Geneva: Uyghurs, Tibetans protest against human rights violations by China
Business Standard, 17 September 2016
Geneva — The members of the Uyghur and Tibetan communities in Europe staged a protest on Friday in front of the United Nations headquarters here, to highlight the ongoing human rights violations against the Uyghurs and the Tibetans in China.
The demonstration consisted of a march of around 2000 people from Palais Wilson to the Broken Chair Monument across from the Palais des Nations.
“We are protesting today against the wave of repression in Tibet particular in terms of freedom of religion. There is a very difficult situation for Tibet Buddhists practitioners.
Here in Geneva the Tibetans and their supporters want to show and demonstrate to the world that this is an important issue and must not be overlooked,” Kai Mueller, Executive Director of the International Campaign for Tibet told ANI.
Being asked about their demands from the United Nations and the international community, Mueller said, “The United Nations must be very-very clear vis-a-vis the Chinese Government in terms of the restrictions and the freedom of religion in particular. Countries must seek access to Tibet and also that United Nations Expert should have clear access to Tibet and the Chinese Government must allow this because it’s their duty.”
Earlier in a statement, Secretary General of the World Uyghur Congress, Dolkun Isa said, “The demonstration comes amid tremendous pressure against the Uyghur community in East Turkestan in terms of religious freedom and freedom of movement. Uyghurs continue to be detained and sentenced simply for religious practice conducted in their own homes – religious practice outside state-sanctioned mosques is now considered illegal,” in a statement.
“China’s recently adopted ‘Anti-Terror’ Law has also legitimized continued collective punishment under the guise of security,” the statement added.
Isa alleged that China is using the anti-terror law to curtail all peaceful and religious activities and is using its power in the Security Council to suppress the voice of the Tibetans.
“China is a member of the Security Council. Chinese Government uses this opportunity to try and block voices of Tibetans. China implemented anti-terrorist law on January 1 and uses this law to curtail all the peaceful activities, religious practices and all other activities are labelled as terrorists activities. That’s why we are all coming together and raising a strong voice against the Chinese government and its policies towards Tibetans and we ask that the United Nations and all the democratic nations should pressurize China to respect the international law and give Tibetans there right,” he told ANI.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)