Ghulam Osman Yaghma

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Ghulam Osman Yaghma, also known by the pen name G.O. Zulpiqar, is a Uyghur-Canadian independence leader, writer, and poet. He was born on August 16, 1956, in Artush, Xinjiang. After being blocked from higher education by the Chinese government because of his early independence activities, he taught Uyghur language and literature. He fled East Turkestan in 1996 during a government crackdown, moving first to Kyrgyzstan, then to Turkey, and finally obtaining asylum in Canada in March 2002. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta.

Yaghma has held leadership roles in the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile, including Strategic Advisor from 2009 and Deputy Prime Minister at the 7th General Assembly in Tokyo. He was elected President of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile on November 11, 2019, after the impeachment of the previous president, and served until November 12, 2023.

As a writer, he uses the name G.O. Zulpiqar and has published many books and poems, such as Lost Treasure, He Is Still in Battle, Secret Love, Dulled Sword, Sound, Sigh, The Road Leads to Heaven, Infatuation, and Reflection. He speaks Uyghur and Turkish, and knows English and Chinese. He is married with eight children, two of whom are reportedly detained in Xinjiang internment camps.