The
Consequences of Nuclear Tests in Eastern Turkestan
This document was
reproduced by permission from the Eastern Turkestan Union in
Europe
The Consequences of Nuclear
Tests in Eastern Turkestan China's nuclear tests in Eastern
Turkestan for more than three decades have produced an
ecological disaster, not only endangering human life but
also polluting drinking water, food supplies and affecting
millions of animals throughout the country. There are no
official figures of the nuclear victims in Eastern Turkestan.
But it has been reported that more than 200,000 people in
Eastern Turkestan have died because of nuclear fallout.
Radioactive fallout from the nuclear testing site at Lop Nor
is causing an increase in human cancer. It has been reported
that ten per cent of the population are ill with cancer in
that country. Before the nuclear tests the rate of cancer
mortality in Eastern Turkestan was rather low. According to
the reports between 1975 and 1985 the rate of leukemia
increased 7 times in comparison with the previous ten years.
The rate of mortality from oesophagos cancer is 7-8 times
higher than that of the rest of China. Almost 40 percent of
adults suffer from various forms of nervous disorder while
70 percent of women have pathology which provoke
complications during pregnancy and birth. Seventy percent of
women suffer from vaginal cancer. And 85 percent of the
population suffer from leucopenia. As a result, babies
with horrible deformities are born, for example, two-headed,
without kidneys, mentally retarded, and even mutants who
cannot be recognized as human beings. It has also been
reported that during February and March 1987, almost 800
Uighurs died in the cities of Lop, Charkalik, Cherchen,
Keriya, Chira and Hoten of an unidentified disease. The same
kind of deaths have been reported in other parts of Eastern
Turkestan. The World Health Organization said in a report
released in 1988, that 3,961 people died in the cities of
Hoten, Yarkent and Kashgar of an unknown disease. According
to the reports in July and August, 1990, in the surroundings
of Kashgar over 5,000 youth's arms and feet were paralyzed
and lost their eyesight. 160 kids born in the city of Chatan
in August 1991, had cataracts in their eyes.
Most importantly, the polluted districts bordering the
nuclear test site did not even receive elementary medical
treatment the report said. Doctors rushed to the areas to
check the victims were forced lie to the people about their
deadly illness. During the more than 30 years of nuclear
testing in Eastern Turkestan, no medical investigations were
carried out. Moreover, at the beginning of the nuclear
tests, the people living in the immediate areas of Lop Nor
were never evacuated. In later stages, when they were
evacuated, they were returned only after a few days to the
polluted areas. Animals were never evacuated. Those who came
back ate their meat and drank their milk. The peaceful
demonstrations of the peoples of Eastern Turkestan living at
home and abroad demanding the closure of the nuclear testing
site have so far received no results.
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