The Rafto Foundation will at long last be able to welcome Rebyia Kadeer in Bergen. She is coming to Norway to thank for the support and increased awareness on the human rights situation for the Uyghur population in Northwestern the People´s Republic of China. Mrs Kadeer will also discuss the matter of fifteen inncocent Uyghurs imprisoned on Guantanamo (10-OCT-2006)
When she was awarded the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize in 2004, she sat locked away in a Chinese prison. Her daughter and husband who have been exiled in the United States for a long time, «attended» the award ceremony via web-cam in November. Representatives of the Rafto Foundation went to Washington in January to present the prize-check and diploma to the relatives. Finally, the attention and international pressure led to Kadeers release in March, and the reunification with her family in the U.S.A.
Kadeer will arrive in Bergen on October 14th, and a reception will be held for her at the Rafto Human Rights House. During the next couple of days, she will attend several arrangements organized by the Rafto Foundation and the Norwegian Uyghur Commitee. She will leave for Oslo on the 16th, and meet with the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Norwegian Parliament the next day. A meeting with the Minister for Foreign affairs is yet to be confirmed. Finally, she will attend an open meeting at the Human Rights House to discuss the matter of fifteen Uyghurs who are imprisoned on Guantanamo, despite the fact that US authorities have acquitted them of terrorist-activities. Norwegian authorities turned down a US request last summer to allow some of them to come to Norway. Their situation seems to be in a deadlock as long as no country has agreed to accept them. The United States cannot repatriate them to the People´s Republic of China, as they risk capital punishment. Roseann Rife of the Uyghur Human Rights Project in Washington states that hopefully, some of them may be allowed to settle in the US.
Mrs. Kadeer was a successful businesswoman in the Xinjiang province in the People´s Republic of China. The local population is Moslems, and their language is related to Turkish. They seek more autonomy, but this wish is regarded by Chinese authorities as a dangerous form of separatism. The Uyhurs are politically and economically discriminated, and severe violations of human rights have been reported. Mrs Kadeer ran several projects to empower Uyghurs, especially women. Her relation with Chinese authorities was more and more strained, and she was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2000. She was closely monitored by other inmates, who reported her every move to the Chinese. She was completely isolated, and nobody talked to her. She was allowed a monthly visit by relatives, and through this she learned that she had been awarded the Rafto Prize for 2004. She was not forgotten! Kadeer was released from prison in March after strong international pressure and reunited with her exiled family in the United States.
In July, she was elected “mother of all Uyghurs and leader of East Turkestan” by the Uyghur World Congress. Rebyia Kadeer is a symbol for the Uyghurs peaceful struggle for more independence.
