Ottawa, Canada — April 6 — The Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) marked the 36th anniversary of the Baren Uprising, calling the 1990 uprising a defining moment in Uyghur resistance to state repression and a lasting symbol of the struggle for basic rights.
URAP said the unrest began on April 5, 1990, in Baren Township, Akto County, East Turkistan, where Uyghurs protested increasing political, cultural, and religious restrictions by Chinese authorities, including reported coercive population-control measures and forced abortions. The protests, URAP said, were met with a violent military crackdown; available reports indicate thousands of Uyghurs were killed, detained, or forcibly disappeared, but no independent investigation has produced a definitive casualty count.
Describing Baren as a turning point that foreshadowed deeper repression across the region, URAP quoted Mehmet Tohti: “Thirty-six years later, the legacy of Baren lives on. It was not an isolated incident, but an early warning of the policies that have since escalated into genocide, including mass arbitrary detention, forced labour, and transnational repression targeting Uyghurs worldwide.”
URAP said Uyghur communities in the diaspora and their supporters continue to honor those who died and press for justice. The organisation urged governments, international bodies, and civil society to acknowledge both historical and ongoing injustices against Uyghurs, to support independent investigations into past atrocities including the Baren Uprising, and to adopt concrete measures to combat current abuses such as forced labour and transnational repression.
Reaffirming its commitment to keeping victims’ voices heard and to galvanizing international action, URAP called for global solidarity with Uyghur communities pursuing justice, dignity, and self-determination.
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