With explosions targeting civilians, assassinations, arson attacks, poisonings and al-Qaeda style video footages threatening dire actions, the "East Turkestan" separatists have long been terrorists.

The three "East Turkestan" groups -- the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), the East Turkestan Union in Europe and the East Turkestan Information Center, have proved to have close links with terrorism.

Dolqun Isa, WUC secretary general and president of the East Turkestan Union in Europe, is also the vice president of the East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO), which has been classified by the United Nations as a terrorist organization.

The East Turkestan Information Center released a video via the British Broadcasting Corporation prior to the 50th anniversary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2005, threatening an armed revolt for "East Turkestan independence."

Holding automatic rifles, three hooded men declared they would "do whatever possible to launch an armed campaign against the Chinese government," -- reminiscent of the cold-blooded al-Qaeda killers.

Abudujelili Kalakash is the founder of the East Turkestan Information Center. He and Isa abandoned the group after it was listed as sponsors of terrorism.

Isa chose the WUC, while Kalakash became vice president of the World Uyghur Youth Congress. He later joined the WUC too.

The "East Turkestan" forces, under the influence of terrorism, extremism and separatism, pose a severe threat not only to China, but also to the Asian-Pacific region and the world at large.

Their terrorist activities since the 1990s, including bombings, assassinations, arson attacks and poisonings, have known no boundaries.

In March 1997, "East Turkestan" terrorists opened fire on the Chinese embassy in Ankara, Turkey, attacked the Chinese consulate-general in Istanbul, and burnt the Chinese national flag.

On March 5, 1998, they launched a bomb attack against the Chinese consulate-general in Istanbul.

In March 2000, Nighmet Bosakof, president of the Kyrgyzstan "Uygur Youth Alliance," was shot dead in front of his house by ETLO members as he had refused to cooperate with them.

In May 2000, members of the Uygur Liberation Organization extorted 100,000 US dollars as ransom after kidnapping a Xinjiang businessman. They murdered his nephew, and set fire to the Bishkek Market of Chinese Commodities.

On May 25, 2000, terrorists attacked a work team of the Xinjiang People's Government which was sent to Kyrgyzstan to deal with the above case. One person was killed and two were injured.

The culprits then fled to Kazakhstan, killing two policemen who were searching for them in Alma-Ata in September the same year.

The "East Turkestan" forces now play a major role in world terrorism.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, their bases in Afghanistan were destroyed by the US forces, and 22 of their key members were jailed.

In 2002, the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Party (ETIP) was named a terrorist group by the UN. The Security Council said in April this year that its head Abdul Haq had links with al-Qaeda.

The US Department of Treasury immediately froze his assets and prohibited any transactions with him.

"We stand together with the world in condemning this brutal terrorist and isolating him from the international financial system," a Treasury Department statement said.

The "East Turkestan" terrorists conceal their violent nature under the cover of the WUC, which has replaced the ETIP as the chief coordinator of "East Turkestan" activities overseas.

However, their unlawful activities have been noted by the world community and many countries, especially those in Central Asia, have become increasingly tough on them.

Kazakhstan outlawed two such groups in 1995, and it, together with Uzbekistan and other countries in the region, have extradited a number of "East Turkestan" terrorists to China.

The heads of states of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed the Shanghai treaty on the crackdown on terrorism, separatism and extremism when they launched the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on June 15, 2001. They epressed their determination to jointly crack down on the "East Turkestan" forces.

Following the riot in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, on July 5, the SCO issued a statement declaring all its members would expand cooperation in curbing terrorism, separatism and extremism in a bid to safeguard regional security and stability.

The fight against the "East Turkestan" forces has been "the top priority of the SCO since it was established, and we are confident that we will emerge the winner," Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbaev said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2009)