PROTEST 5 JULY: Remember Urumqi, Free the Uyghurs, Welcome Refugees

6pm Monday 5 July
Embassy of China, 49 Portland Place, London W1B 1JL
Map
Facebook event

The Uyghur Solidarity Campaign UK brings together solidarity in the UK workers’ movement in support of the Uyghur people’s struggle for freedom.

July 5th this year will be the 12th anniversary of the unrest, and the massacre which followed it, in Urumqi – the largest city of the Uyghur homeland (East Turkestan / Xinjiang).

On 5 July 2009, a peaceful protest – demanding justice for two Uyghur factory workers murdered by a racist mob – was violently repressed by riot police. This sparked widespread clashes and riots and the deaths of dozens of people, both Uyghur and Han. In response, a violent crackdown by the authorities killed, disappeared and arrested thousands of Uyghurs. This proved to be an inflection point in the escalating state persecution of the Uyghurs, which today has reached genocidal levels.

Our monthly demonstration at the embassy will remember the events of July 2009 and demand freedom and self-determination for the Uyghur people and other indigenous peoples of the region.

We will also protest against our own government’s heinous treatment of refugees fleeing persecution, and demand safety, sanctuary and equality for those fleeing oppression.

Please help us keep everyone safe from COVID-19:
😷 Wear a face covering at all times
👐 Bring hand sanitiser
🦺 Protest stewards will ask households to spread along the pavement and maintain distance – please follow their advice
🤒 Support from home if you or anyone in your household is vulnerable, has been told to self-isolate, or has shown COVID-19 symptoms in the last 2 weeks.