East Turkestan People's Revolutionary Party
{{Short description|Former militant group and political party in Xinjiang}}
{{Distinguish|text=the East Turkestan Revolutionary Party}}
{{Infobox war faction
|name=East Turkestan People's Revolutionary Party
|native_name=Shärqiy Turkistan Khälq Inqilawi Partiyisi
东突厥斯坦人民革命党
|image=
|caption=
|active={{Start date|df=yes|1969}}–{{End date|df=yes|1989}}
|leaders=
|ideology=Marxism–Leninism
Uyghur nationalism
Separatism
pro-Soviet
anti-Chinese
|headquarters=
|allies={{flag|Soviet Union}}
{{flag|Mongolian People's Republic|name=Mongolia}}
{{flag|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan}} (from 1979)
|opponents={{flag|China}}
|battles=Xinjiang conflict
}}
The East Turkestan People's Revolutionary Party ({{langx|ug|Shärqiy Turkistan Khälq Inqilawi Partiyisi}}; {{zh|东突厥斯坦人民革命党}}) was a Uyghur communist party{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} and armed separatist group in Xinjiang. It was founded in 1969 or earlierJames Millward, Violent Separatism in Xinjiang: A Critical Assessment, Policy Studies, East-West Center Washington, 2004. during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, and was the largest armed separatist group in the Xinjiang conflict before its dissolution in 1989.David D. Wang, East Turkestan Movement in Xinjiang, Journal of Chinese Political Science, Springer Netherlands, June 1998.
Purpose
The ETPRP's goal was to initiate a second "Revolution of the Three Districts" to establish an independent Marxist–Leninist Uyghur state in the Xinjiang region{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}, with help from the Soviet Union. Support from the Soviets increased during the Sino-Soviet split and subsequent border dispute.{{cite thesis|last=Han|first=Enze|date=August 31, 2010|title=External Kin, Ethnic Identity and the Politics of Ethnic Mobilization in the People's Republic of China|type=Doctor of Philosophy|publisher=The Faculty of Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University|url=https://www.academia.edu/8852779|pages=113–114}}
History
The ETPRP was founded in 1969 or earlier in Xinjiang, China. It was made up of mainly Uyghurs, but also had a small number of Kazakh fighters.Rémi Castets, [https://www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/sites/sciencespo.fr.ceri/files/etude110.pdf Opposition politique, nationalisme et islam chez les Ouïghours du Xinjiang], Les Études du CERI, October 2004. {{in lang|fr}} According to Chinese historian Zhang Yuxi, the ETPRP may have been established secretly in 1963. Former members of the ETPRP claimed that the party had around 60,000 members and 178 underground branches in 1969; however, this had not been verified by a third-party.
After a failed insurrection in 1969, the ETPRP gradually weakened due to the arrest and exile of most of their members. The ETPRP blamed the Soviets for their "lack of commitment" to their cause. The party disbanded in 1989.
References
{{Reflist}}
Category:1969 establishments in China
Category:1989 disestablishments in China
Category:China–Soviet Union relations
Category:Communist parties in Xinjiang
Category:Defunct communist militant groups
Category:Defunct communist parties
Category:East Turkestan independence movement
Category:Left-wing nationalist parties
Category:National liberation armies
Category:Nationalist parties in China
Category:Political parties disestablished in 1989
Category:Political parties established in 1969
Category:Pro-independence parties
Category:Political parties of minorities in China
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