35 Years Since the Barin Massacre: CFU Demands Justice

  • April 5, 2025

CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2025, 5:00 PM
Contact: [email protected]
+1 650-703-4523
https://campaignforuyghurs.org

WASHINGTON, DC – Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) solemnly commemorates the 35th anniversary of the Barin Massacre. On April 5, 1990, in the town of Barin in East Turkistan, courageous Uyghur men and women staged a peaceful protest against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) repressive One-Child Policy and its brutal targeting of Uyghur women through forced abortions. The CCP responded with overwhelming military force, resulting in a violent clash and the massacre of many protestors. Survivors faced mass arrests, torture, and lengthy prison sentences following sham trials in corrupt, discriminatory courts.

The Barin Massacre occurred less than a year after the Tiananmen Square Massacre, amid a wave of brutal crackdowns on dissent across China. While Tiananmen is etched into global memory, Barin has been systematically erased. This is a reflection of the CCP’s relentless censorship and historical revisionism targeting the Uyghur people.

CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas, stated, “The Barin protests were a cry for justice—and for the right to exist. Thirty-five years later, the Chinese regime’s assault on the Uyghurs has escalated into full-fledged genocide and transnational repression, aimed at erasing Uyghur identity and silencing advocacy. But our voices will endure. We remember Barin and the brave Uyghur protesters, and carry forward their struggle for human rights and the strength to stand up against tyranny.”

As we honor the victims and heroes of the Barin Uprising, CFU calls on democratic nations, international institutions, and all who value human dignity to hold the Chinese regime accountable for the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people. Silence enables genocide. Justice requires action. We urge the global community to remember Barin not just with words, but with resolve to stop the ongoing crimes against humanity committed by the CCP.

CFU is a Washington D.C. based non-profit organization committed to amplifying Uyghur voices and raising awareness of the atrocities being carried out in the Uyghur Region. In recognition of our efforts, CFU was awarded the World Democracy Courage Tribute in July 2021 and was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and 2025.

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Campaign for Uyghurs

We defend the human rights of Uyghur people and the free world by exposing and confronting the Chinese government's genocide, and empowering Uyghur women and youth in the diaspora.

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