Anwar Yusuf Turani

Anwar Yusuf Turani, the Founder and Prime Minister Elect of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, gives a speech at Annandale Regional Library in Virginia on September 13, 2004

Turani established the East Turkistan National Freedom Center[7] a professional political organization in Washington, DC in 1996 to advocate independence for his homeland. He served as president of the organization until 2004.[8] Turani organized demonstrations, conferences and cultural events concerning the situation of East Turkistan. He also met with many international dignitaries, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, in an attempt to gain their support in ending the occupation of his nation.[9][10]

In April 1996, Turani met with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama,[11] forging an alliance between East Turkistan and Tibet against the Chinese government. Later that month, Turani and representatives of occupied Tibet and Inner Mongolia organized an Independence Walk from the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. to the United Nations in New York City. At the end of the two-week walk, Turani spoke in front of the United Nations headquarters, addressing Chinese human rights violations in East Turkistan since 1949.[12]

In June 1997, with the support of the Tibetan Independence Movement, Turani cut one of the five stars from the national flag of China in front of the United Nations. Turani removed the star as a symbolic gesture of his desire for separation of Xinjiang from China.[13]

In February 1998, Turani visited Taiwan at the invitation of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations, along with Erkin Alptekin; Professor Thubten Jigme Norbu, elder brother of the Dalai Lama; Tashi Jamyangling, former Home Secretary of the Tibetan Government in exile; and Johnar Bache, Vice Chairman of the Southern Mongolian People's Party. They met Taiwan independence activists and the pro-Taiwan independence Democratic Progressive Party members Liu Sung-pan, the President of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan; Chen Shui-bian, former president of Taiwan; and Frank Hsieh, the Mayor of Kaohsiung.[14]

On June 4, 1999, Turani met with US President Bill Clinton[15] to seek his backing for the East Turkistan independence movement.[16] Turani told Clinton that he favored waging a war of independence against China.[17][18] He claimed to had been funded by wealthy Uyghurs in Saudi Arabia.[19]

On July 20, 2001, Turani received a letter from the United States Department of State on behalf of President George W. Bush, in response to Turani's initial letter concerning the Chinese occupation of East Turkistan. The letter expressed the U.S. government's willingness to protect the "fundamental human rights -- the rights to freedom of association, assembly, religion, belief, conscience, and expression -- of Uyghurs and others living in China."[20]

On September 14, 2004, Uyghurs and Kazakh members of the diaspora proclaimed the creation of the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) in Washington, D.C.[21] and Turani was elected Prime Minister.[22][23] China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kong Quan publicly registered his displeasure, referencing such groups' terrorism in the Xinjiang region.[24][25] In November, the U.S. government declared that it "does not recognize any East Turkestan government-in-exile, nor do we provide support for any such entity".[26]

According to East-Turkistan.net, the website widely recognized as the ETGE's official website, the ETGE Parliament impeached Turani for "violating the ETGE's Constitutional Amendment No.4" in 2006.[27] Turani claimed that he faced an "attempted coup" on July 28, 2005 by ETGE officials who sought to "overthrow" him.[28] Turani claimed to have expelled those against him and continued to run his own government since then. Despite the ETGE's constitution capping the length of office of the Prime Minister and President for any individual at two 4-year terms, Turani continued to claim himself as its Prime Minister from 2004 until 2019. Since 2019 he has subsequently claimed to be the ETGE's second president. Other than YouTube videos uploaded by Turani himself and some fringe Turkish articles, no mainstream or credible sources have credited him as president, or as prime minister since 2006.