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Increased Persecution of Uyghurs under the Global War on Terror

Press release – For immediate release
11 September 2011
Contact:  World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
Tel. 0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or e-mail [email protected]

Under the global war on terror, launched after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the oppression of the Uyghur people has drastically increased. “The Chinese authorities found in 9/11 the perfect excuse to crackdown on all forms of peaceful political, social and cultural Uyghur dissent and to attribute any out spark of violence in the region to the “three forces” of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism,“ said WUC President Rebiya Kadeer today. Initially, the Chinese government was encouraged in its position through the detention of 22 Uyghurs in Guantanamo. Later, the 22 men were all declared innocent and a part from five individuals all Uyghurs have been resettled – against the strong opposition from China – to third countries.

According to a recent report published by AP, more than 7,000 people, mostly in East Turkestan, have been arrested under the charge of “endangering state security” (ESS) in the last decade. The Chinese authorities have regularly and arbitrarily used this vague provision to criminalize Uyghurs’ peaceful exercise of their human rights and prosecute and imprison them. Crimes of ESS (also translated as “endangering national security”) are defined in articles 102-113 of the PRC Criminal Law. Many of them carry the possibility of life imprisonment and capital punishment.  ESS crimes include, among other acts, “subversion of state power”, “separatism” and “leaking state secrets.” The authorities’ use of the ESS charge against Uyghurs has drastically increased over the last ten years. As an example: according to official numbers published in January 2011, 376 trials had been conducted in 2010 for individuals charged with “endangering state security” in a series of cases. According to the Dui Hua Foundation “the number of defendants is likely to be much higher [than 376]. Court figures from East Turkestan in the period from 1998 to 2003 show that there were more than three defendants, on average, in ESS cases. So, it is very likely that courts in East Turkestan tried more than 1,000 defendants for ESS in 2010—and it is safe to conclude that the overwhelming majority were convicted.In addition, the WUC believes that these trials did not respond to international law standards. Past trials have shown that Uyghurs are not allowed to use a lawyer of their choice or to prepare and conduct a defence and in many cases, courts are not judging independently and impartially, but influenced by political ideologies.

A part from the drastically increased number of arrested and sentenced Uyghurs in the past ten years, Uyghurs fleeing suppression in East Turkestan are in extreme risk of being deported back to China. In the past decade, Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers have been forcibly deported – in flagrant violation of both national deportation procedures and international law standards – from countries with strong trade and diplomatic ties to China: Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Burma/Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan. Since 2001, at least 180 Uyghurs have been extradited back to China. Apparently, Chinese authorities applied pressure on these governments to deport Uyghurs without respect for their rights, including the right to seek asylum, which represent, among others, a violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol to which China is a party. After their return, they disappeared, were detained, or sentenced to long prison terms and death, and some were even executed. The Chinese authorities accused all extradited Uyghurs under false and fabricated charges of being “terrorists” or of having been involved in “criminal” activities. Countries that handed over Uyghur refugees to Chinese authorities were granted with economic and diplomatic benefits.

The past decade has proved that the Chinese government is misusing the fight against terrorism to curb Uyghur dissent and silence political opponents. While the number of protests against government policies is increasing day by day in the whole country, only Uyghur protests are labelled as “terrorism.” The Chinese authorities regularly use the fact that the Uyghurs are Muslim to appeal to racist stereotypes and portray the Uyghurs as religious extremists and terrorists.  However, Uyghurs have long practised a moderate, traditional form of Sunni Islam, and scholars and journalists have noted that religious extremism has no roots in Uyghurs’ practice of Islam.

At the same time, the Chinese government has failed to address the root causes of tensions in East Turkestan, namely, the crackdown on Uyghur culture, identity, freedom of expression and religion, as well as the ongoing economic discrimination. While the Chinese government intends to prevent social and ethnic tensions in the region through vast economic development programs and increased security measures, the self-imposed goal of achieving “long-term stability” in East Turkestan is far from being reached. However, the situation on ground will remain unchanged as long as the Chinese government keeps hiding behind a false rhetoric of social harmony and ignoring the real problems and challenges in the region.

The WUC calls on the international community to support Uyghurs´ struggle for human rights and democracy and work actively for the protection of Uyghurs both within and outside China.

The WUC also urges the Chinese authorities to provide the current locations, including places of detention, of the extradited Uyghurs and charges, if any, that have been made against them. The Chinese government must also allow independent observers to attend the trials against them in case they are charged. In addition, international organizations must get access to those detained to monitor their detention conditions and treatment.