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We are in the presence of a crime without a name.

Winston Churchill on the Holocaust in 1941

Uyghur’s Destiny…Oppression and Death?

Most don’t think that the atrocities that occurred during Nazi rule could ever happen again. We have more access to information, nations are kept accountable of their actions, extreme abuses of human rights are brought to light, and those are stopped shortly after they begin. Unfortunately, this isn’t always true. What most don’t realize is that the information that you received is tailored, censored, and written to change your point of view or to distract you from what should be getting attention. It may not be as evident in the United States; but China, spreads misinformation and censors certain topics openly. Censorship allows governments to execute their plans without scrutiny until it’s too late. China has been doing this very well and they are one of the most egregious violators of human rights on the planet. You’ll find no better example than the treatment of the Uyghurs in China. These series of posts will explain what is going on in China’s western province of Xinjiang and the mass violation of human rights.

For the busy:

Explanation

In my first of what I hope to be many posts, I took only a snippet of some of the news that has surfaced about the treatment of the Uyghurs in the western province of Xinjiang. The above bullet points provide factual statements corroborated by respectable sources and first hand access to the information. The purpose is to explain to those that may not have the time, at first glance, to be aware of what is happening in western China. The story needs to be told, but I feel that we need to make people aware in the most efficient way possible. The topic has been in some media outlets and human rights activists have been screaming but what is being done about this and is anyone listening? I had to do my own research and look into it.

Who are the Uyghurs?

The Uyghurs are a minority minority Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. They are mainly concentrated in the Xinjiang province of western China. The Uyghurs are predominantly Muslim and have been so since the tenth century. There are approximately 11.5 million Uyghurs in China with most living in Xinjiang. The Uyghurs claim to be the indigenous people of Xinjiang and are believed to be descendants of many tribes that make up their modern bloodline. The Chinese government recognize that the “Hans” Chinese people are the indigenous people of Xinjiang and are at constant odds with the fear of Uyghur separatism.

Why is China detaining the Uyghurs?

Following 9/11 and the “Global War on Terrorism” China focused security and stability efforts in Xinjiang on the majority Muslim population out of fears of unrest and terrorist acts. According to Chinese sourced information (take note), between 1990 and 2001 the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) had committed over 200 acts of terrorism, resulting in at least 162 deaths and over 440 injuries. The number of attacks has risen with a peak of 37 attacks that caused over 300 deaths in 2014 according to the Global Terrorism Database. ETIM, like most Islamic terrorist organizations, wants to establish the Xinjiang region as part of the Islamic Calihpate. They have been responsible for most of the attacks in the Xinjiang region again according to Chinese sources. The ETIM is recognized as a terrorist organization but, Dr. Dru Gadley, a two-time Fullbright Research Scholar on Turkey and China, has stated that there is a clear “credibility gap” between what the ETIM has done and what China has said they have done. China is not shy about labeling groups that disagree with them as terrorists (see the World Uyghur Congress in 2003 – Chinese News Xihuanet). Regardless, the ETIM has had connections to Al Qaeda in the past but has largely been disbanded over the years. Most believe that China pushes the narrative that all Uyghurs are terrorists to justify the detention of over 1.5 million Uyghurs.

Source: Council on Foreign Relations

When did the Concentration Camps Start?

According to experts at the Council for Foreign Relations, the concentration camps began in 2014 and started a rapid expansion in early 2017. From early 2017 to mid 2018, the camps in Xingjiang tripled in size and covered an area the size of approximately 140 soccer fields. The exact amount of camps and the number of Uyghurs detained is unknown as the Chinese government has censored information surrounding the security crack down in Xingjiang. According to Shawn Zhang, a law student and activist in Canada who uses open-source imagery to confirm the location of camps, China has stopped publishing the tender notices on the facilities and has since deleted the old tender notices. Behind the Great Chinese Firewall, China can purge any and all information that may reveal the extent of the Uyghur detentions.

What’s happening at the Xinjiang Camps?

Even more secretive than the forming of the camps is what goes on inside them. Fortunately several former detainees have come forward with some of the horrors experienced by the Uyghurs. According to Ruqiye Perhat, a 31-year-old Uyghur student of Islamic studies and former detainee of one of the camps, anyone under the age of 35 was raped and sexually abused by the Hans Chinese guards. Perhat told the Washington Post that her rapes resulted in two pregnancies and she was forced to take contraception while others were forced to undergo abortions. Sayragul Sauytbay, a Kazakh detainee, recalled an event where a young woman was stripped naked and forced to confess all her sins in front of her fellow prisoners. The young woman was then gang raped by multiple guards. The guards would observe the detainees and if any of the prisoners showed anger, shock, or any other negative emotion, the guards would remove the detainee and they would never be seen again. This is not what China has portrayed to the international community. China would have world believe that all the Uyghurs are extremists and that they must be systematically round up and put into these vocational camps to learn how to live in a civilized world. China has stated they are teaching the local Uyghurs skills like farming and animal husbandry but with accounts of torture trickling out of the camps it’s hard to believe that the camps are just being used to educate.

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

China has let in some Western reporters to help quell international skepticism of their treatment of the Uyghurs but some have called the tours of the facilities to be highly choreographed and not real examples of what is going on in Xinjiang. Most of the detainees at these camps have been accused of minor crimes such as watching religious videos, wearing burkas, or not showing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pride. For these crimes, they could be taken for years and never heard from again. According to Yasinahun, the chief of security for Kashgar’s Chasa township in Xinjiang province:

you can’t uproot all the weeds hidden among the crops in the field one by one—you need to spray chemicals to kill them all Yasinahun, the chief of security for Kashgar’s Chasa township in Xinjiang province

“He went on to say, ‘re-educating these people is like spraying chemicals on the crops. That is why it is a general re-education, not limited to a few people.’”

Fortunately there are some people in the West paying attention to the crimes being committed in China. Independent scholar, Gene Bunin, has relocated from Massachusetts to Alamty, Kazakhstan to focus his efforts on providing a voice to the detained and the families that have been torn apart. Bunin and his team has created the Xinjiang Victims Database to upload testimonies from open source and first hand information of detainees and their family. As of November 14, 2019 there are 5514 testimonies uploaded to the site that is complete with detention, health, and human rights violation status according to families or friends that have provided video testimonies and documentation. One individual logged in the Xinjiang Victims Database is Esqer Bekri. Esqer’s status has been verified by a Uyghur activist named Gulistan Eziz, who is living in Japan and has had contact with Esqer’s parents. Esqer’s parents did not want Gulistan to inquire more about their son presumably out of fear of retaliation from the Chinese government. Even with the creation of the database, the information on the status of the individuals in the “vocational camps” is largely unknown and will likely stay that way until significant pressure is put on the Chinese government.

Esqer Bekri – Xinjiang Victims Database

Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, drafted a bill called the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 in January 2019 that would unanimously pass the U.S. Senate in September. The purpose of this Act is to direct United States resources to address gross violations of universally recognized human rights, including the mass internment of over 1,000,000 Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities in China and the intimidation and threats faced by United States citizens and legal permanent residents. In addition to allocating resources, the legislation also calls on U.S. departments to look into how U.S. tech products are being used in the Xinjiang province. “Several United States-based companies are conducting business with Xinjiang authorities without sufficient due diligence or safeguards to ensure their business operations do not create or contribute to human rights violations.” This verbiage could potentially turn into future sanctions against China as the alleviation of human rights violations appears to be one of the few bipartisan efforts under the Trump administration efforts. China has largely gone unchecked and been allowed to benefit off of globalization while acting like an isolated dictatorship like North Korea.

China’s Immunity – Opinion

Russia has been sanctioned due to their annexation of Crimea and war crimes in eastern Ukraine, Iran has been sanctioned due to their support of international terrorism through Hezbollah and other groups, Turkey will have sanctions imposed on them after their offensive on the Kurds, and North Korea has been hit by sanctions for pretty much everything. With the exception of North Korea, these aren’t failed states that are isolated from the international community, they are powerful countries that have a role in a global economy and have suffered some consequences based on their actions. The United States and the EU have been slow to react to the concentration camps (let’s call it what it is) due to what policymakers call a “lack of information on the situation.” In reality, it’s a lack of effort and insurmountable fear that sanctions on China would cause a massive global economic recession. If it were Bosnia or the Democratic Republic of Congo, there would already be sanctions and the United Nations would have reacted to these atrocities against over a million people. China’s GDP is estimated to be over $12.2 trillion. Due to their significant role in the global economy, China has been able to operate as they choose without fear of reprisal.

Forward

This article is the first of several that will try to explain what is going on in China, what’s being done about it, who should do it, and why the one’s that should…are not. In my next post, I will discuss China’s forced organ harvesting of the Uyghurs and political dissidents and detail who is responsible. Please add to the discussion below or message me and tag me though my Twitter.

My Twitter: https://twitter.com/TyJewell92