The East Turkistan Government in Exile was formally declared on September 14, 2004 in room HC-6 of the US Capitol in Washington DC by members of the global East Turkistani / Uyghur community.
Well that’s neat. Who’s the Prime Minister?
Salih Hudayar [born 1993] is a young East Turkistan independence leader, political activist, business consultant, and graduate student. He founded the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement, a political party, in June 2017 and launched a global movement to openly advocate for the restoration of East Turkistan’s independence. Hudayar fled East Turkistan with his family in 2000 and grew up in Oklahoma.
Cool, sounds like a real up-and-comer. Wonder what he did before this:
He grew up in Oklahoma and joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard while enrolled in the ROTC program in hopes of becoming a military officer, he was later given medical discharge due to a kidney condition. Hudayar studied International Studies & Political Science at the University of Oklahoma, graduating in January 2017. His Bachelor’s senior capstone project was a policy proposal titled “From Central Asia to the Uyghurs: Refining the American Grand Strategy.” Since 2018, he has been pursuing a Masters in National Security Studies online through the American Military University during his free time.
Seems legit. So what does he do as Prime Minister?
In November 2019, Hudayar attended a pro-Hong Kong rally in Washington, DC where he told Voice of America that “Uyghurs stand with the people of Hong Kong, and if Hong Kong falls then Hong Kong face the same situation we are going through.”
Voice of America; that sounds familiar. What’s that again?
Voice of America (VOA) is a U.S. multimedia agency which serves as the United States government institution for non-military, external broadcasting. It is the largest U.S. international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 47 languages which it distributes to affiliate stations around the globe. It is primarily viewed by foreign audiences, so VOA programming has an influence on public opinion abroad regarding the United States and its people.
Sweet program! Bet they’ve done tons of awesome stuff over the years:
The VOA started its operations during the Cold War and that is when its influence first started as well. Foy Kohler, the director of VOA during the Cold War, strongly believed that the VOA was serving its purpose, which he identified as aiding in the fight against communism.
Wow! Ain’t that something.
