12 November is East Turkistan National Day, remembering the two republics founded in 1933 and 1944

East Turkistan Turks mark a National Day every year on 12 November. The date combines two anniversaries: the East Turkistan Islamic Republic was proclaimed in Kashgar on 12 November 1933, and a second East Turkistan Republic was founded in Ghulja on 12 November 1944.

The first republic had Khoja Niyaz as president and Sabit Damolla as prime minister, and lasted about four months. The second one's first president was Ali Khan Tore; from 1946 Ahmetjan Qasim headed the state, with Isa Yusuf Alptekin serving as secretary general. It existed until 1949.

The Crimean News Agency (QHA) says the diaspora marks the day each year so that it is not forgotten, and describes it as especially meaningful for Uyghur Turks and other Turkic communities. Osman Batur, a leader of resistance in the Altay region, was executed in Urumqi in April 1951, and his name is part of that remembrance.