4/12/2008

China campagning ...

China campagning against Rebiya Kadeer and WUC
16 March 2007 – UNPO, Rafto, Human Rights
in China, Society for Threatened Peoples, Non-violent
Radical Party, Human Rights House Foundation and
No Peace Without Justice have issued a Joint Statement
in response to concerns raised by the Mission of the People’s
Republic of China to the European Union.


China campagning against
Rebiya Kadeer and WUC

16 March 2007 – UNPO, Rafto,
Human Rights in China, Society
for Threatened Peoples,
Non-violent Radical Party,
Human Rights House
Foundation and No Peace
Without Justice have issued
a Joint Statement in response
to concerns raised by the
Mission of the People’s Republic
of China to the European Union



Joint Statement

Human Rights and East Turkestan

[Issued 16/03/2007]

A response to concerns raised by
the Mission of the People’s Republic

of China
to the European Union in the News Bulletin

No. 17, 06/03/2007

The Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the

European Union recently issued a News Bulletin warning

of the damage that EU-China relations might suffer

if Members of the European Parliament continue to

meet with representatives of the World Uyghur

Congress (WUC) and its leader Ms. Rebiya Kadeer.

The Bulletin’s main allegation is that WUC pursues

a platform of secessionism through acts of terrorism

and by “fanning the flames of religious fanaticism”.

This is by now a familiar charge, and a line of argument

that has been relentlessly pursued since the dawn of the

“war on terror” whenever Chinese authorities are

confronted with the human rights violations and

restrictions that characterise the East Turkestan

of today.

Chinese authorities have resolved to “strike hard”

against voices of opposition in East Turkestan.

Religious freedoms are extensively curtailed,

with Imams subject to strict censure and repairs

to many of their mosques forbidden; the arrests

that follow simple posters of dissent testify to the

restrictions imposed on freedoms of speech;

and the widespread torture and execution of

activists of opposition, even for non-violent

activities, breeds an atmosphere of fear and

desperation. These human rights violations

have been documented in countless reports

by groups such as Amnesty International,

Human Rights Watch, and the Unrepresented

Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO),

and the European Parliament has on several

occasions acknowledged Europe’s obligation

to hold Chinese authorities accountable.

Experience has shown that the ongoing oppression

of East Turkestan has not yielded the desired

stability in the region. Rather, the quest for

stability ought to be attained in partnership

with local groups which know first hand the

grief that terror breeds, and which offer a

strong platform upon which to build the

democratic structures which undermine

the support and credibility of acts of violence.

This is the political future towards which

WUC works.

China’s efforts to link Rebiya Kadeer and the WUC to

acts of terrorism have long failed to convince the

international community, and stand directly opposed

to the organisation’s stated commitment to principles

of democracy and non-violence. The United Nations

does not list the organisation amongst known supporters

of terrorism, and its members have worked tirelessly in

pursuit of an end to the circle of violence that plagues

their homeland. The local justice system in East

Turkestan continues to rely on confessions

extracted during torture, and the frequent

execution of local activists continues to

undermine the credibility of attempts to

forge a link between acts of terror and

local rights groups.

Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, President of WUC,

was herself amongst the victims of China’s

efforts to bring “stability” to East Turkestan.

Once a decorated and wealthy business woman,

Ms. Kadeer’s fortunes reversed when she joined

the cause of these local rights groups. An eight-year

sentence followed her conviction for “undermining

state security”, a charge justified on the grounds

that she had sent her exiled husband a clipping

from a local newspaper. An intensive international

campaign secured her release, after which she

continued to advocate the human rights of the

people of East Turkestan despite, as the Bulletin

notes, a warning from Chinese authorities.

Her work has subsequently earned her the

recognition of a Rafto Prize and several

nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ms. Kadeer’s struggle remains however

an intensely personal one, as although

she has secured her own release, Chinese

authorities have turned to her children who

remain in East Turkestan, subjecting them to

torture and long prison sentences.

China’s officials cite their deference to United Nations

resolutions concerning terrorism. Paramount amongst

these resolutions is however the principles that the global

campaign against these crimes must not come at the cost

of the advances that have been made towards

securing the fundamental human rights and

freedoms of all individuals. These are concerns

conspicuously absent from the Shanghai Convention

against “Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism”,

but which constitute the very core of the democratic

legacy of which Europe is rightly proud.

These are also the principles towards

which WUC work through the leadership

of Ms. Kadeer – work we are proud to support.

We, the undersigned, therefore urge all Members

of the European Parliament and Officials of the

European Union to guide China’s process

of modernisation and democratisation through

example; emphasising your freedom to listen

and learn from both sides of a dispute;

reminding Chinese officials that standards

of justice demand charges of terrorism be

examined by open and transparent institutions,

and that until the opposite is proved, individuals

are presumed innocent; and stressing that the

real threat to the China-EU strategic partnership

comes not from meetings with political opposition,

\but from China’s failure to abide by the standards

of justice and human rights that stand at the very

core of the European Union.

Signed by:

UNPO - Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
The Rafto Foundation
Human Rights in China
Society for Threatened Peoples
Non-violent Radical Party
Human Rights House Foundation
No Peace Without Justi


Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια: