Struggle for Freedom — Protest in Amsterdam against China’s 76th national day

Protest — The Simplest Way to Make the Voice of an Oppressed Nation Heard by the World.

Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur

October 1 marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Communist State, a day when the Chinese government holds grand celebrations each year. However, for the people of East Turkistan, Tibet, Manchuria, Southern Mongolia, Hong Kong, Canton, and Guangxi—who live under Chinese colonial rule—this day is not only one of shame but also a day of mourning for the victims of Chinese Communist oppression, including Falun Gong practitioners, Chinese democrats, and Chinese Christian communities. For this reason, every year on October 1 large-scale protests are held around the world to condemn the shameful founding day of the Chinese Communist State.

In the Netherlands, under the leadership of the Uyghur Support Organization, which actively organized opposition to the 76th anniversary of the Chinese occupying state, nine groups—including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, Hong Kongers, Cantonese, people from Guangxi, Chinese democrats opposing the Chinese Communist regime, and members of the Chinese Christian community—came together. On September 28 they held an event in Amsterdam’s Dam Square under the themes “China’s National Day Is Not a Celebration, but a Day of Mourning” and “Never Forget the National Tragedy — Stand Up for Freedom!”

According to the program, participants began with a minute of silence to mourn the people of various nations who have lost their lives as a result of the oppression of the Chinese Communist State since 1949. After that, representatives of Tibetans, Uyghurs, survivors of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, activists from the Hong Kong democracy movement, Cantonese and Guangxi political activists, and representatives of Chinese organizations opposing the Chinese Communist State delivered speeches.

When it was the Uyghurs’ turn, Abdurehim Gheni — one of the organizers and the founder of the Uyghur Support Organization — first played the East Turkistan National Anthem, powerfully capturing the attention of visitors and tourists in Dam Square. He then delivered his statement in fluent Dutch:

“Why are we gathered here in Amsterdam’s Dam Square today to protest? The reason is clear to us all. The people of East Turkistan, Tibet, Southern Mongolia, Canton, Hong Kong, and the oppressed Chinese people have been suffering under the Chinese Communist State’s oppression for 76 years. The ‘genocide’ tragedy, loudly declared after World War II as ‘never to be repeated,’ is being repeated in East Turkistan even at this very moment. The Chinese Communist government has established concentration camps in East Turkistan, committing the crime of genocide aimed at eradicating Uyghurs from their roots. My 19 family members who disappeared in East Turkistan under Chinese occupation are living proof, undeniable evidence, and a vivid example of the millions of Uyghurs who have vanished. Currently, more than five million Uyghurs are subjected to inhumane treatment in concentration camps. The Uyghur language, culture, history, and religion are being destroyed. Children are forcibly separated from their parents, stripped of their mother tongue, national culture, and millennia-old beliefs, and forced to live as part of the Chinese nation.
Uyghur women are not only coerced into marrying Chinese men; they are also subjected to daily assaults, forced sterilizations, and threats that lead to the abortion of unborn children by Chinese perpetrators. Uyghurs are not only forced into slavery in Chinese factories in East Turkistan but are also transported thousands of kilometers away to be forced to work in factories in other Chinese provinces. Uyghur organs are forcibly harvested and sold.
In May 2024, I was invited by the World People’s Tribunal in The Hague to testify from July 8 to 12 regarding Xi Jinping’s crimes in East Turkistan and the genocide against Uyghurs. Two days before my testimony, my brother, Ablikim Gani — whom I had not heard from in ten years — called me under pressure from Chinese police, urging me not to participate in the World People’s Tribunal. Subsequently, via the Telegram app, a video was sent showing my father lying in a hospital bed in critical condition; this was an attempt to emotionally manipulate me and deter me from my activities against the Chinese government.
This terrifying threat is only one of many heinous acts committed against Uyghur families. My brother’s and father’s videos were used by China to exert emotional control over me. My father had long been taken to a concentration camp, where he contracted an incurable, severe illness. Although seeing my father’s pitiful, imprisoned state in the video broke my heart, the source of this and all other tragedies befalling the Uyghurs is the brutal Chinese Communist State, and so I did not waver in my resolve. I categorically refused to submit to China’s psychological attacks. In fact, I presented this video as evidence during the World People’s Tribunal, exposing the savagery of Communist China to the world once again. I believe that if my father and brother had heard about my testimony at the World People’s Tribunal — where I stood firm against China’s severe threats — and about the subsequent decision to issue an international arrest warrant for Xi Jinping, they would have been proud of me. My evidence and courage astonished the judges, researchers, and even the Chinese government’s lawyer, who offered me condolences.
When the Chinese government failed to stop my resistance by attempting to break me emotionally, they retaliated by imprisoning my father and brother in concentration camps again. Two months later, on September 17, I received the devastating news from a friend that my father had died in a concentration camp. This news did not break me emotionally; instead, it intensified my anger toward the brutal Chinese Communist government and further fueled my commitment to fight for the independence, freedom, and justice of the Uyghurs. I will transform all my grief and sorrow into strength, wield my anger as a dagger, and strike at the heart of the occupying Chinese government until my last breath. I will continue this struggle relentlessly until the Chinese Communist–Fascist regime’s colonial rule in East Turkistan ends and we, the people of East Turkistan, live freely and with dignity. The Chinese Communist–Fascist regime’s colonial domination in East Turkistan will undoubtedly come to an end. We, the Uyghur people, will live in freedom and honor. Until that day comes, I will never abandon my resolve to fight.
In short, the entire world must unite to overthrow the Chinese Communist regime!”

Following the speeches, slogans such as “Independence for East Turkistan!”, “Independence for Tibet!”, “Independence for Southern Mongolia!”, “Independence for Hong Kong!”, “Independence for Canton!”, “Fascist Xi Jinping!”, “Terrorist Xi Jinping!”, “We Need Freedom!” and “Chinese Government, Stop the Uyghur Genocide!” echoed through the skies above Dam Square for hours. The protest continued for three hours in a passionate atmosphere.

Abdurehim Gheni’s speech: