Campaign for jailed Uyghur blogger

Reporters Without Borders is relaying the petition launched by Chinese writers and intellectuals calling for the release of prominent economist Ilham Tohti, founder of the blog Uyghur Online (www.uighurbiz.cn), who was arrested following rioting on 5 July in Urumqi, capital of the autonomous region of Xinjiang. Chinese writer Wang Lixiong and his wife, the Tibetan writer, Woeser, launched the online petition calling for the economist’s release, which had attracted 250 signatures by 14 July. Tohti, a professor at the Central University of the Nationalities in Beijing, disappeared after saying that police had summoned him following the 5 July riots. The text of the petition: Petition for university professor Ilham Tohti’s release Dear Friends, The recent events in Xinjiang are regrettable. Professor Ilham Tohti constantly appealed for dialogue between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, and yet he has been jailed. His imprisonment is astonishing and just aggravates inter-ethnic antagonism. I have met Ilham Tohti. He seemed much more optimistic and committed about Uyghur-Han relations than I am. By reading the article by journalist Huang Zhangjin, you will be able to get your own impression of Ilham Tohti. We still do not know everything about the 5 July events in Xinjiang and so it is perhaps difficult to formulate an opinion about the entire situation. But we have a duty to react to Ilham Tohti’s imprisonment. If one wants to repair inter-ethnic relations, one must take concrete action and show the Uyghur people that every individual must be treated fairly and impartially regardless of their ethnic origin. Our appeal may be ignored. But I am convinced that the Uyghurs will be grateful to us. Each signature is important at this time of tension. If you want to become a signatory of this petition, please send an email to [email protected] with your full name, occupation, place of residence and nationality or ethnic group. We would be grateful if you would pass this petition on to your friends. Let us pray together for the future of ethnic groups. Wang Lixiong 12 July 2009 On 6 July, the day after the rioting, the governor of the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, Nuer Baikeli, accused the Uighurbiz website (www.uighurbiz.net) of “subversion and disseminating rumours”. There has been no trace of Uighurbiz editor Ilham Tohti, an associate professor at the Central Nationalities University, since the early hours of 8 July. He has almost certainly been arrested. We hereby declare that: 1) Professor Ilham Tohti worked for inter-ethnic friendship and is known for promoting peace as an academic, and cannot therefore be regarded as a criminal (see Huang Zhangjin’s article about the case, “Goodbye, Ilham”: http://www.bullogger.com/blogs/huangzhangjin/). 2) The Uighurbiz website (www.uighurbiz.cn) is a leading Chinese-language civil society platform that promotes dialogue and understanding between Uyghurs and Han Chinese and combats separatism and violence. 3) Because of the Internet’s nature and governing principles, the website is not responsible for the comments of its users, and those in charge cannot therefore be accused of any crime. 4) The government should recognise its own mistakes and its own responsibility regarding the events in Tibet and Xinjiang. 5) Ilham Tohti has not been fairly treated. His detention could aggravate inter-ethnic antagonism and undermine reasonable and constructive dialogue. 6) The authorities must respect Ilham Tohti’s rights and handle his case transparently to avoid arousing any suspicion on the part of the public, especially Uyghurs. 7) The authorities must respect Ilham Tohti’s wish, expressed in public in the past, to be able to choose his lawyer and not have one imposed him. 8) We would like to point that if even intellectuals such as Ilham Tohti, a university professor who has promoted dialogue between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, can be arrested, there is a danger that all Uyghurs, except servants, could become enemies of the Han Chinese.