Uighurs in Kazakhstan remember officers and soldiers serving in the National Army

It is known that the national liberation movement in the Uyghur diaspora in 1944-1949 was one of the most glorious sections in the history of the Uyghur people. Today marks exactly 77 years since the founding of the National Army, which played a decisive role in that national revolution. According to historical facts, at the end of January 1945, the leaders of the East Turkestan Republic embarked on the formation of a national army, the basis of which was the Nilka guerrillas, the Yildiz rebels, and the volunteers.

On April 8, 1945, the National Army was formally established in the city of Yining, with a flag-raising ceremony and a military parade. Although more than 70 years have passed since then, Uyghurs living in exile have held commemorations in various forms to pay their respects to those who died on the battlefields for freedom and independence, to those who died in those battles, and to those who are still alive.

Kazakhstan is said to be one of the countries with the largest number of former national army fighters and officers, with only a handful of them still alive.

Although no official event has been held in Kazakhstan for some reason on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the National Army, the online journal "Newsletter" dedicated to the event by political scientist and historian Kahraman Ghojambardi has been widely circulated on social media. He covered in detail the history of the construction of the National Army and its journeys in this online magazine.

One of the active leaders of the armed uprising in Yildiz at that time, Zunun Teyipov, a member of the Government of the East Turkestan Republic, the Deputy Commander of the National Army, who later held the rank of Major-General and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Xinjiang Military Region, was living in Almaty.

Ms. Mubarakova Israilova thanked her for visiting her on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the National Army. My father joined the ranks of the revolutionaries because of his dissatisfaction with the Chinese Kuomintang at the time and the Chinese who were in charge of their local government. The fact that he led the National Army from a simple laborer to the rank of general was also due to the superiority of his determination to fulfill his duty to the motherland and the nation. The Liberation Organization, which was secretly formed in April 1944, played a major role in preparing the people of Yining for the national revolution. Elkhan Torem, Abdukerim Abbasov, Erehimjan Sabirhaji, Qasimjan Qambari, Abdurrauf Mahsum, Zunun Tayyip and other revolutionaries were elected to his leadership core. The main purpose of the organization was to strike at the Kuomintang and to destroy it. Under such circumstances, the Provisional Government of the Republic of East Turkestan was declared on November 12, 1944 in the city of Yildiz, and its members were elected. My father, Zunun Teyipov, was one of the 17 members elected. "

Another of those who actively participated in the liberation movements that erupted in the Uyghur lands in the 1940s was Masumjan Zulpikarov, who was born in that Uyghur land.

We interviewed the famous painter Kuresh Zulpikarov, the son of the famous writer Masumjan Zulpikarov, who moved to Kazakhstan in the mid-1950s and was the captain of the National Army of the Republic of East Turkestan.

"Today we commemorate our fathers who served in the national army and died in battles with the enemy," said Kuresh Zulpikarov. My father, Masumjan Zulpikarov, was also a participant in the Uyghur people's struggle for liberation. As the Ili Revolution began and the war intensified, my father, along with many other young men, was sent to attend a military course in 1945 in the village of Chilpenze in Horgos County. In August, he will complete a military course and be sent to the Central Front. In order to completely liberate our country from the enemy, the government of the Republic of East Turkestan had made great efforts to provide the National Army with personnel. My father returned from the front and studied in the cavalry division of the Bayandai Military School from 1946 to 1947. On April 8, 1948, on the occasion of the three-year anniversary of the founding of the National Army in Yildiz, the military parade was attended by military school cadets, including my father, a senior lieutenant. A month earlier, generals such as Zunun Teyipov, Ishakbek Mununov, and Margup Iskakov had summoned my father and instructed him to prepare well for the military parade. My father was a wonderful rider. During the parade, Masumjan Zulpikarov, the commander of the Second Cavalry Regiment, surprised everyone by performing various exercises on horseback with several of his companions. At that moment, the team called my father and thanked him. " A month earlier, generals such as Zunun Teyipov, Ishakbek Mununov, and Margup Iskakov had summoned my father and instructed him to prepare well for the military parade. My father was a wonderful rider. During the parade, Masumjan Zulpikarov, the commander of the Second Cavalry Regiment, surprised everyone by performing various exercises on horseback with several of his companions. At that moment, the team called my father and thanked him. " A month earlier, generals such as Zunun Teyipov, Ishakbek Mununov, and Margup Iskakov had summoned my father and instructed him to prepare well for the military parade. My father was a wonderful rider. During the parade, Masumjan Zulpikarov, the commander of the Second Cavalry Regiment, surprised everyone by performing various exercises on horseback with several of his companions. At that moment, the team called my father and thanked him. "

Kuresh Zulpikarov also said that his father had served as the instructor and chief of staff at the military school, and then as the captain of the "Mozart" Davani Shati border garrison in the rank of captain. According to him, after the establishment of the Chinese Communist regime in East Turkestan, Masumjan Zulpikarov served as deputy head of the military preparation department in the military zone, and after completing his military-political course, he became the commander-in-chief.

According to the historian Khamenei Ghojambardi's book "Ethno-Political History of the Uyghurs", when the situation on the German-Soviet front of World War II changed in favor of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union led a military force led by Ishaqbek Mununov into the region of Kyrgyzstan through Kashgar. The purpose of the Soviet side was to launch an armed uprising against the Chinese government. Such secret Soviet operations were carried out in later years.

"My father worked as a teacher and then a school principal before World War II, when we had the so-called Great Patriotic War," said Mirshiker Nasirov, the son of Mirzigul Nasirov, a participant in the revolutionary movement interviewed by our radio. After the war began, he was trained in a course that trained small commanders. He then took part in many bloody battles as commander of the Vzwood. At the start of the Ili Revolution in East Turkestan in 1944, he underwent special training at a military school in Tashkent at the behest of the Soviet government, Stalin. In the fall of that year, those trained soldiers secretly crossed the border into their homeland. At that time, there was a fierce war in our homeland against the Chinese Kuomintang soldiers. The cavalry, led by my father, set an example of heroism on the South Front, where the National Army was engaged in military operations, especially in the fierce battles for Yining and Aksu. It is learned that the then President of the Government of the Republic of East Turkestan, Alikhan Tore, paid special tribute to my father. True, many of the mysteries in this war remain unresolved to this day. My father also had a hard time finding answers to those in later years. And yet we must never forget our fathers and mothers who shed blood for the motherland and the freedom of their people. I think the blood they shed was not in vain. "It simply came to our notice then. It is learned that the then President of the Government of the Republic of East Turkestan, Alikhan Tore, paid special tribute to my father. True, many of the mysteries in this war remain unresolved to this day. My father also had a hard time finding answers to those in later years. And yet we must never forget our fathers and mothers who shed blood for the motherland and the freedom of their people. I think the blood they shed was not in vain. "It simply came to our notice then. It is learned that the then President of the Government of the Republic of East Turkestan, Alikhan Tore, paid special tribute to my father. True, many of the mysteries in this war remain unresolved to this day. My father also had a hard time finding answers to those in later years. And yet we must never forget our fathers and mothers who shed blood for the motherland and the freedom of their people. I think the blood they shed was not in vain. "It simply came to our notice then. And yet we must never forget our fathers and mothers who shed blood for the motherland and the freedom of their people. I think the blood they shed was not in vain. "It simply came to our notice then. And yet we must never forget our fathers and mothers who shed blood for the motherland and the freedom of their people. I think the blood they shed was not in vain. "It simply came to our notice then.

It is learned that in addition to Uyghurs, there were also Kazakhs, Tatars, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, Tungans and other ethnic groups in the national army. After the Chinese People's Liberation Army invaded Uighur Autonomous Region in 1949, the National Army became the 5th Corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and gradually disappeared. Over time, many National Army fighters and officers were assassinated by the Chinese government and imprisoned.