Indian Uyghur Society Marks 16th Anniversary of the July 5 Urumchi Massacre

5 July 2025
Press Release – For Immediate Release
Indian Uyghur Society (IUS)
IndiaUyghur.org
indianuyghursociety@gmail.com

SRINAGAR — The Indian Uyghur Society (IUS) solemnly marks 5 July 2025 as the 16th anniversary of the July 5, 2009 Urumchi Massacre, when thousands of Uyghur men, women, and youth in occupied East Turkistan were killed, injured, or disappeared and many more were arrested by Chinese occupation forces. What began as a peaceful demonstration demanding justice for Uyghur workers killed in southern China was met with live ammunition, mass beatings, and sweeping detentions, turning the streets of Urumchi into scenes of terror and bloodshed.

For Uyghurs around the world, the Urumchi Massacre is remembered as a turning point that shattered any remaining illusions about reform under Chinese rule and foreshadowed the full‑scale campaign of surveillance, internment camps, forced labor, and cultural annihilation that the world now recognizes as an ongoing Uyghur genocide. The collective punishment, enforced disappearances, and show trials that followed July 5 created a climate of fear that paved the way for the present system of totalitarian control over East Turkistan.

“On this painful anniversary, we remember every Uyghur whose blood was spilled and every family still waiting for news of loved ones taken in the aftermath of July 5,” said Wasim Abdullah, President of the Indian Uyghur Society. “The Urumchi Massacre was not an isolated massacre; it was the immediate precursor to China’s current genocide against our people and a stark warning of what unchecked impunity would bring.”

The Indian Uyghur Society calls on governments, international organizations, and human rights defenders to recognize July 5 as a day of remembrance for the Urumchi Massacre, to demand truth and accountability for the killings and disappearances, and to intensify efforts to end the Uyghur genocide and secure justice and freedom for the people of East Turkistan.