By Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur
Today marks the 71st anniversary of the execution of Osman Batur, an East Turkistani hero who had spent his whole life fighting against Chinese invaders. Uyghurs cherish the memory of this national hero.
Osman Batur was born in Altay Municipality, East Turkestan, in 1899. He was a robust man and stood six feet tall.
In April 1940, Xing Xicai ordered all personal guns to be confiscated, and Kazakhs had complied with the orders. However, the Xicai arrested and killed the Xiripkhan Tore, a regional leader, with the excuse of having disobeyed the orders.
Furious over the killing, Osman Islam, later nicknamed Osman Batur, began to fight against the Chinese invaders and became a national hero.
After falling out, Stalin plotted to crush Xing Xicai and sent the Mongolian president, Qoybalsan, to East Turkestan to arm the insurgents led by Osman Batur.
On 16 May 1943, Stalin’s plot to finish Xing Xicai’s rule in East Turkestan became a national strategy. On 22 June 1943, the insurgents of Altay held a meeting at Bulhun and elected Osman Batur as their Khan.
With the direct help of the Soviet Union and Mongolia, Osman Batur controlled the whole Altay municipality by the end of 1945.
In September, his fighters annihilated 3000 Chinese troops at Sarsumbe. The same year the Turkestan Army met with Osman Batur’s army and joined as East Turkestan liberation army.
However, after signing an unequal treaty under Stalin’s pressure in 1946, the Soviet Union successfully turned the East Turkestan Army and Osman Batur’s troops against each other.