China is practicing and carrying out the worst form of racism and genocide against Uyghurs (Muslim Ethnic group). The Chinese Communist Party recently labelled religion followed by Uyghurs, Islam as a ‘mental Illness’. Numerous Uyghurs and other Turkish speaking Muslims including secular intellectuals, artists and professionals are detained by the Chinese Government in concentration camps in the name of curing them. A mass sterilization campaign has been deployed by Chinese government against the Uyghurs women to prevent the growth of the Uyghur population. Around 1.1 millions Han Chinese cadres are sent to East Turkestan to control the daily life of Uighurs.
Introduction
East Turkistan, officially called the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, located in the northwestern part of China has become a place with the most widespread human rights violations. The Chinese Communist Party is exerting increasing oppression towards Muslim communities especially Uyghur Turks with the intent to destroy that group. The episodes ongoing in East Turkistan have met the definition of genocide listed in the ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide’ signed in 1948 to which China is a signatory. There are a number of examples of acts taking place in the region, which constitutes genocide, counting, “killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions for life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Over Millions of Uyghurs are detained in the prisons, forced labour factories, concentration camps, the so-called ‘educational centers’ which are established to demolish the Uyghur people along with their religion, culture, and language. The camps were designed to mentally break the Uyghur people and to cause serious physical and psychological harm. A campaign of mass female sterilization was also carried out and is still being carried out aided by state fundings to systematically prevent Uyghur births which displays the clear intent to eradicate the Uyghur people as a whole.
Genocide
Origin of the term “Genocide”
The expression ‘genocide’ started to be used after 1944. The term was proposed by a Polish-Jew, Raphael Lemkin, by combining the words ‘geno’, which means ‘race’ or ‘tribe’ in Greek and ‘kill’ in Latin, created the word ‘genocide’. Lemkin constructed this word, in the context of “signifying a different actions aiming at the destruction of essential formulations of the life of national groups, with the aim of destroying the group themselves”.
Definition and Elements of Genocide
Genocide has caused great losses for humanity in all period of history. The crime of genocide is defined in article 2, followed by article 1 , confirming this act as a crime under international law, whether the states that signed the contract committed in time of peace or during war. In keeping with this article, any of the acts committed partially or completely to eliminate a national, ethnic, racial or religious group constitutes as a crime of genocide.
The acts are as follow:
- killing member of the group;
- causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
- deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of like calculated
- to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part;
- imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
- forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
The Chinese Communist Party committed almost all of these crimes mentioned above, and are still committing. The World’s most sophisticated technologically genocide is happening in Xinjiang.
Events taking place in East Turkistan
Genocide undertaken by Communist party of China in East Turkistan (Xinjiang), is similar to genocide undertaken by Nazis in germany. The report published in The Foreign Policy, one of world’s renowed foreign affairs magazine
There are hundreds of examples of crimes committed in East Turkistan against Uyghurs which are sufficient to be regarded as genocide. A case can be taken of Mihrigul Tursun, who was detained and arrested three times, was later sent to a concentration camp and testified about this issue before the united states congress. She told, that she was interrogated for days without sleep, was injected with unknown drugs, was electrocuted. The reason behind torturing her was, that she is a Uyghur. Another survivor Gulzira Awulkan citizen of Kazakh, declared that she was punished on two different occasions by being forced to sit on a chair for 24 hours. She also stated that the concentration camps are equipped with cameras and every move is monitored.
The Chinese government is violating even the basic human rights of Uyghur people. There each and every move is being monitored, by using facial recognition technology.They are not allowed to follow their religion culture and belief sytem. Police seize their phones to download the information contained on them. To prevent Uyghurs from travelling abroad their passoports are also confiscated.
With the ‘Double Relative Program’ started off by the Beijing government, they sent 1.1 million Han Chinese cadres to East Turkistan to control the daily life of Uyghurs. Han Chinese cadres make visits at least once every two months Uyghur homes and stay with them for about a week, share the same bed, and control all aspects of their daily lives. Throughout the stay they spy and constantly spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda. It is a well known fact that eating pork and drinking of alcohol is forbidden in Islam still they force them to have it. By chance if Uyghurs refuse to drink and requests ‘halal meat’ from the market they are declared as suspects and sent to the camps.
The ‘Double Relative Program’ has led to ‘ government sponsored mass rape.’ The most menacing side of double relative program is that women, whose husbands are in the camp are forced to share the same bed with uninvited chinese ‘guests’ . The Han Chinese leave them vicitm to mental, physical and sexual abuse.
To disrupt the family structure of Uyghur and to forcefully marry the young Uyghur girls to Han Chinese men , the Beijing administration offer the Han Chinese money, jobs, and free homes. In order to recruit candidates for the forced marriage, the communist party spreads propaganda through films and advertisements and other broadcasting orders. The government employs social security officers for the wedding for the purpose of guiding the Han Chinese men during the wedding and to ‘persuade’ the meeting of the Uyghur girls and their families. Chinese Communist Party constantly broadcast Uyghur men as ‘terrorists’ and Uyghur women as ‘sexual items’.
The Chinese communist party committed another crime, they forced transfer of people of East Turkistan into China to work in forced labor facilities.. The Uyghurs were sent to work in factories with uniform clothing similar to prisoners. Around 80 thousand Uyghurs were taken from the camps and sent to factories to produce goods for globally renowed Western Companies, such as Apple, GAP and Nike. They tried to change the living conditions of Uyghur people completely. The governement also tried to eliminate the Uyghur people and make them forget their identity. They made it mandatory for the Han Chinese to the region as they forcefully sent Uyghurs to wk in mainland China.
The Chinese Government’s main priority is o destroy both the religious and national identities of Uyghurs Turks. Another objective of the government was to reduce the birth rates of Uyghurs and eliminate their future generations. The camps are used as a form of threat and punishment, by detaining women and familie swho fail to comply with pregnancy checks or forced intrauterin contraceptive devices, sterilizations and even abortions. The result is that the birth rates in Uyghur area have dropped by over 60% in last three years among China’s Muslim population, even as it moves Han Chinese there.
For instance, a 37-year-old Uyghur women who lived in Kazakh and married Kazakh citizen was caught by the Chinese Police after she returned to her homeland, East Turkistan. She was forced to bring her two children from Kazakhstan, when she refused, they threatened to punish her brother. As soon as she brought her kids, they canceled their passport and confiscated their phone. Almost every night she was interrogated by the police, her home was also raided. They took her to the hospital and forced her to have an abortion as she already had 2 children, and said if she’ll refuse they will punish her brother.
The women survivor of the camp also made a statement that the female prisoners were given unfamiliar pills and liquid medicine due to which there was a constant dizziness. They were injected every 10 days. The women stopped having their menstrual cycle. All of the female prisoners has handcuffs and chains on their feet. The survivor also said that they interrogated and tortured us for 24 hours to 48 hours without interruption. The interrogated once had their nails removed, body was bruised with beating, had electic shock marks, whip marks and blood stains all over the body.
As million of Uyghurs were forcibly deported to camps, their children became the biggest victim. The Chinese government places Uyghur children to orphanages in China and separate them from their families. From 6-month-old breastfeeding baby to 12 year olds were torn away from their families. They kept them in a closed building where not even birds can enter. In the Chinese state-run orphanages, the Chinese Communist administration teach then to forget their own language, religious and cultural values and raises them with the philosophy of communist education.
Conclusion
The whole world is fighting hard to defeat the Covid-19 vuris, which came out of China and rapidly spread due to the negligence of the Beiging administration. Despite this the Chinese Government continues to oppress the Uyghur Turks and other Muslim communities.The virus gives us enough evidence that how China manipulates the world. This is an international case and it is high time that all countries, especially the Islamic world should act before its too late. It is important that United Nations and other International organizations take the necesaary measures, investigatw the acts of genocide committed against the Uyghurs and take action against China.
Frequently Asked questions.
- Who are Uyghurs?
Ans. The largest Turkic speaking muslim population living in China’s autonomous region Xinjiang.
- What is the current situation in Xinjiang?
Ans. There have been a marked rise of Islamphobia in China. The Uyghurs are forcibly sent to detention camps and are tortured there. The Uyghur women there are forced to get aboortions.
- Is it true that even intelllectuals are detained by the Chinese government?
Ans. Yes, its true, more than 100 Uyghur intelleuctuals incuding poets, writers, journalists, and university professors who speak out against oppressions are detained.
- What is the ‘Double Relative Program’ of Chinese government all about?
Ans. In the ‘Double Relative Program’ the Beijing government sends Han Chinese cadres to East Turkistan, to stay at Uyghur homes as guests and control their daily life. The ‘Double Relative Program’ has also led to ‘governement sponsored mass rape’. The women’s whose husbands are in the camp are forced to share the same bed with uninvited chinese guests.
- What is happening with the Uyghur womens?
Ans. The Uyghur girls are forcibly married to Han Chinese men. The Chinese government is offering Han Chinese men money, jobs and free homes for these arranged forceful marriages.
Refrences
- https://campaignforuyghurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Genocide_Report_-English.pdf
- https://www.timesnownews.com/international/article/activist-approaches-islamic-community-to-protect-uyghur-muslims-from-pakistani-chinese-oppression/647825
- https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/china-conducting-mass-sterilization-muslim-minorities-amount-genocide/story?id=71519132
