East Turkestan Islamic Movement
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The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM, Turkish:Doğu Türkistan İslâm Hareketi) is a militant, Uyghur organization that advocates the creation of an independent, Islamic state of East Turkestan, formally part of Afghanistan, in what is currently the Xinjiang region of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The founder and leader of the organization was Hasan Mahsum, who was shot and killed by the Pakistani Army on October 2, 2003.
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.[1][2][3][4]
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, but the group has neither admitted nor denied such accusations.
ETIM has had, and may still have 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".[5]
In January 2002, the Chinese government released a report in which it showed proof that Hasan Mahsum met with Osama bin Laden in 1999 and received promises of money, and that bin Laden sent "scores of terrorists" into China.[6] However, ETIM leader Hasan Mahsum denied such organizational ties and alleged China exaggerates such claims as a means of enlisting support from the United States.[7][5]
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Approximately two dozen Uyghurs 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.[1] On 5 May 2006 the five Uyghurs were transported to Albania. [8]
As part of ongoing U.S. efforts against terrorism, 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.
Source: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/31943.htm
- Huseyincan Celil
- Islamist terrorism
- Islamism
- Militant Islam
- Islamofascism
- War on Terrorism
- Politics of the People's Republic of China
- Xinjiang raid (January 2007)
- East Turkestan independence movement
- East Turkestan Liberation Organization
- 2008 Uyghur unrest
- ^ a b Edward Cody (2006-05-10). "China demands that Albania return ex-U.S. detainees". Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Country Reports on Terrorism". US State Dept. (2007-04-30). Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Governance Asia-Pacific Watch". United Nations (2007-04). Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ The New Face of Jihad
- ^ a b "Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base (2007-05-17). Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ Matthew Forney (2002-04-18). "One Nation Divided". Time Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Uyghur Separatist Denies Links to Taliban, Al-Qaeda". Radio Free Asia (2002-01-27). Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Albania takes Guantanamo Uighurs", BBC News (2006-05-06). Retrieved on 5 August 2008.
- MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
- East Turkestan Islamic Movement (China, separatists), Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) background information, Updated November 2005
- China's terror list and its implications
- China: Border security tightened amid 'terrorist infiltration' warning
