The peaceful 1997 protest followed the CCP’s targeted campaign against Uyghur civic and cultural life, including the banning of “meshrep” — a community gathering rooted in music, moral mentorship, and preservation of identity. After young “meshrep” organizers were detained, thousands demonstrated to demand their release and respect for basic rights.

The subsequent crackdown marked a turning point in the CCP’s criminalization of cultural expression and its legitimization of repression based on identity, laying the groundwork for today’s ongoing genocide.

The massacre stands as a warning that mass repression does not begin with camps, but with the violent securitization of cultural identity.

HRF condemns the impunity surrounding the 1997 Ghulja Massacre and calls for an independent investigation and full transparency about the detained and disappeared.