World Uyghur Congress, 22 March 2019

WUC Calls on Italian Government to Put Human Rights First During Xi Jinping’s Visit

In a press release issued on Friday March 22nd, the WUC called on the Italian government to not abandon human rights concerns for the sake of economic relations with China. Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Italy on Friday to meet with the Italian government. Controversy surrounds the visit, as Italy is expected to sign on to China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative on March 23rd, making them the first G7 country to formally do so.

The WUC urged the Italian government to learn from the experiences of other countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Many countries who have signed on have quickly found themselves the recipient of predatory loans and investments which have fostered a dependency on China. The Chinese gov has used the BRI and the promise of investments to silence states from speaking out about the crimes against humanity and systematic human rights violations being perpetrated against Uyghurs, Tibetans and Chinese citizens.

In recognition of how serious the situation in East Turkistan is, the WUC called on the Italian government and President Giuseppe Conte to instead use this meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to raise human rights issues and hold China accountable for its crimes against humanity.

The Uyghur and Tibetan communities also held a joint demonstration in Rome to call on the Italy to hold China accountable for its persecution and human rights abuses of Uyghurs and Tibetans. WUC representative Shahrezad Ghayrat participated in the protest and delivered a speech reiterating the call for the Italian government to put human rights first.

The WUC has also signed onto a joint appeal demanding that the internment camps be closed and urging national governments to pass legislation similar to the “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act” in response to China’ serious human rights abuses against Uyghurs. The appeal is signed by Uyghur leaders around the world in addition to high profile activists, Nobel Prize Laureates, former government ministers and many others. The appeal will be circulated in the Italian press during Xi Jinping’s visit to Italy.

China Invites EU Diplomats to Visit East Turkistan

In a significant development, the Chinese government has reportedly invited Beijing-based EU diplomats and officials to visit East Turkistan and inspect some of the camp facilities. So far, only China’s allies and sympathetic journalists have been brought on the propaganda tours of the camps, as China has attempted to silence criticism of its treatment of Uyghurs, so the invitation of EU diplomats, many of whom have been critical about the camps, is an important step. Representatives from the EU’s foreign policy wing the European External Action Service, had gone on a tour of the facilities in January 2019, but were quoted saying it had not allayed their concerns about the camps.

The WUC has repeatedly called for a transparent and independent investigation into the camps with unfettered access to the camps themselves and to potential witnesses. Any investigatory visit by EU diplomats must meet these basic standards to see the reality of the situation and to avoid being instrumentalised for Chinese propaganda.

Norwegian Oil Fund’s Investment in Chinese Surveillance Companies Criticized

The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten published an excellent article highlighting that the Norwegian Oil Fund invested heavily in Chinese surveillance companies Hikvision and Dahua, who played a major part in setting up the dystopian surveillance and security apparatus in East Turkistan. These companies have been directly involved in China’s crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Uyghur people and have facilitated the Chinese government in committing systematic human rights abuses, including the mass arbitrary detention of over 1 million Uyghurs in internment camps across East Turkistan

The Norwegian Oil Fund’s investment in these companies violates its own commitments to uphold a high ethical standard and to respect human rights, as well as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Adiljan Abdurehim from the Norwegian Uyghur Committee was quoted in the article, saying, “It is unethical that the Oil Fund continues to make money from companies directly involved in what is described as” crimes against humanity” by many international observers”.

Uyghur Freedom Rally to Be Held on April 6th in Washington D.C.

On April 6th the Uyghur community in North American numerous others will hold a large scale demonstration to urge swift action by the U.S. Congress, U.S. Administration, and the international community to address the crisis in East Turkistan. It is time for international action to end Chinese government’s brutal repression of the Uyghur people. In particular, the rally intends to garner support for the legislative initiatives Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and the UIGHUR Act.

Attendees will be joined by Members of Congress and speakers from numerous civil society organizations including Amnesty International, World Uyghur Congress, Uyghur American Association, Uyghur Human Rights Project, the Uyghur American Association, Campaign for Uyghurs, Uyghur Academy USA, Uyghur Rally, International Campaign for Tibet, Soundvision, and Burma Task Force.

The Rally will take take place at Freedom Plaza — 1455 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20004 on Saturday, April 6, 2019, at 1:00 PM. We urge all those who are concerned about the situation in East Turkistan to attend.

EU High Representative Mogherini Says EU Will Raise Concerns With China ‘At All Levels’ in Answers to Parliamentary Question

In response to a parliamentary question asked by 6 Members of the European Parliament, the EU High Rep for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini said the EU will continue to raise concerns about the situation in East Turkistan with the Chinese government at all levels. The WUC hopes to see this reflected at the upcoming EU-China Summit and Human Rights dialogue.

The response also states that an EEAS delegation went to East Turkistan in January 2019 on a supervised visit by the Chinese government and that the visit “did not invalidate the EU’s concerns regarding the human rights situation” in East Turkistan.

Amnesty International Launches Campaign Calling for Release of Camp Detainee Hankezi Zikeli

This week, Amnesty International launched a campaign calling for the Chinese government to immediately release camp detainee Hankezi Zikeli from arbitrary detention. Ms. Zikeli is the aunt of prominent Radio Free Asia reporter Gulchehra Hoja, who had much of her family detained in the camps in retaliation for reporting on the true situation in East Turkistan.

Ms. Zikeli’s mental and physical health are at significant risk after it was reported she had suffered a nervous breakdown. She is one of 25 relatives of Ms. Hoja’s who have been detained in the camps since January 2018. The WUC echoes Amnesty International’s call to release all of Ms. Hoja’s arbitrarily detained relatives.

WUC President Speaks at Event in the European Parliament

WUC President Dolkun Isa participated and spoke at an event in the European Parliament this week focused on the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs in internment camps in China. Mr. Isa spoke about the current situation in East Turkistan, shared his personal story of loss with regards to the camps and gave concrete recommendations for the EU to take action to close the camps and ease the suffering of the Uyghur people.

The event was hosted by MEP Thomas Mann and was well attended by European parliamentarians, activists, scholars and the local Uyghur community. The event assembled an impressive range of speakers who shared their expertise about the situation in East Turkistan and collectively called for more action to be taken by the EU.