The Uncared-for Plight of Uighur Muslims in China | Guest Post by Mahak Agarwal

  

Seven decades ago, the world witnessed a dreadful Human Rights violation. Hitler's regime pledged to wipe out every human belonging to the Jewish sect residing on the German Land. People were tormented, put in concentration camps, locked in gas chambers, and sometimes even executed publicly. After some of those deadly years, the international community lambasted Hitler's actions and pledged to prevent targeted hate crimes against communities. 

 

Seventy years later, here we are again. With its head buried in the sand, the international community chose to remain silent while Uighur Muslims in China face religious, cultural, and ethnic Genocide.

 

China, mainly dominated by the Han Chinese community, is also home to several ethnic minorities. The Uighurs are one such ethnic community, residing in Xinjiang province, which is also the largest autonomous province of China. Given the nature of China's powerful dictatorship regime, even a large population of around 10 million Uighurs living in this region could not escape the abominable cruelty that it subjects these people to.

There's no denying that the Dragon's actions, on many fronts, are becoming inhumane and barbaric. 

 

Who are Uighurs?

Uighurs are Sunni sect Muslims of Turkish ethnicity, recognized as native to the Xinjiang region. They constitute around 45% of the population of this region. They declared themselves independent in the 20th century; China took control of the area in 1949. Since then, the process of Sinicization (a method of bringing people of non-Chinese descent under the influence of Chinese culture) is getting into high gear. 

 

A look into Xinjiang Province

Xinjiang, as mentioned earlier, is the largest autonomous province of China. Since its annexation, the Chinese have been cautious about protecting Xinjiang due to its strategic importance. Landlocked from all sides, it is home to China's most important resources, i.e., one-third of China's natural gas and oil reserves, 60% of China's total cotton output, 38% of China's coal reserves, to name a few. Xinjiang sits at the heart of China's Belt and Road Initiative and acts as Beijing's gateway to Europe and Central Asia. This may be one reason for the insecurity of China's Communist Party (CCP) of lending out this region to a community of non-Chinese ethnicity. 

 

China's actions 

To be precise and apt: It is mercilessly killing, torturing, and wiping off a whole class. The persecution has been going on for a long time now. From demolishing over ten-thousand mosques to making Uighurs a victim of forced assimilation, CCP has manifested its diabolical character to the world. Humanity has again been forgotten as Uighurs are being looked down on by China's ruling party. 

 

The Uighur Muslims have been put in concentration camps, popularly called by CCP as "Re-Education Camps," "Joyful Training Schools," where Uighurs are forced to speak and act Chinese. In the name of 'Correcting Extremist Behaviour,' China subjects these Muslims to political indoctrination. The state surveillance system in the region doesn't let the Muslims carry out their religious and traditional practices. People aren't allowed to chant the Quran; men and women can't wear their formal dresses. Such is the stolidity exhibited in this country, seen nowhere else.

 

In order to shrink the Uighur population, women are either made to sleep with Han-Chinese men or are subjected to forced sterilization or abortion. What is it, if not a 'State-sanctioned rape'?

 

And the effects of this "Population Shrink Drive," as we may call it, is real. The number of Uighurs living in Xinjiang was 76% of the population back in 1949; it has now been reduced to just 40%. Out of around 10 million Muslims living in the region, about 2 million are behind bars for no rhyme or reason. Even those moving freely are under high state surveillance, curbing freedom in any form. 

 

The stance of the international community

The Islamic nations, the so-called 'Defenders of Faith,' measure the importance of brethren by China's cheques. Out of the 37 Muslim-majority countries that back Chinese suppression, 14 are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. OIC, an organization that calls itself 'Collective voice of Muslims' worldwide, too genuflected to the CCP for its money. It doesn't seem to have enough audacity to question the Dragon lest it fires back at them. Even countries like Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia, which have a record of speaking for Muslim Rights worldwide, have silenced themselves in front of China.

 

The whole world sits tongue-tied today, raising a meek voice, if at all, while Uighurs' sufferings are becoming unendurable each day.

 

Applicable international laws 

The world took a wake-up call after the Second World War and for the first time codified the crime of Genocide at an international level.

 

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), as it stands today, was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1948. Its adoption not only exhibited the determination of the world to formulate resilient international human rights but also a resolute decision to safeguard each being from such atrocities.

 

This convention is binding on countries and obligates them to prevent Genocide, enact relevant legislation, and punish perpetrators. China, being a party to the Genocide Convention, is obligated to act in line with the convention, and if it doesn't, the world has the right to question and punish China for its sinful acts.

 

The Road Ahead

Turning a blind eye to the worst Human Rights violation of its time will put one and all in dire straits. The world cannot compensate for what happened with Jews seven decades ago, but it can surely stop CCP from setting another such horrifying example for generations to come. It's time the international community deterred and warned China of its sinful crime.

 

As a believer in meliorism, I opine that the world can still indulge in rectification without further ado, and humanity will follow. 

 

9 December, this year, marks the 70th anniversary of the Genocide Convention and is celebrated as International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. This year, let's resurrect the pledge of 'NEVER AGAIN' that the world adopted 70 years back. It's correctly said - "The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.