Once Again Islamic Countries Ditch Uyghurs in Favour Of China

The UN Human Rights Council Rejects A Proposal For Debate On Uyghur Persecution By China

Main Points:

1.    The proposal got 17 votes in favour and 19 against.

2.    Eleven member countries abstained.

1.    3.Pakistan, Qatar, Indonesia, UAE and,Kazakhstan opposed the proposal.

3.    Malaysia an Islamic country abstained.

2.    5.Western countries US, UK, France, Germany and Finland and Asian country Japan voted in favour.

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By New Age Islam Staff Writer

11 October 2022

On October 9, 2022, western countries US, UK, France and, Germany and others presented a resolution in the Human Rights Council of the United Nations proposing a debate on the persecution of Uyghur Muslims of the autonomous region of Xinjiang in China by the Communist government since 2017. Unfortunately, the resolution was rejected by the 47 member council by a narrow margin of votes. The proposal got 17 votes in favour, 19 against it and 11 members abstained.

The rejection evoked worldwide condemnation and human rights bodies and activists termed it a travesty of justice. Ironically, only a month ago, the United Nations, in its own report had said that China's arbitrary detention of Uyghurs may constitute crimes against humanity. Amnesty International said that the decision of the Human Rights Council protected the perpetrators.

It is unfortunate that some of powerful Islamic countries like Pakistan, Qatar, Indonesia and UAE voted against the proposal suggesting that they were on China's side. Only the, African Islamic country Somalia voted in favour of the Uyghurs. Malaysia, another Muslim country, abstained to the disappointment of Uyghurs.

This is not the first time that Islamic countries have defended China on the issue of the persecution of Uyghur Muslims. Western countries including the US, UK and France have been calling for the end of the persecution of Uyghurs but Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Pakistan have defended any move against China on the issue. Most vocal defender of China has been Pakistan who says that it does not believe the narrative of Uyghur persecution spread by the, western nations. Last year on the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that he did not believe in what the western media was saying on the issue. Earlier, speaking to Channel 9 of Turkey he had said that he was not aware of what was the Uyghur issue. Saudi Arabia has also defended China saying that China has every right to fight extremism and terrorism suggesting that the persecution of the Uyghurs was justified. Turkey has protested against China 's highhandedness over Uyghurs but as the Sick Man of Europe (NATO), it has not been able to reign in the Chinese giant. During the recent voting also, Turkey voted in favour of Uyghurs.

Uyghur persecution is a long standing issue which the Islamic countries, particularly the OIC, the paper tiger, has not been able to address. It occasionally releases statements on Palestine and Kashmir but has not been able to exert pressure on China because of their diplomatic and economic compulsions. Pakistan does not speak against China because China has made $60 bn investment in Pakistan China Economic Corridor. Saudi Arabia also has economic ties with China, which it does not want affected due to political issues. Kazakhstan, which shares borders with China and is adjacent to the Xinjiang region populated by Uyghurs does not stand with Uyghurs with whom they have ethnic affinity.

It should be noted that Chinese government has kept about 1 million Uyghurs in detention camps which China calls vocational skills training camps. In these camps, Uyghurs are tortured and forced to renounce Islam and pledge loyalty to the Communist Party of China, sing praises of communism and learn mandarin.

But the conflict started in 2009 when the Uyghurs protested against large scale migration and settlement of majority Han community to the Uyghur majority region Xinjiang. The Uyghurs had already been unhappy over economic and cultural discrimination against them. The protests claimed more than 200 lives. During the protests, as happens everywhere, a train station, a government office, an open air market and Tiananmen Square were attacked. The Chinese government declared the protests a terrorist activity. This marked a change in the attitude of the Chinese government towards the Uyghurs. The Uyghurs faced discrimination and harsh anti-Muslim policy of the government. From 2014 onwards, the Chinese government started advocating the use of tools of dictatorship against Uyghurs. Laws banning the veil and long beard were passed. The Chinese government warned Uyghurs of the "toxicity of religious extremism". To them religion was not merely the opium of the masses but a toxic substance.

The government started 're-education centres' in 2014 but expanded largely in 2017.

In 2017, the Chinese government overtly prepared itself for a crackdown on Uyghurs. Xi Jinping is said to have said in secret speeches that Uyghurs needed to be cut to size. In August 2017, a Chinese Religious Officer Maiumujiang Maimuer had said :

"Break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections and break their origins. Completely shovel up the roots of 'two faced people, dig them out and vow to fight these two faced people until the end."

That year the crack down began and Uyghurs were sent to detention centres on a large scale. There they were tortured and mentally harassed. Women were forcefully sterilised, even raped. in 2018, the United Nations revealed the network of detention centres in Xinjiang. When its design was disclosed, China admitted there were vocational skills training camps for fighting extremism. But researchers and journalists have documented large scale detention using satellite images, individual testimonies and leaked government documents.

Even those who were not sent to detention centres were kept under strict surveillance with the help of state of the art technology. The police check posts have been put up in Xinjiang for every 500 population. Their identity cards are checked, their movement is tracked and their mobile phones are checked regularly. They are jailed for having contact with people in 25 countries including Turkey and Afghanistan ; for attending services at mosques, having more than three children and for sending text messages containing verses of the Quran. According to Human Rights Watch, since 2017, Uyghurs were also jailed for years on charges of extremism. One in every 25 Uyghurs has been jailed for one or the other reason. To the Chinese government, every Uyghur Muslim is an extremist and a potential terrorist.

The UN Human Rights report 2022 says that the Uyghurs were meted out inhuman, degrading and cruel treatment in detention centres.

In short, the Chinese government wants to break the lineage, roots and cultural identity of the Uyghur Muslims. But the tragedy is that the Human Rights Council of the United Nations refuses to have a debate on human rights violations in Xinjiang. What purpose does it serve if it does not even debate human rights violation in a region? And the so-called Islamic nations need to do introspection on what they are worth.

URL:   https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/islamic-uyghurs-favour-china/d/128152

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