Remarks by Omer Kanat at the Uyghur Post launch event, Nov 20 at George Washington University:
“Thank you so much for inviting me to speak tonight.
First of all, I would like to congratulate the founders of the Uyghur Post. I am very happy to witness the launch of such an important news outlet, and I hope that this will be the beginning of a long tradition of independent Uyghur journalism in the diaspora.
We all know how important independent Uyghur journalism is for documenting the ongoing atrocities in East Turkistan and keeping global audiences informed. By publishing in both English and Uyghur, the Uyghur Post is a critical resource to the Uyghur diaspora at a time when Uyghur language news is heavily censored.
The loss of RFA Uyghur Service earlier this year was a deep blow to the Uyghur people. I am old enough to remember the first time that the US shut down Uyghur-language programming, a generation ago, when the American government thought it could win diplomatic favor with the Communist Party, by closing the Uyghur Service of RFE/RL in Munich. As I wrote in an article earlier this year, this was a strategic mistake – and one the U.S. failed to learn from. As someone who had the privilege of working in both radios, it was painful to lose Uyghur programming for a second time.
We are extremely grateful for the courage of those who are sacrificing their time, energy, and resources to keep independent Uyghur journalism alive. Amid the loss of RFA Uyghur, I find hope in this generation’s conviction to preserve our language, culture, and intellectual heritage.
In short, the mission of the Uyghur Post is vital – not just for us, but for future generations.
Omer Kanat, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Co-Founder and Senior Advisor of the World Uyghur Congress
