Oslo Freedom Forum

Oslo Freedom Forum: Arne Liljedahl Lynngård from OsloFreedomForum on Vimeo.

http://www.vimeo.com/5621085

REMARKS BY ARNE LILJEDAHL LYNNGÅRD
Oslo, Norway
May 20, 2009
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: Thank you for inviting
me to this Oslo Freedom Forum. It’s an honor to stand here speaking
to you today. The film, On a Tightrope, is portraying Uyghur
children at an orphanage in northwestern China. On a Tightrope was
directed by Petr Lom and produced by Piraya Film of Norway, in
corporation with Rafto Foundation.
The film shows how China is actively promoting the sinification of
Uyghurs whereby cultural, linguistic, and religious aspects of
Uyghur culture are outlawed, banned, or otherwise discouraged. The
eight to ten million Uyghurs is one of the Turkic ethnic groups
living in the northwestern region of present China. The Uyghurs call
their homeland East Turkistan. The official Chinese name of the
region is Xinjiang. It literally means “new territory” in the
Chinese language. The predominantly Muslim Uyghurs face a similar
plight as the Tibetans, but they have never enjoyed anything like
the global sympathy extended to their next-door neighbors.
Today, I will tell you the story of Mrs. Rebiya Kadeer. She was
awarded the 2004 Rafto Prize while still in prison. By her people,
she is recognized as the mother of all Uyghurs.

Mrs. Kadeer is a moral pillar, a woman of truth and self sacrifice
who has made it her life’s work to alert the world about the
suffering of the Uyghur people.
During the 1960s and 70s, life was extremely hard for the Uyghur
people. There was widespread .... read more here