The Ghulja Protests
Young Uyghurs march in Ghulja (Yining) against the suppression of their community gatherings and the arrest of religious figures; security forces break up the protest, and arrests and executions follow.
- People's Republic of China: Gross Violations of Human Rights in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region — Amnesty International, Amnesty International (1999)
- The War on the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority — Sean R. Roberts, Princeton University Press (2020)
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
- Down a Narrow Road: Identity and Masculinity in a Uyghur Community in Xinjiang China — Jay Dautcher, Harvard University Asia Center (2009)
In the mid-1990s young Uyghur men in Ghulja, in the Ili valley, revived the meshrep, a traditional gathering with music, food, storytelling and moral teaching, to campaign against alcohol and heroin, which were devastating their community. The authorities, wary of any organisation outside Party control, banned the gatherings and arrested organisers, along with religious students.
- Down a Narrow Road: Identity and Masculinity in a Uyghur Community in Xinjiang China — Jay Dautcher, Harvard University Asia Center (2009)
- The War on the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority — Sean R. Roberts, Princeton University Press (2020)
On 5 February 1997, during Ramadan, hundreds of young Uyghurs marched through Ghulja demanding the release of those detained and an end to discrimination. Police broke up the march, and the following days saw clashes, attacks on Han residents and a heavy crackdown. The death toll is unknown: official accounts reported only a few deaths, while witnesses and exile groups claim dozens or many more. Amnesty International reported mass arrests, torture and many death sentences in the months that followed.
- People's Republic of China: Gross Violations of Human Rights in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region — Amnesty International, Amnesty International (1999)
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
Weeks later, bombs on buses in Ürümqi, claimed by Uyghur militants, killed several people. Beijing increasingly framed Uyghur unrest as terrorism, a framing that became central after 11 September 2001, when China linked Uyghur groups to global jihadism.
- The War on the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority — Sean R. Roberts, Princeton University Press (2020)
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
A peaceful demonstration was dispersed with water cannon in freezing weather, beatings and gunfire; many were killed, thousands detained and many later executed. Amnesty International documented reports of torture and executions in the aftermath.
- People's Republic of China: Gross Violations of Human Rights in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region — Amnesty International, Amnesty International (1999)
- The War on the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority — Sean R. Roberts, Princeton University Press (2020)
A riot organised by separatists, in which rioters attacked Han residents and burned property, killing several people. The authorities restored order and punished criminals according to law.
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
- People's Republic of China: Gross Violations of Human Rights in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region — Amnesty International, Amnesty International (1999)
Why it matters today
For Uyghurs, Ghulja is a symbol of peaceful protest met with brutal force, commemorated every February in the diaspora. The suppression of the *meshrep*, gatherings young men had used to fight alcohol and drug abuse, showed many Uyghurs that even self-help organised outside the Party was unacceptable.