Mr. Yusoph Shohret, a Uyghur scholar now resident in Australia, has disclosed details of an alleged massacre that happened in Urumqi in July.
An entire Uyghur community disappeared that night.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Shohret introduced himself as a teacher who used to work at Xinjiang University in Urumqi, and now still has many relatives and friends in Urumqi.
An Uyghur residential area in Urumqi called the Horserace Track (Sai Ma Chang in Chinese) was surrounded by police, and male residents were rounded up in the field, according to an article entitled “Tight Security in Xinjiang,” published by Radio Free Asia on July 6.
According to Shohret, a massacre took place in complete darkness on the night of July 5. "The Horserace Track community disappeared. Many were killed, some fled."
“The lights were all turned off and only the sounds of machine guns could be heard, so there’s no telling how many were killed, and people probably will never find out anyway.” said Shohret.
“On July 7, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) instigated Han Chinese to take to the streets with sticks and clubs. I regret to say that those Han Chinese used the excuse of revenge to slaughter countless Uyghur men, women, and children. Those who were wounded or half alive and half dead were run over by trucks and piled up together,” he said.
“Because the number of arrested Uyghurs was so great and authorities could not lock up all of them in Urumqi, they transferred some people to other areas. Those people were brutally beaten and tortured by soldiers stationed there. Many died within a few days after they were released,” he added.
Shohret said he knows of concentration camps located in Hetian, Shihezi, and Kashi.
The Nine Commentaries is a wakeup call
When speaking at the “60 Years of Communist Dictatorship Forum” sponsored by The Epoch Times on Saturday Oct. 17 in Melbourne, Australia, Shohret said that the conflict between Han people and Uyghur workers in Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, and the July 5 violence in Xinjiang had completely shattered any illusions he still had about the CCP.
He recently came to realize how the CCP has taken over China and the culture of the Chinese people after reading the Nine Commentaries on the CCP, an editorial series published by The Epoch Times.
The July 5 protests in Xinjiang were triggered by the Uyghur and Han Chinese conflict in southern China’s Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, over an article posted on a blog saying six Uyghur raped two Chinese girls, which later proved to only be a rumor. However, two Uyghur were killed and over 100 were wounded during the conflict.
Shohret states that the root cause of the ethnic conflict is the communist idea of class struggle, and it is a tragedy for Chinese to use that notion as an excuse to act, to exterminate the minorities to please or fool the majority.
He said the CCP has manipulated Chinese people’s sentiments of patriotism: “When the CCP talks about patriotism, the minority is sacrificed. You are considered to be a criminal if you speak up for your own ethnic group.”
Heaven and man are one
Shohret said, “China’s five thousand year culture stresses harmony and that heaven and man are one"– as a Uyghur, he was educated wih Han culture, and respects Han Chinese. However, the CCP, step by step, created conflicts between Han Chinese and Uyghurs, " Chinese culture today, however, is about the CCP and class struggle.”
"It is a tragedy, I am now stuck in between, I want to be good to Han people, but I cannot betray Uyghers, I must love them too." said Shohret.
In the “60 Years of Communist Dictatorship” forums, Shohret also called upon public concern for Uyghur, Chinese, and the fate of Tibet, adding that “We are all closely connected and we should understand and respect different ethnic groups and countries.”
A land where he can speak the truth
Shohret now resides in Adelaide, South Australia. He considers that the biggest difference between living in Australia and China is that he dared not speak the truth in Xinjiang, whereas in Australia he can speak the truth honestly, and he can therefore live a life of dignity here.
At the forum, Shohret also announced his withdrawal from the Young Pioneers, an organization affiliated with the CCP, and that he will also suggest that his mother quit the CCP and any of its affiliated organizations.
