In the second half of the twentieth century, as we reluctantly recall, the Nazis and the Soviets had maliciously stained the sanctity of human lives and history itself after the bestial and fiendish decimation of millions of souls.
We made a vow never to allow history to repeat itself. World War 2 resulted in the introduction of the European Convention on Human Rights by the Council of Europe as well as the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in order to protect human rights and uphold the rule of law.
Unfortunately, as much as we have tried to champion the doctrine of human rights, humans are not infallible and are often Machiavellian in nature. The recent reports of China’s intention of exterminating Uyghurs of Xinjiang as a separate ethnic entity off the face of this Earth is deeply concerning and one can only wish it was truly a nightmare.
However, as we fend off these Holocaust echoes haunting us as well as the evocation of the spectre of the Nazis, we must advocate and trumpet our support towards the freedom that the Uyghurs deserve.
THE UYGHERS IN CHINA ARE BEING PLACED IN INTERNMENT CAMPS
In China’s Uyghurs Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China’s biggest province, it is reported to have at least 3 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities detained in internment camps. Uyghurs are a Turkic minority ethnic group who are Muslims and “regard themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations”. Xinjiang is home to about 11 million Uyghurs who now face a cultural threat by the Communist Party of China led by Xi Jinping. The figures lead us to a horrifying number of anywhere between 1 in 10 and 1 in 4 of the Uyghur population who are being detained for their ethnicity.
Driving the Uyghurs into a state of oppression, they are forced to abandon their creed and their culture. The Chinese authorities have imposed stringent restrictions inhibiting them from exercising their fundamental human rights, including their freedom to religion. However, the Chinese governments have claimed multiple times that their internment camps are merely re-education camps as “vocational training centres” or “boarding schools” while justifying its purpose in the name of “eradicating terrorism”. Human rights activists have described it to be a form of “ethnic cleansing”.
CHINA CONTINUES TO DENY THE OBVIOUS
How did the news of the concentration camp unravel? While it took years before the reports about the Nazi concentration camps or the Soviet gulag camp surfaced, it only took months before the world began to learn of the existence of these camps and the extent of religious indoctrination injected into the oppressed Uyghurs. While China has been consistently defending themselves by saying that their camps offer “voluntary education and training,” satellite images shared on the Internet, and a trove of leaked documents have exposed how the Uyghurs are incarcerated, indoctrinated, and punished. China has very persistently tried to ram home that the documents were fake news and that their aim was to eradicate extremism by offering these trainings.
Leaked documents were made to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) which include a nine-page memo made by Zhu Hailun, then deputy-secretary of Xinjiang’s Communist Party and the region’s top security official, to the authorities controlling the camp. The instructions were emphatic that the camps “should be run as high security prisons, with strict discipline, punishments and no escapes” which contradicted China’s assertation that their camps emphasises on and exercises the practice of one’s own volition. The memo includes orders to “never allow escapes, increase discipline and punishment of behavioural violations, promote repentance and confession, make remedial Mandarin studies the top priority, encourage students to truly transform, and ensure full video surveillance coverage of dormitories and classrooms free of blind spots”. The memo further details how detainees will only be released if they can demonstrate that they have completely changed their behaviour, language, and religion. It is reported that apart from the violence, Uyghurs are being electric shocked, fingernails being pulled out, and women are being sexually assaulted and beaten. The Chinese authorities are resolved to “transform” these Uyghurs, both mind and in soul, and basically force them to become loyal to the Communist Party.
WHY XINJIANG?
Also known as East Turkestan to most Uyghurs, Xinjiang comprises of 45% Uyghurs and 40% Hans. The region has been described by Human Rights Watch as under a “multi-tiered system of surveillance, control and suppression of religious activity perpetrated by state authorities,” one which only the Nazis would have yearned for. The Chinese government have been cracking down on the Uyghurs for years now but was amplified post 9/11 where they had taken the advantage to label any opposition to the Chinese supremacy as “Islamic terrorism”. For years now they have painted a very sordid and diabolical picture of the Uyghurs and have been condemning them to be potential terrorists, extremists and separatists. Uyghur parents are banned from naming their sons “Muhammad”, Uyghur employees are banned from fasting during Ramadan, and Uyghur Muslim women are not permitted to wear face veils in public; the horrifying list goes on.
With adults and children gradually disappearing and being sent to the camps, it is unsettling and daunting to think about the extent the authoritarian powers of the government have against the Uyghurs. China, to this day, remains a terrifyingly powerful regime, leaving little that can be done to help the Uyghurs.
WHAT IS BEING DONE FOR THE UYGHURS?
In a joint statement, 22 nations including the UK, France, and Canada signed a letter in July, addressed to the UN with an objective of calling on China to put an end to its detention programme in Xinjiang and condemning its actions. The UK has urged China to allow the UN observers “immediate and unfettered access to the region”. The US has recently passed an act restricting the sale of surveillance technology to China and introducing sanctions against China officials who are involved in the incarceration of Uyghurs.
On the other hand, just when we thought we had already seen humanity at its lowest point, 37 other nations riposted to the Western criticisms by defending China’s vile treatment of the Uyghurs. It is deeply harrowing to see that the majority of these hatemongers are Muslim countries. In contrast, not one of the 22 nations is a Muslim-majority state. Instead, the 37 nations have lauded China for its “remarkable achievements in the field of human rights” and particularly its “contribution to protecting and promoting human rights through development”.
As they concur with China’s repressive methods, it is concerning to see the possibility of these 37 countries adopting the same propaganda and approach in their regime. They are of the view that China is taking the appropriate de-radicalization measures in countering terrorism by setting up these vocational educational centres. The Crown Price of Saudi Arabia, MBS, even went so far as defending China’s purported right to arbitrarily detain Uyghurs in camps for anti-terror purposes.
It is now a cultural onslaught in Xinjiang. Islam is considered to be a virus and believers of the religion are being harshly persecuted. They are losing their voice to fight and are disenfranchised from their right to religion. While the camps are slowly swallowing these Uyghurs, it is disheartening to see the UN’s silence over the matter. Coupled with the disturbing figure of pro-China countries, the future of human rights is clearly being threatened. Although China is indeed losing international stance, there is no answer to the question of when the genocide will end. In the name of civilisation and humanity, we need to stand firm in our stance against the oppression of the Uyghurs.
Andrea is an aspiring barrister, currently undertaking the Bar course. Passionate about Human Rights, Andrea acknowledges the distressing deprivation of rights in this world and endeavors to spread awareness through writing.