believe they were exaggerated.
| quote=Chinese state media often blames the East Turkestan Islamic Movement for stirring violence and planning attacks. But there are several groups that tend to be labelled as ETIM. Experts claim that China is exaggerating the threat posed by the group, which has been deemed a terrorist group by the UN and the US. While there is evidence of links between ETIM and al-Qaida, most analysts believe those connections are historic and several believe they were exaggerated.
}}</ref>
}}</ref>

New developments and information have arisen regarding the ETIM and its successor or splinter group the Turkestan Islamic Party. This is detailed in another section below.


==Existence==
==Existence==
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The Uyghur American Association has requested that international community establish an independent body to investigate whether ETIM exists.<ref>http://www.uyghurcongress.org/En/News.asp?ItemID=-520095990&rcid=-768458094&pcid=1110134820&cid=-768458094</ref>
The Uyghur American Association has requested that international community establish an independent body to investigate whether ETIM exists.<ref>http://www.uyghurcongress.org/En/News.asp?ItemID=-520095990&rcid=-768458094&pcid=1110134820&cid=-768458094</ref>

On January 22, 2010, a senior UN official acknowledged the existence of ETIM and its links to Al-Qaeda.

New development and information have arisen regarding the ETIM and its successor or splinter group the Turkestan Islamic Party. See the section below under the heading "New Development and Information".


==Detainees at Guantanamo Bay==
==Detainees at Guantanamo Bay==
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According to the ''Agence France Presse'' [[Sean Roberts]] of [[George Washington University]], an expert on Uighurs testified that the ETIM was new to him—that it wasn't until it was blacklisted that he heard of the group.<ref name=Afp2009-06-16/>
According to the ''Agence France Presse'' [[Sean Roberts]] of [[George Washington University]], an expert on Uighurs testified that the ETIM was new to him—that it wasn't until it was blacklisted that he heard of the group.<ref name=Afp2009-06-16/>
''AFP'' quoted Roberts: {{quotation|"It is difficult to justify the allegations that ETIM is a sophisticated and dangerous terrorist organization with links to Al-Qaeda and it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the organization no longer exists at all."}}
''AFP'' quoted Roberts: {{quotation|''"It is difficult to justify the allegations that ETIM is a sophisticated and dangerous terrorist organization with links to Al-Qaeda and it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the organization no longer exists at all."}}


''Agence France Presse'' reported that the [[Congressional Research Service]] found that the first published mention of the group was in the year 2000, but that China attributed attacks to it that had occurred up to a decade earlier.<ref name=Afp2009-06-16/>
''Agence France Presse'' reported that the [[Congressional Research Service]] found that the first published mention of the group was in the year 2000, but that China attributed attacks to it that had occurred up to a decade earlier.<ref name=Afp2009-06-16/>

== New Developments and Information ==

On July 2008, the [[NEFA Foundation]], an American Terror-Watch organization translated and released a jihad article from the Turkestan Islamic Party. In the word of the translator:
{{quotation|
The Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) is a terrorist organization primarily based in Waziristan and elsewhere in the North West Frontier of Pakistan. The TIP is comprised of Uighur Muslims from western regions of China - who have sworn to wage war against the Chinese government and have carried out scattered shooting and bombing attacks. It is a splinter faction of an organization known as East Turkestan Islamic Movement.<ref>[http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefatip0409-3.pdf Turkestan Islamic Party: "Why are we fighting China?"]</ref>
}}

''AFP'' has reported about the TIP and its threat to terrorize China:

{{quotation|
A Muslim separatist group in China has made a new video threat against the Beijing Olympics, warning Muslims to keep their children away from the games...the Turkestan Islamic Party is another name used by the Islamic Party of East Turkestan (ETIM)...<ref>[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g1YjsFvUQUmlI8lwzdQyoKzHogQA Chinese Islamists threaten Olympics: US group]</ref>
}}


The primary goal of the TIP is independence for East Turkestan, and secondarily, to convert the Chinese to Islam. This is made clear at the beginning of the article:
{{quotation|
...We are fighting China...China is an enemy who has invaded Muslim countries and occupies Muslim East Turkestan. There is no greater obligation, aside from belief in Allah, than expelling the enemies of Muslims from our countries...We are fighting China to make them testify that 'there is no God but Allah, Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah' and make them convert to Islam...<ref>[http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefatip0409-3.pdf Turkestan Islamic Party: "Why are we fighting China?"]</ref>
}}


The NEFA Foundation says TIP had a media wing:
{{quotation|
Islam Awazi is the official media wing of the "Turkestan Islamic Party" (TIP), a terrorist organization primarily comprised of ethnic Uighur Muslims originally from the western Xinjiang province of China. In July 2008, the TIP released a series of videos through Islam Awazi, claiming credit for bombings of public buses in Shanghai and Kunming, and threatening to wreck the upcoming summer Olympics being held in the capital Beijing. A masked TIP leader (identified only as "Commander Seyfullah") warned, "Our goal is to target the most critical points relating to the Olympics. We will try to severely attack China’s major cities using tactics that have never before been employed." <ref>[http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefajihadmedia0309.pdf Prominent Jihad Media Organizations In Central Asia]</ref>
}}

Islam Awazi works through the Al-Fajr Media Center which publishes jihadist statements for Al-Qaida and other Islamist organizations, including TIP.<ref>[http://nefafoundation.org/fajrchart.html Al-Qaida's Online Couriers]</ref>

Earlier on April 9, 2008, the Islamist website www.alhesbah.bz (hosted by NewMedia Express Ltd. in Singapore) posted a video by the Islamic Party of Turkestan (in western China), showing three Chinese hostages being shot dead.<ref>[http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=373&param=GJN Islamic Party of Turkestan Releases Video Showing Execution of Three Chinese Hostages]</ref>

A [[STRATFOR]] article by Estados Unidos also mentions about the TIP/ETIM, its deceased leader and history, and its videos on the internet:

{{quotation|
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) — another name for the Islamic Party of East Turkistan (ETIM) — has issued a video claiming responsibility for the July 21 bus bombings in Yunnan as well as several other incidents across China in recent months...

Over the past year, TIP has expanded its presence on the Internet, issuing videos calling for a jihad by Uighurs from China’s western Xinjiang province and highlighting training exercises. One video showed the execution of at least three ethnic Chinese. In addition, TIP has profiled extensively both the history of the movement (which at times has been called ETIM — a name the Chinese use when talking about most militant actions in Xinjiang and a group the United States added to its list of foreign terrorist organizations) and the former leader of ETIM, Hasan Mahsum, who was killed in Pakistan in 2003.


Following Mahsum’s death, ETIM fractured, its members moving into hiding, primarily in Afghanistan. Since that time, a successor movement has been pulling together, linked to Uzbek and other foreign militants operating in the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier. More recently, the TIP has begun issuing videos — some dedicated to Mahsum, others showing training operations — and, in an April video, the group began issuing warnings to China that they would attack the Olympics. This most recent video follows up on that, saying that China has effectively run out of time, and that the group’s leader, Abdul Haq, has ordered militants to begin striking in central China. Haq was one of the key members of the early ETIM group, working with Mahsum in Afghanistan in training Uighur militants in 2001...ETIM has a history of transportation infrastructure attacks (as does the broader al Qaeda movement)...While TIP/ETIM does not pose a strategic threat to the Chinese state, such transportation attacks are well within its scope of capabilities.<ref>[http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/china_etims_direct_threat_olympics China: ETIM's Direct Threat to the Olympics]</ref><ref>[http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/china_evolution_etim China: The Evolution of ETIM]</ref><ref>[http://www.offnews.info/verArticulo.php?contenidoID=11427 China - ETIM's Direct Threat to the Olympics]</ref><ref>[http://www.offnews.info/verArticulo.php?contenidoID=11426 China - The Evolution of ETIM]</ref>
}}

In an interview with ''Xinhua'' on January 22, 2010, [[Richard Barrett]], the coordinator of the Al-Qaida/Taliban Monitoring Team, acknowledged the existence of ETIM and its links to Al-Qaida, and affirmed that China had suffered from terrorism from Al-Qaida-linked group.
{{quotation|
He noted that the East Turkestan Islamic Movement has developed close ties with al-Qaida and its affiliates. "You see them training together, you see them operating together and so on."
}}
{{quotation|
"We see the East Turkestan Islamic Movement as an affiliate of al-Qaida," he said. "This sanction regime of (the UN) is not just addressed at al-Qaida and the Taliban but also its associates and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement would fall into that category of associates."<ref>[http://www.china.org.cn/world/2010-01/22/content_19288057.htm China has particular role in global fight against terrorism: senior UN official, ''China.org.cn'']</ref><ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6876215.html China has particular role in global fight against terrorism: senior UN official, ''People's Daily'']</ref>
}}

An [[Associated Press]] report on the same day is further evidence that the TIP is still active:

{{quotation|
KABUL -- A U.S. group that monitors Islamic extremist Web sites says an extremist organization is reporting 15 of its members were killed in a U.S. missile strike in Afghanistan.

The SITE Intelligence Group says the report was posted Friday on a Web site by the Turkistan Islamic Party. SITE quotes the group as saying 13 Uighers and two Turks were killed Tuesday by a missile fired by a U.S. unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan but did not say where.

Pakistani officials reported two missile attacks along the border Tuesday.
<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012202743.html Militants report 15 dead in missile strike]</ref>
}}

According to Estados Unidos in a STRATFOR article:

{{quotation|
There are indications that a small number of Uighur militants remain among groups of foreign militants in Pakistan, either in the tribal areas or in Kashmir, and occasionally travel back into Afghanistan and Xinjiang. If the March 7 airline incident is any indication, the foreign influence and connections in the Uighur movements in Xinjiang are continuing to expand, and the overseas training and study are facilitating the sharing of tactics, experiences and preferred target sets.<ref>[http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/china_evolution_etim China: The Evolution of ETIM]</ref><ref>[http://www.offnews.info/verArticulo.php?contenidoID=11426 China - The Evolution of ETIM]</ref>
}}

Rodger Baker writes in STRATFOR the evolving terrorism strategy employed by ETIM and its connection with other Central Asian militant groups:

{{quotation|
Following Mahsum’s death, a leaderless ETIM continued to interact with the Taliban and various Central Asian militants, particularly Uzbeks, and slowly reformed into a more coherent core in the Pakistan/Afghanistan frontier...

What appears to be emerging is a Turkistan Islamist movement with links in Central Asia, stretching back to Afghanistan and Pakistan, blending Taliban training, transnational jihadist experiential learning, HT frameworks and recruiting, and Central Asian ties for support and shelter. This is a very different entity than China has faced in the past. If the TIP follows the examples set by the global jihadist movement, it will become an entity with a small core leadership based far from its primary field of operations guiding (ideologically but not necessarily operationally) a number of small grassroots militant cells.

The network will be diffuse, with cells operating relatively independently with minimal knowledge or communication among them and focused on localized goals based on their training, skills and commitment. This would make the TIP less of a strategic threat, since it would be unable to rally large numbers of fighters in a single or sustained operation, but it would also be more difficult to fight, since Beijing would be unable to use information from raiding one cell to find another.

This appears to be exactly what we are seeing now. The central TIP core uses the Internet and videos as psychological tools to trigger a reaction from Beijing and inspire militants without exposing itself to detection or capture.
<ref>[http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/china_and_enduring_uighurs China and the Enduring Uighurs]</ref>
}}

Terrorism expert [[Rohan Gunaratna]] said that ETIM members, having received training, weapons, finance and ideology from Al-Qaida, presented a growing threat to China and the central Asian area. He also said that ETIM was associated with the [[World Uyghur Congress]] which Beijing had alleged to be the "plotter and instigator" of [[July 2009 Ürümqi riots]]. The separatist group ETIM is driving the hatred and fueling violence among Han and Uygur ethnic groups. The ETIM leadership is located in Waziristan on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009sed/2009-07/18/content_8469750.htm Xinjiang riot hits regional anti-terror nerve]</ref>

China's anti-terror network announced on August 3, 2009 that the authorities had successfully crushed five organized terror plots - in Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksu and Ili - since the July 5 Ürümqi riots. China also broke up a terrorist bomb-making operation in Aksu, Xinjiang in Northwest China.<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-09/17/content_8700635.htm 'Terror gang' rounded up in Xinjiang]</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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*[[East Turkestan Liberation Organization]]
*[[East Turkestan Liberation Organization]]
*[[2008 Uyghur unrest]]
*[[2008 Uyghur unrest]]
*[[July 2009 Ürümqi riots]]
⚫
{{War on Terrorism}}


==References==
==References==
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*[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/1/28BAA744-5A99-4808-9786-1B13057289FC.html China: Border security tightened amid 'terrorist infiltration' warning]
*[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/1/28BAA744-5A99-4808-9786-1B13057289FC.html China: Border security tightened amid 'terrorist infiltration' warning]
{{ETIM}}
{{ETIM}}
⚫
{{War on Terrorism}}


[[Category:Government of Kazakhstan designated terrorist organizations]]
[[Category:Government of Kazakhstan designated terrorist organizations]]

Revision as of 12:20, 29 January 2010

The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM, Turkish: Doğu Türkistan İslâm Hareketi) is a Uyghur, is alleged to be a militant organization that advocates the creation of an independent, Islamic state of East Turkestan, in what is currently the Xinjiang region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The existence of the group has been questions by several sources.

The United States listed the ETIM as a terrorist organization on August 27 2002, following a visit to China of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.[1]

The Chinese government blamed ETIM members for several car bomb attacks in Xinjiang in the 1990s, as well as the death of a Chinese diplomat in Kyrgyzstan in 2002.

ETIM is alleged to have had links with Al-Qaeda. In its 2005 report on terrorism, the US State Department said that the group was "linked to al-Qaida and the international jihadist movement" and that Al-Qaeda provided the group with "training and financial assistance".[2]

In January 2002, the Chinese government released a report in which it attempted to prove that alleged ETIM leader Hasan Mahsum met with Osama bin Laden in 1999 and received promises of money, and that bin Laden sent "scores of terrorists" into China.[3] However, Hasan Mahsum denied such organizational ties and alleged China exaggerates such claims as a means of enlisting support from the United States.[2][4]

The alleged founder and leader of the organization Hasan Mahsum was shot and killed by the Pakistani Army on October 2, 2003.[5]

In July 2009 The Guardian reported that Chinese security officials conflated several distinct groups under the name East Turkestan Islamic Movement.[6]

Existence

According to the Christian Science Monitor, there are significant doubts about the groups actual existence.

[...] questions exist as to whether ETIM existed as China described it.

According to Dru Gladney, president of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College and a widely acknowledged authority on the Uighurs, few experts "had ever heard of" ETIM until after China began trumpeting the group as a threat. He also noted that the majority of information on ETIM "was traced back to Chinese sources," providing for "a real credibility gap."

Gladney says that some believe ETIM to be part of a US-China quid pro quo, where China supported the "war on terror," and "support of the US for the condemnation of ETIM was connected to that support."[7]

The Uyghur American Association has requested that international community establish an independent body to investigate whether ETIM exists.[8]

Detainees at Guantanamo Bay

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Main article: Uyghur detainees in Guantanamo

Approximately two dozen Uyghurs (or Uighurs) were held in extrajudicial detention at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp operated by the United States in Cuba. On March 3, 2006, the US Department of Defense was forced to release the transcripts of detainees who had attended their Combatant Status Review Tribunals.

Most of the Uyghur detainees faced allegations that they were tied to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, Al-Qaeda, or the Taliban.

Five of the Uyghur detainees were among the 38 detainees whom the tribunals determined were not "enemy combatants". The United States government did not grant the Uyghurs asylum, but neither would they repatriate them to the PRC, fearing that they would be tortured or executed by the Chinese government.[9] On 5 May 2006 the five Uyghurs were transported to Albania. [10]

Guantanamo intelligence analysts conflated the following alternate versions of its name: East Turkistan Islamic Movement, East Turkish Islamic Movement, Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement, Islamic Party of Eastern Turkestan, Islamic Party of Turkestan or Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), Eastern Turkestan Islamic Party, Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Eastern Turkestan Organization, Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, East Turkistan Islamic Party, East Tajikistan Islamic Party, Eastern Turkistan Uighur Party, Islamic Movement of Turkistan, and East Turkistan Movement.

On June 20, 2008, Hozaifa Parhat's DTA appeal was heard before a panel of judges in a Washington DC Court of Appeals. The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 had curtailed Guantanamo captives' ability to initiate habeas corpus petitions. It substituted a more limited appeal, through the DC Court of Appeals. Captives appeals to this court were only allowed on the basis that their Combatant Status Review Tribunals did not follow the rules for those Tribunals. Over 150 captives initiated appeals under the DTA. Parhat's was the only one to run to completion. The Panel ruled that his CSR Tribunal had erred, and the evidence did not support classifying him as an "enemy combatant".

The June 12 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush re-opened the captives' access to habeas corpus. In September 2008, days before the Department of Justice would have had to defend its designation that that the captives were enemy combatants, the Bush administration decided it would no longer try to defend classifying the Uyghurs as enemies.

Huzaifa Parhat Abdul Helil Mamut, Emam Abdulahat and Jalal Jalaladin were unexpectedly set free in Bermuda on June 11 2009.[11]

The government of Palau offered temporary asylum to 12 of the 13 remaining Uyghurs in June 2009.[12][13] On October 31 2009 Ahmad Tourson, Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman, Edham Mamet, Anwar Hassan, Dawut Abdurehim and Adel Noori were reported to have been transferred to Palau.[14][15][16]

ETIM on Terrorist Exclusion List

As part of ongoing U.S. efforts against terrorism, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has designated ten additional groups as terrorist organizations for immigration purposes, thus placing them on the so-called terrorist exclusion list. He made these designations pursuant to the authority of section 212 (a)(3)(B)(vi)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (a.k.a. Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, a.k.a. ETIM, a.k.a. ETIP) was designated under TEL, effective April 29, 2004. This organization previously had been designated by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary under Executive Order 13224 (on terrorist financing). The intention of the TEL designations was to complement with travel restrictions the assets freeze imposed on these organizations as a result of their designations pursuant to E.O. 13224. [17]

On June 16 2009 the Agence France Presse reported that Bill Delahunt, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives convened hearings to examine how organizations were added to the US blacklist in general, and how the ETIM was added in particular.[18]

According to the Agence France Presse Sean Roberts of George Washington University, an expert on Uighurs testified that the ETIM was new to him—that it wasn't until it was blacklisted that he heard of the group.[18]

AFP quoted Roberts:

"It is difficult to justify the allegations that ETIM is a sophisticated and dangerous terrorist organization with links to Al-Qaeda and it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the organization no longer exists at all."

Agence France Presse reported that the Congressional Research Service found that the first published mention of the group was in the year 2000, but that China attributed attacks to it that had occurred up to a decade earlier.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Michael Scheuer (2004). Imperial hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror. Brassey's. ISBN 9781574888492. 27 August 2002: In Beijing, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage announces U.S. support for Chinese military actions against Uighur separatists in western China, saying the United States agreed that the Uighurs have "committed acts of terrorism." In Washington, the State Department adds the East Turkistan Islamic Movement to its list of proscribed terrorist organizations. {{cite book}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  3. ^ Matthew Forney (2002-04-18). "One Nation Divided". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  4. ^ "Uyghur Separatist Denies Links to Taliban, Al-Qaeda". Radio Free Asia. 2002-01-27. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  5. ^ "Chinese militant "shot dead"". BBC News. 2003-12-23. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  6. ^ Tania Branigan, Matthew Weaver (2009-07-06). "Q&A: China and the Uighurs". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-07-06. Chinese state media often blames the East Turkestan Islamic Movement for stirring violence and planning attacks. But there are several groups that tend to be labelled as ETIM. Experts claim that China is exaggerating the threat posed by the group, which has been deemed a terrorist group by the UN and the US. While there is evidence of links between ETIM and al-Qaida, most analysts believe those connections are historic and several believe they were exaggerated.
  7. ^ http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0424/p06s04-wogn.html
  8. ^ http://www.uyghurcongress.org/En/News.asp?ItemID=-520095990&rcid=-768458094&pcid=1110134820&cid=-768458094
  9. ^ Edward Cody (2006-05-10). "China demands that Albania return ex-U.S. detainees". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  10. ^ "Albania takes Guantanamo Uighurs". BBC News. 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  11. ^ Andy Worthington (2009-06-11). "Who Are the Four Guantanamo Uighurs Sent to Bermuda?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  12. ^ David Johnston (2009-10-31). "Uighurs Leave Guantánamo for Palau". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
  13. ^ "Guantanamo Uighurs sent to Palau". BBC News. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
  14. ^ "Six Guantanamo Uighurs arrive in Palau: US". Agence France Presse. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
  15. ^ "6 Muslim Uighur Detainees From Guantanamo Arrive In Palau". Pacific News Center. 2009-11-01. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  16. ^ "United States Transfers Six Uighur Detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Palau". United States Department of Justice. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
  17. ^ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/31943.htm
  18. ^ a b c Shaun Tandon (2009-06-16). "US lawmakers seek review of Uighur 'terror' label". Agence France Presse. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
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