By
Shantanu Mukharji
July 8,
2020
China
continues to flex its muscle either by claiming territories militarily or
pressurising countries in possession of maritime assets in the South China Sea
. Today, it has more enemies than friends but its pursuit of expansionism and
human rights abuses on Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang region in
western China stand out as an affront to human dignity.
(Image:
Twitter/@HKGTranslator)
------Mai
ntaining a consistently dismal record of oppression against the Uighurs, China remains indifferent towards the UN, EU and any kind of international pressure. There had been credible reports in the past and they still continue to flow about China running of numerous concentration camps in various parts of the country in the name of rehabilitating the Uighurs. But in reality, these Muslims are subjected to severe torture, massive indoctrination and violation of privacy through most unethical means.
Protesters
take part in a rally in support of Uighurs in Brussels on Oct. 1. ARIS
OIKONOMOU/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
------
Fresh
revelations, in the meantime, about the Chinese perpetrating extreme measures
to subdue the Uighurs are stunning and put the country’s Communist party to
shame. A recent intensive research conducted by eminent scholar Dr Adrian Zenz,
who is an authority on Tibet and Uighurs, has revealed that China has resorted
to a new nefarious plan to forcibly suppress birth rates amongst the ethnic
Uighur communities, including mass application of mandatory birth control and
sterilisation.
Uyghurs
at the Department of State (left to right): Ferkat Jawdat, Mihrigul Tursun,
Gulchehra Hoja and Arfat Erkin (State Dept./D.A. Peterson)
-----
The
Communist Party of China (CCP) is closely following the implementation of this
ambitious project, working in sync with the government. Also, there is a
concerted move by these twin pillars of power in China to change the demography
in the Uighur dominated area of Xinjiang by an influx of Han population to
repress the Uighurs and stifle their dissent.
This is
clearly to promote the State policy of creating a Chinese Nation Race or
Zhonghua Minzu. CCP, hand in glove with the government, continues to violate
human rights targeting the Uighurs. This meets the criteria for genocide as
defined by the UN and must be noted by the international community. Meanwhile,
Chinese authorities have stepped up surveillance to monitor movements of the
Uighurs within and outside China. A massive and belligerent hacking campaign is
also adopted to keep the Uighurs in check. This was started in 2013 but is now
seen to be peaking.
There are
very credible reports to confirm that many phones belonging to the Uighurs are
seized by the police and returned only after spyware is installed. This spyware
enables the Chinese authorities to keep track on the movements of the Uighurs
in Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kuwait or even Syria, where many Uighurs
were suspected to have joined the ISIS cadres. As part of their crackdown on
Uighurs, the Chinese police, through electronic methods, have also started
storing blood samples, voice prints, facial scans and other personal details of
the Uighurs.
The net
seems to be closing in every day with very strict control even over routine
activities. This is inhuman and defies all norms of human dignity. Yet, the
Chinese are determined to crush the spirit of the Uighurs to derail their
movement for an autonomous region or for an independent East Turkestan. Other
than this, Chinese authorities also hack various apps installed on their phones
or computers. These apps include hospitals, malls, shopping centres and
medicine shops.
This is
nothing but a bizarre infringement of privacy. Such reports stand duly
confirmed by Toronto-based Munk School of Public Affairs and a security firm
known as Volexity. They don’t rule out such electronic penetration by the
Chinese authorities in Tibet too. In the meantime, reports suggest that the US
Federal Communications Commission has designated Huawei Technologies Company
and ZTE groups as national threats. Their close nexus with the CCP is well
known.
This
explains the gravity and aggressive targeting of the Uighurs even to the extent
of labelling them as terrorists. Here, it may not be out of context to share
that about six years ago Huawei had approached the security establishments of
Mauritius, Madagascar and some African countries through their representatives
offering to ‘discreetly‘ hack phones and computers of the diplomatic community
and claimed to have the ‘knowhow’ to carry out this task.
This
illustration proves that they then had the capability, which they must have
improved now, to pose a grave threat not only to the Uighurs but to the world
at large. It’s not only at Ladakh or Arunachal Pradesh that China is stoking
problems. For that matter, Spratly islands in the South China Sea are also
under Chinese intimidation threatening the territorial integrity of Vietnam,
the Philippines and Malaysia.
The Chinese
game plan stands exposed and long nurtured fears are coming true. All said, the
world now needs to turn its focus on China disciplining it for its perfidies.
China criticises several countries for human rights abuses including India for
its role in Kashmir but conveniently forgets its own iron fisted and heartless
approach in suppressing the Uighurs. It’s high time the global fraternity woke
up.
Shantanu
Mukharji is a retired IPS officer, a security analyst and a former National
Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Mauritius. The views expressed are
personal)
Original
Headline: Uighurs’ plight should alert world
Source: The Statesman, India
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/uighurs’-so-called-re-education/d/122322
New
Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African
Muslim News, Arab
World News, South
Asia News, Indian
Muslim News, World
Muslim News, Women
in Islam, Islamic
Feminism, Arab
Women, Women
In Arab, Islamophobia
in America, Muslim
Women in West, Islam
Women and Feminism