Uyghur PEN Centre
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Kurash Sultan
From his exile in Sweden the Uyghur composer, musician and poet Kurash Sultan was like an ambassador to the Uyghurs – the indigenous people in East Turkistan in north-western China. He died 47 years old from a heart stroke on 29 October 2006. – by Freemuse Uyghur composer died in exile Kurash Sultan Kurash Sultan was invited to speak at the 3rd Freemuse World Conference in Istanbul on 25 November 2006. He was a famous Uyghur artist who sang and wrote countless songs and poems on the freedom of his homeland, East Turkistan, where the Uyghurs are struggling to keep their language and their culture. For that same reason he has been imprisoned and tortured by the authorities, many of his songs were banned in East Turkistan, and he had to escape the country. He was buried in Sweden on 1 November 2006. Kurash Sultan (also known as Kuresh Kusen, Kurash Kusan or Koresh Kosen) was born in 1959 in the capital city Urumchi of Xinjiang – a region which Uyghurs often refer to as East Turkistan. “Xinjiang” means “New Frontier” and is the Han Chinese name for the autonomous region. In the 1980’s Kurash Sultan worked as a music teacher, and studied music conducting. In 1992-1995 he worked an editor of Xinjiang Art, a magazine published by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’s Writers Union. In 1987, he worked on getting a music ensemble together, and in the next five years they presented their music show more than 1,000 times all around East Turkistan / Xinjiang. More than five million people attended it. Kurash Sultan was awarded 11 times, prizes which he received from all around China and East Turkistan / Xinjiang. His cassette tape ‘Hesret’ (“Affliction”) and ‘Échinish’ (“Sorrow”) was the most sold cassette in the market. In 1993 […]
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The Uyghur PEN Centre
The Uyghur PEN Centre stands for the rights of the Uyghur people, for their freedom of expression and freedom of write! About Uyghur PEN and PEN International Establishment of Uyghur PEN Centre Who are the Uyghurs? About The Uyghur PEN and PEN International The Uyghur PEN Center is one of 145 International PEN centers across the globe dedicated to promoting freedom of expression, thought and information for all. It stands in solidarity with writers everywhere who have been forced into silence by censorship. It stands for the rights of the Uyghur people, for their freedom of expression and freedom of write. It also campaigns for the release of imprisoned writers, for free media, for the right to one’s mother tongue, and for other rights related to freedom of expression. Uyghur PEN’s focus of expertise is on Uyghurs (Uyghur Autonomous Region, China) and Central Asia. As a chapter of International PEN, Uyghur PEN sees the right to express ourselves as essential to a free and just world. It recognises that literature is essential for understanding and engaging with people around the world, and it also promotes freedom of expression. PEN International’s history dates back to 1921. As a writers’ association, its membership is open to all published writers who subscribe to the organization’s charter, regardless of nationality, race, mother tongue or religion. It is a non-political and non-religious nonprofit organisation and has special consultative status at the UN and UNESCO. Like PEN International, Uyghur PEN’s membership is open to all writers. Its members, mostly Uyghurs, bring a wide spectrum of experience and work in fields ranging from academia and media to film production, translation and literature. Uyghur PEN is based in London, UK, but its board and members are scattered across the globe – particularly in Central Asia, northern Europe and […]
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