China-Uyghur Dialogue

China-Uyghur Dialogue

Monday, 29 March 2010
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"Uyghurs Call for Dialogue with China – Implementation of the Chinese Constitution to Safeguard and Protect the Rights of the Uyghur people"
European Parliament 29 – 30 April 2010

Mr. Niccolò Rinaldi MEP and Mr. Ivo Vajgl MEP are convening a two-day conference entitled ‘Dialogue with China – Implementation of the Chinese Constitution to Safeguard and Protect the Rights of the Uyghur People’ at the European Parliament in Brussels on 29-30 April 2010 in collaboration with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC).

The conference will be opened by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, President of the WUC, before international experts, MEPs, and researchers enter into a comprehensive presentation and discussion of human rights and minority protection, Chinese constitutional rights and Uyghur – Chinese relations.

A conference report will be made publicly available at the close of the event, which will contain transcripts of the panellists’ contributions.

A detailed programme of the conference will be available soon.

Registration required.
Place and date of event:
29 – 30 April 2010
European Parliament
60, rue Wiertz
Altiero Spinelli Building
Room A3 G2
http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10887/81/

For media queries please contact:
Andrew Swan
+32 (0)472 577 518
aswan@unpo.org

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A press conference will take place on: Thursday 29 April 2010, 13.30 - 14.00h
Room ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA (PHS 0A50), European Parliament

For registration please send an email with your full name, date of birth and place of residence to:
jbrandt@unpo.org

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Deadline for registration: 21 April 2010

Further information on the conference:
Press release SAVE THE DATE 07 April 2010 English version
Press release SAVE THE DATE 07 April 2010 Turkish version

UAA thanks the Swiss government on the arrival of two Uyghur brothers to Switzerland

March 26, 2010

The Uyghur American Association (UAA) expresses its gratitude to Swiss authorities following the March 23 arrival of Bahtiyar Mahmud and Arkin Mahmud to Switzerland. The two brothers, who were held without charge at the Guantanamo Bay detention center since 2002, will be resettled in the Swiss canton of Jura. The two men were reportedly welcomed by high-level Swiss officials during a ceremony at the Zurich airport.

“Today is a great day for the Uyghur people. We celebrate the resettlement of Bahtiyar and Arkin Mahmud, and thank the government of Switzerland for generously providing a home and refugee services to these two men,” said Uyghur democracy leader and UAA president Rebiya Kadeer. “We also thank the government of the United States for resettling Bahtiyar and Arkin in a free and democratic country, where they will be able to live the rest of their lives in peace.”

The Swiss Federal Council said in an official statement on February 3 that it had decided to accept the two men based on humanitarian reasons. Palau authorities had offered Bahtiyar Mahmud the opportunity to settle in Palau together with a group of other Uyghur detainees in 2009, but Bahtiyar rejected the offer. He opted to stay behind to look after his older brother Arkin, who has suffered from mental illness since arriving in Guantanamo and who was not given the choice of settling in Palau. Arkin had originally traveled to Afghanistan to search for his younger brother at the request of their mother. Bahtiyar had earlier gone to Afghanistan after fleeing a harsh crackdown in East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China.)

U.S. authorities have acknowledged for years that none of the Uyghurs held at Guantanamo pose a security threat and that all are non-enemy combatants. As early as 2003, most of the Uyghurs in Guantanamo were cleared for release. In 2008, U.S. congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle called for the release of the Guantanamo Uyghurs to the United States.

On March 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang expressed anger toward both American and Swiss authorities for “sheltering” Bahtiyar and Arkin Mahmud, saying that Chinese officials had “sent strong representations” to these countries. Earlier, China’s Foreign Ministry had issued stern warnings to the Swiss government not to accept Bahtiyar and Arkin, saying that a decision to accept the two men would damage Sino-Swiss relations.

Five other Uyghurs remain at Guantanamo Bay, following the transfer of six Uyghurs to Palau in November 2009 and four Uyghurs to Bermuda in June 2009. The Uyghur men in Palau have been pursuing language and vocational training, and those in Bermuda have been employed since shortly after their arrival in Bermuda. Bahtiyar and Arkin have indicated their commitment to learning French and seeking employment in Switzerland.

In 2006, five Uyghur men from Guantanamo were sent to Albania, where four of them have remained. One of the original group of five, Adel Hakimjan, traveled to Sweden, where his sister lives, in 2007, and he was later granted asylum by Swedish authorities. Before fleeing to Afghanistan, Hakimjan was imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities in East Turkestan. Among the four men remaining in Albania’s capital, Tirana, two have entered the restaurant business, and one has pursued an education in computer science at an American-funded university.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesmen have repeatedly reiterated the Chinese government’s opposition to the settlement of the Uyghur detainees in other countries, and have urged their repatriation to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The U.S. government has refused to send any Uyghurs from Guantanamo to the PRC, however, due to fears of execution, torture or other ill treatment at the hands of Chinese authorities. The PRC government has in recent years carried out a campaign of brutal persecution against the Uyghur population in East Turkestan in the name of the “war on terror”, regularly jailing and executing Uyghurs accused of acts of “terrorism, separatism and extremism” without providing evidence of their alleged crimes. PRC authorities have widely used accusations of terrorism to brand even peaceful Uyghurs who have expressed disagreement with government policies in East Turkestan.

PRC assurances regarding treatment of the Guantanamo Uyghurs cannot be taken seriously, as torture is rampant in Chinese prisons. Uyghurs in Chinese government custody often suffer from physical abuse and other maltreatment. The U.S. State Department and human rights organizations have documented the extensive use of torture on prisoners and detainees in the PRC, as well as a lack of any independent judicial or legal mechanisms that could provide oversight or redress. Following a visit to the PRC in late 2005, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak reported that torture and ill-treatment remained widespread throughout the PRC, and stated that Uyghurs and Tibetans, among other groups, were among those most frequently subjected to torture.

See also:
Swiss accept 2 Uighurs held by U.S. at Guantanamo
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/89094952.html
China opposes US move to relocate Uighur prisoners
http://www.zeenews.com/news614091.html
Media Advisory: Concern over the use of the inaccurate term "Chinese Muslim" to refer to Uyghurs
http://www.uhrp.org/articles/3616/1/Media-Advisory-Concern-over-the-use-of-the-inaccurate-term-quotChinese-Muslimquot-to-refer-to-Uyghurs/index.html
Swiss government accepts Uyghur brothers from Guantanamo
http://www.uhrp.org/articles/3525/1/Swiss-government-accepts-Uyghur-brothers-from-Guantanamo-/index.html
Attorney Discusses Uighur Brothers Detained at Guantanamo
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/video/2009/09/27/VI2009092702893.html

Swiss government accepts Uyghur brothers from Guantanamo

For immediate release
February 3, 2010, 6:15 pm EST
Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 349 1496

The Uyghur American Association (UAA) commends the Swiss government for its decision, announced February 3, to grant asylum to Bahtiyar Mahmud and Arkin Mahmud, two Uyghurs who have been detained without charge since 2002 at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The Swiss Federal Council said in an official statement that it made the decision based on humanitarian reasons.

“We welcome the Swiss government’s decision, which will allow Bahtiyar Mahmud and Arkin Mahmud to live free and productive lives,” said Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer. “The government and people of Switzerland have made an extraordinary humanitarian gesture, which is even more remarkable in the face of unrelenting pressure from China not to accept the two men. This gesture finally ends the saga of two brothers who simply sought to live in peace and liberty. I am also grateful to the United States government for not sending them to China, where they would face severe persecution.”

Palau authorities had offered Bahtiyar Mahmud the opportunity to settle in Palau together with a group of other Uyghur detainees in 2009, but Bahtiyar rejected the offer. He opted to stay behind to look after his older brother Arkin, who has suffered from mental illness since arriving in Guantanamo and who was not given the choice of settling in Palau. Arkin had originally traveled to Afghanistan to search for his younger brother at the request of their mother. Bahtiyar had earlier gone to Afghanistan after fleeing a harsh crackdown in East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China.)

Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf stated on February 3 that the country had found no problem with the security or health of the two brothers, and indicated that they had expressed a willingness to work once living in Switzerland. On February 2, a regional Swiss government had approved residence permits for the two men.

China’s Foreign Ministry recently issued stern warnings to the Swiss government not to accept Bahtiyar and Arkin, saying that a decision to accept the two men would damage Sino-Swiss relations.

It is unclear when the two brothers will arrive in Switzerland. Five other Uyghurs remain at Guantanamo Bay, following the transfer of six Uyghurs to Palau in November 2009 and four Uyghurs to Bermuda in June 2009.

In 2006, five Uyghur men from Guantanamo were sent to Albania, where four of them have remained. One of the original group of five, Adel Hakimjan, traveled to Sweden, where his sister lives, in 2007, and he was later granted asylum by Swedish authorities. Prior to his flight to Afghanistan, Hakimjan was imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities in East Turkestan. Among the four men remaining in Albania’s capital, Tirana, two have entered the restaurant business, and one has pursued an education in computer science at an American-funded university.

At a hearing on the persecution of Uyghurs held in June 2009 in the U.S. Congress, Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee, said that Uyghurs “are a peace loving people who seek only civil rights.” Fellow congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) stated that “Uyghurs are not enemy combatants.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesmen have repeatedly reiterated the Chinese government’s opposition to the settlement of the Uyghur detainees in other countries, and have urged their repatriation to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The U.S. government has refused to send any Uyghurs from Guantanamo to the PRC, however, due to fears of execution, torture or other ill treatment at the hands of Chinese authorities. The PRC government has in recent years carried out a campaign of extremely brutal persecution against the Uyghur population in East Turkestan in the name of the “war on terror”, regularly jailing and executing Uyghurs accused of acts of “terrorism, separatism and extremism” without providing evidence of their alleged crimes.

PRC authorities have widely used accusations of terrorism to brand even peaceful Uyghurs who have expressed disagreement with government policies in East Turkestan.

PRC assurances regarding treatment of the Guantanamo Uyghurs cannot be taken seriously, as torture is rampant in Chinese prisons. Uyghurs in Chinese government custody often suffer from physical abuse and other maltreatment. The U.S. State Department and human rights organizations have documented the extensive use of torture on prisoners and detainees in the PRC, as well as a lack of any independent judicial or legal mechanisms that could provide oversight or redress.

Following a visit to the PRC in late 2005, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak reported that torture and ill-treatment remained widespread throughout the PRC, and stated that Uyghurs and Tibetans, among other groups, were among those most frequently subjected to torture.

Background of Uyghurs held at Guantanamo
On October 7, 2001, the U.S.-initiated Operation Enduring Freedom found the Uyghur refugees in Afghanistan in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once coalition bombing started, the twenty-two Uyghurs later detained in Guantanamo escaped to Pakistan. None of these men were picked up on a battlefield, and most of them were captured by Pakistani bounty hunters and sold to American forces for $5,000 each.

Since their detention, the U.S. government has determined that all of the Uyghurs in Guantanamo are non-enemy combatants. As early as 2003, most of the Uyghurs in Guantanamo were cleared for release. In 2008, U.S. congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle called for the release of the Guantanamo Uyghurs to the United States. In a landmark ruling on October 7, 2008 U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina paroled the remaining 17 Uyghurs detained at Guantanamo Bay into the United States. On appeal, a temporary stay was issued on the ruling on October 8, 2008. On February 18, 2009, the D.C. Circuit Court reversed the lower court’s decision. In April, 2009, the Uyghurs asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case, and in October 2009 the Supreme Court agreed to hear their appeal.
See also:

Switzerland accepts two Uighurs from Guantanamo
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5idiihsiu7e5Dap1WyvgzJ9bPf8tw
Swiss taking Uighur brothers held by US since 2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020302847.html
Attorney Discusses Uighur Brothers Detained at Guantanamo
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/video/2009/09/27/VI2009092702893.html




The UAA has undertaken the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) for the purpose of promoting improved human rights conditions for Uyghurs and other indigenous groups in East Turkestan, on the premise that the assurance of basic human rights will facilitate the realization of the community’s democratic aspirations.

Uyghur Human Rights Project
Uyghur American Association
1701 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: +1 (202) 349 1496
Fax: +1 (202) 349 1491
info[at]uyghuramerican.org
www.uhrp.org
www.uyghuramerican.org

CAMBODIA: Pressure grows over Uyghur asylum seekers

PHNOM PENH, 17 December 2009 (IRIN)

- Cambodia is facing mounting pressure over the fate of 22 Uyghurs who fled China to avoid prosecution for their alleged involvement in violent protests earlier this year. Aided by an underground network of Christian missionaries, the group covertly crossed China’s southern border into Vietnam and then Cambodia in recent weeks, according to the Uyghur American Association (UAA), a US-based advocacy group.

In Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, the whereabouts and condition of the group remains unknown. Besides the Philippines, Cambodia is the only Southeast Asian signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, committing it to protect people fleeing persecution who qualify as refugees. However, the government has remained tightlipped about the asylum seekers, who have apparently applied for refugee status with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Phnom Penh.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak told IRIN they were “under the responsibility of the UNHCR”, but would not elaborate on their case. For more than a decade, UNHCR in Cambodia, with government officials, has been responsible for determining whether asylum seekers should be given refugee status. Cambodia opened its own refugee office last year in a step UNHCR said underlined the government’s increased efforts to handle asylum cases through due diligence and international procedures.

The agency said it was phasing down its role as the government assumes more responsibility, but that it was still part of the process. “During this transition phase, asylum requests are being jointly assessed by the government and UNHCR,” Kitty McKinsey, UNHCR regional spokeswoman, told IRIN. She would not comment on the group of Uyghurs.

Protests Uyghurs are a Turkic, Sunni Muslim minority native to China’s far western Xinjiang Province, which has seen bombings, attacks and riots in recent years, blamed by the Chinese government on Uyghur separatists demanding autonomy. However, rights groups say the ethnic identity of Uyghurs in western China is being systematically eroded, and cite serious human rights abuses against them.

Violent protests erupted in July between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China, whose increased migration to the region has heightened ethnic tensions. Nearly 200 people were killed and another 1,600 wounded, according to media reports. Advocacy groups say the asylum seekers in Cambodia were witness to violence against the Uyghur demonstrators, but China says they are outlaws. Mixed response Despite being a signatory to the refugee convention, as well as the 1984 Convention Against Torture, asylum seekers have had a mixed reception in Cambodia, analysts say.

This case could be a litmus test for the Cambodian government on asylum protection, given how powerful China is in the region

“Cambodia has in the past made a strong effort to protect refugees, but there are also clear cases where asylum seekers from countries that Cambodia has a close political and economic relationship with, such as China and Vietnam, have been repatriated to face persecution,” Sara Colm, a researcher on Cambodia with Human Rights Watch, told IRIN.

Since 2001, thousands of ethnic minority Montagnards fleeing Vietnam after crackdowns on their protests for religious freedom and land rights have been granted refugee status by the Cambodian government, and allowed to resettle in third countries, said Colm. But many others have been arrested and deported back to Vietnam. And at least four Chinese asylum seekers under the protection of UNHCR were arrested in Phnom Penh in 2002 and 2004 and sent back to China, Colm added. China is a major donor to impoverished Cambodia, and rights groups say they fear the country will acquiesce to pressure from Beijing to return the Uyghurs.

Ilshat Hassan, vice-president of the UAA, said his organization expected back-channel intervention from the Chinese government. “If they are sent back to China, they will face the death penalty and the Cambodian government will be an accomplice,” he told IRIN.

China has already executed nine Uyghurs who took part in the protests and condemned another five to death. Hassan said his organization had found a third country willing to provide asylum to the Uyghurs but declined to name it, citing concerns that China would pressure it to close its doors. Amnesty International on 16 December urged Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and minister of interior, Sar Kheng, to ensure a fair asylum process for the Uyghurs.

“Amnesty International believes that these Uyghurs would be particularly vulnerable to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” it said on its website.

Brittis Edman, a researcher on Cambodia with Amnesty International, told IRIN this case “could be a litmus test for the Cambodian government on asylum protection, given how powerful China is in the region”.


bb/ey/mw

Http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=87462

UNPO Condemns Chinese Death Sentences without Fair Trial

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) strongly condemns the decision of the Chinese court to sentence six Uyghur men to death without fair trial.

The men were not permitted any form of legal aid and suffered as a result of discriminatory decisions and a complete lack of transparency throughout the process. The death sentences are further proof of China’s unwillingness to abide by the United Nations Global Moratorium on the Death Penalty, adopted in 2007, which establishes a suspension on executions with the view to abolish the death penalty.

“This goes against all international standards of human rights, most notably the universal right to equality before the law”, Marino Busdachin, Secretary General of UNPO, stated in immediate response to the Chinese decision.Dolkun Isa, Secretary General of the World Uyghur Congress and prominent human rights activist, expressed the need for the international community to respond. “An independent investigation must be carried out, to impartially determine what has truly taken place”, he said. “These men were neither granted their right to a lawyer, nor to a fair legal process, thereby violating both international law and the Chinese constitution.” He continued by stating that “[t]his was not a legal, but merely a political decision”. Immediate involvement of the international community and an independent investigation are urgently needed. “If no response comes”, Mr. Isa said, “the Chinese government has no reason to stop the discriminatory sentencing of the Uyghurs still up for trial.”

http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10191/236/

ITF EU REPRESENTATIVE ATTENDED A CONFERENCE AT THE EU PARLIAMENT IN BRUSSELS

MEP Edward McMILLAN-SCOTT, Vice President of EU Parliament and Dr. Hassan AYDINLI, ITF EU Representative

With Mr. Isa DOLKUN, EU Representative of the Uyghurs

With MEP Graham WATSON

Dr. Hassan AYDINLI, ITF EU Representative and Mrs Merry FITZGERALD of the Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmen Rights in Belgium received invitations from several Members of the European Parliament and from the Director of the Brussels based association “HUMAN RIGHTS WITHOUT FRONTIERS” Mr. Willy FAUTRE to attend a conference on the Human Rights in China at the European Parliament in Brussels on 30th September 2009.

The conference was held on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China to analyse China’s performance in the field of Human rights and Freedoms for civil society. It was held under the title:

60 Years of Democracy in China
(seen by Uyghurs, Tibetans, Falun Gong, Human Rights Defenders)

The conference was organised at the initiative of some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) with the participation of the Director of the Human Rights without Frontiers association in Brussels namely:-

Mr. Edward McMILLAN-SCOTT, MEP and Vice-President of EU Parliament

Mr Graham WATSON, MEP and Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe)

Mr. Thomas MANN, MEP and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (Group of the European People’s Party)
Mrs. Eva LICHTENBERGER, MEP and Vice-Chairwoman (Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance)

Mr. Willy FAUTRE, Director of Human Rights Without Frontiers

Representatives from three Chinese communities in Europe and the Director of Human Rights without Frontiers were invited to the conference to share the panel with the MEPs and to address the conference. These Representatives were :-

Mr. Isa Dolkun, EU Representative of the Uyghurs & Secretary General of the World Uyghur Congress.

Mr. Tashi Wangdi, EU Representative of the Dalai Lama.

Mr. Man-Yan Ng, EU Representative of the Falun Gong Association.

Mr. Paolo Barabesi, Assistant to the Director of Human Rights without Frontiers, read Mr. Willy Fautré’s speech.

The organisers of the conference and their guest speakers addressed the conference, they described the political situation in China since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and they criticized the Chinese authorities for the lack of real democracy in China and for the intolerable violations of human rights against the Chinese people in general and against the Uyghur and Tibetan communities in particular.

Each guest speaker presented a written statement in which they explained the actual situation and living conditions of their community in China. They all denounced the Chinese authorities’ intolerances and dictatorship, accusing the Chinese regime of brutal human rights violation against the Uyghurs, the Tibetans and the Falun Gong practitioners.

After the conference Dr. Hassan AYDINLI, ITF EU Representative, established contact with the MEPs who had organised the conference and he presented the Iraqi Turkmens cause to them, describing the Turkmen reality in Iraq and updating them on the current difficult political situation, hard economical conditions, troubled cultural environment and unsafe living conditions imposed on the Iraqi Turkmens since decades.

He emphasized the deterioration of the situation for the Turkmens in Iraq, politically, economically and socially, especially after the regime change in April 2003. He explained how Turkmens continue to suffer from countless human rights violations as a consequence of an institutionalised discrimination policy applied against the Turkmens since the creation of the Iraqi State in 1921 and since the adoption of the “New Iraqi Constitution” which was concocted in a rush by a bunch of inexperienced, ethnically motivated and power thirsty ‘new Iraqi politicians’ under US occupation. Indeed, the new Iraqi constitution is terribly backward as it clearly discriminates between the Iraqi citizens according to their ethnic origin. The Arabs and Kurds are classified as ‘first class citizens’ and the country’s main landlords and share holders, while the Turkmens, the Chaldeo-Assyrians, the Shabaks, the Yezidis and other minority groups are considered as ‘second class citizens’.

Dr. H. AYDINLI stressed the fact that this ‘new constitution’ contains some terminology and notions unheard of in any constitution before, such as ‘Contested Territories’ and ‘Disputed border lines’ within the same country!!! and the infamous article 140 concerning Kerkuk. He also pointed out that the new constitution includes several controversial articles, which if they are maintained in the constitution will ultimately divide Iraq in two regions, a Kurdish region in the north and an Arabic region in the south, thus denying the Turkmens who are the third main ethnic component of the Iraqi people the right to have their own region (Turkmeneli). This would lead to more instability in Iraq and in the region.

Dr. H. AYDINLI urged the MEPs:
- to support the Turkmens’ just cause
- to follow closely the evolution of the political process in Iraq
- to monitor the upcoming general election in January 2010.

ITF EU representative had the pleasure to meet again with the Secretary General of the World Uyghur Congress, Mr. Isa DOLKUN, and to reiterate the Iraqi Turkmens’ support to the Uyghur people and their just cause.

Dr. H. AYDINLI also spoke with former MEP F. SCHWALBA-HOTH, analyst and independent political strategist with whom he had already met on another occasion.

He made an interesting new encounter with Count Leonardo Alaeddin CLERICI* (Philosopher and Poet) President of Istituto di Skriptura Brussels-Istanbul.

He also spoke with Brussels based journalist Magda FAHSI of Human Rights-Geneva to whom he gave some examples of the human rights abuses and discriminations to which the Turkmens continue to be exposed in today’s Iraq. Ms. FAHSI is interested to hear more about the Turkmens and she will be in touch.

Notes:
Mrs. Merry FITZGERALD of the Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmens’ Rights took part in the presentation of the Turkmen cause to the MEPs, adding her own arguments.

* L. A.CLERICI organizes conferences and exhibitions from Rome to the United States to explain that Islamic philosophy offers a metaphysical vision of the world, and that philosophy belongs to God and not to man. He is working to merge the synergies of arts, philosophy and technology. His emphasis on sourcing all artistic and philosophical endeavours to the holy Qur’an and God makes it all the more fascinating.

Statement by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur democracy leader

Statement by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur democracy leader
European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
September 1, 2009

Please click on the link below

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/droi/dv/droi_20090831_8speechkadeer_/droi_20090831_8speechkadeer_en.pdf

Violations of Uyghurs' indigenous rights by Chinese government

Uyghurs as indigenous people; a new UHRP report highlights Chinese government violations of Uyghurs' indigenous rights

For immediate release

December 10, 2008, 7:15 pm EST

Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 349 1496

As the world marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Uyghurs in East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the People's Republic of China) continue to experience human rights abuses in nearly every aspect of their lives. A new report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) details the PRC’s violations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in the case of the Uyghur people.

On September 13, 2007, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), along with 142 other countries, voted to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. By voting for the Declaration, the PRC recognized that indigenous persons are a particularly vulnerable group in general and specifically supported the principles outlined and rights explicitly enumerated in the articles of this long awaited essential human rights Declaration.

In practice, the PRC government violates almost every article of the Declaration that it supported at the UN, routinely violating the fundamental rights of the Uyghur people. Uyghurs’ culture, religion and language are all under attack by the PRC government. Uyghurs do not have substantive control over their own education, media, or employment, and they have no voice in the region’s government. Uyghurs are also denied access to or benefit from East Turkestan’s land and resources.

"While UNDRIP guarantees Uyghurs' rights across a spectrum of areas, the reality is that Uyghurs are marginalized in their own homeland," said Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer. "Uyghurs also lack access to any mechanism with which they can seek redress for violations of their rights."

UHRP's report begins by briefly reviewing the development of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and demonstrating that the Uyghurs are the indigenous people of East Turkestan. The main body of the report then examines the Articles of the Declaration with respect to the Uyghur case, by discussing violations of articles in categories such as Fundamental Rights, Life and Security, and Culture, Religion and Language (among others). While not all-inclusive, the report highlights some of the most egregious ways in which Uyghurs’ fundamental, social and cultural rights are violated by the Chinese government, with respect to international law and often domestic law as well. For instance, in the area of Culture, Religion and Language, the report examines the ways in which the PRC controls the freedom of religion for Uyghurs in East Turkestan, effectively undermining Uyghurs’ identity. In conclusion, the report offers suggestions to address the situation, both to the United Nations and the Chinese government.

The report, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the Uyghurs of East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or XUAR, People’s Republic of China), can be downloaded at http://uhrp.org/docs/final_UNDRIP.pdf.
The Uyghur American Association (UAA) works to promote the preservation and flourishing of a rich, humanistic and diverse Uyghur culture, and to support the right of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, democratic means to determine their own political future.

The UAA has undertaken the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) for the purpose of promoting improved human rights conditions for Uyghurs and other indigenous groups in East Turkestan, on the premise that the assurance of basic human rights will facilitate the realization of the community’s democratic aspirations.

Uyghur Human Rights Project
Uyghur American Association
1701 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: +1 (202) 349 1496
Fax: +1 (202) 349 1491
info[at]uyghuramerican.org
www.uhrp.org
www.uyghuramerican.org

ALDE - UNPO Conference at the EU Parliament in Brussels on 16 May 2008 (Part III)

Photo: Starting from the left:

The Representative of the Hmong people in her beautiful traditional costume
Rebiya Kadeer, 'Spiritual Mother of the Uyghur people'
Merry Fitzgerald, Europe-Iraqi Turkmens Friendships
Dr. Hassan Tawiq Aydinli, Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Europe Representative

REBIYA KADEER

President of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC)

Uyghur Human Rights Activist and former Prisoner of Conscience

Please also see post on East Turkestan:

http://turkmenfriendship.blogspot.com/2008/03/east-turkestan.html

Rebiya Kadeer was born on 15th November 1947, she is married and has eleven children, she is:

President of the World Uyghur Congress, Munich, Germany

President of the Uyghur American Association, Washington DC, USA

She has been nominated twice, in 2006 and 2007, for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her advocacy efforts on behalf of the Uyghur people

She was awarded the prestigious Rafto Award while in prison, on September 23rd 2004, by the Norwegion human rights group the Rafto Foundation.

She was awarded the Human Rights Watch 'Human Rights Award' in 2000.

For more on the Uyghur people (East Turkestan) please click on the link below:

www.uyghurcongress.org

Assessment of the Situation of the Uyghurs

Human Rights in China 2001-2007: No Olympic Medal

Conference at the European Parliament on 18 December 2007


Living in a Culture of Fear

Assessment of the Situation of the Uyghurs

By Mamtimin Ala, World Uyghur Congress

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since 1949 when the homeland of Uyghurs, East Turkestan, which the Chinese call Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, was occupied by the Chinese army with the support of the former dictator, Stalin, Uyghurs have been subjected to repressive policies of the Chinese government. As a totalitarian country, China was originally founded on the official state ideology—an ideology of Marxism—as a manipulative tool to homogenize all kinds of different discourses towards the univocal goal of the Communist state.

This ideology is now already turned into the disguised form of ultra-nationalism, promoting political authoritarianism and cultural hegemony. As the Chinese government has beefed up its efforts to suppress any form of political discourses and aspirations different from the official one, Uyghurs seeking for democracy and freedom are denied their legal, cultural and economic rights, and suffer from a growing sense of cultural dilution, economic exploitation, and religious discrimination.

The 9/11 massacre in the United States in 2001 has been a turning point not only for the entire setting of the foreign policy of the United States, but also for the modification of China’s public rhetoric and political discourse about Uyghurs and Tibetans in the name of counter-terrorism.

Over the past six years, officials of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have unreservedly used the highly controversial concept of the “war on terror” as a justification for their repressive treatment of Uyghurs in East Turkestan and as a pretext to slander indiscriminately all Uyghur human rights organizations around the world, which are currently active in promoting human rights abuses in East Turkistan. Although Chinese officials have placed tremendous emphasis on the threat of “terrorism” in East Turkistan, there is no compelling evidence either from foreign governments’ or Chinese sources to justify such a claim.

Nevertheless, one of the major repercussions of the frequent use of this designation is the loss of credibility and transparency of the global war on terrorism. Since the tragic events of 9/11, there has been an increase in arbitrary detentions, arrests, torture and executions, as the PRC government has implemented “counter-terrorism” policies to suppress all forms of peaceful opposition of Uyghurs against Chinese rule.

In the past six years, Amnesty International has documented that, under a series of PRC “strike hard” campaigns in East Turkestan, “tens of thousands of people are reported to have been detained for investigation in the region, and hundreds, possibly thousands, have been charged or sentenced under the Criminal Law.” East Turkestan remains the only part of the People’s Republic of China where Uyghurs are still executed for non-violent crimes of political opposition to the Chinese state.

The Chinese government, by deliberately confusing violence and civil discontentment, has taken heavy-handed measures to marginalize Uyghurs in Western countries and to libel the peaceful nature of the Uyghur resistance against Chinese rule. The case of Uyghur-Canadian Huseyin Celil, the attacks on the family of prominent Uyghur leader and human rights activist Ms Rebiya Kadeer and the death sentences recently handed to four Uyghurs in Kashgar reveal the extent and disproportionate nature of the PRC’s repressive policy against Uyghurs. As a result, so-called “counter-terrorism” policies have added fuel to Chinese nationalism and xenophobia among ordinary Chinese citizens who are duped into believing in the politically fabricated and inherently false accusations against Uyghurs.

One of the most serious and pressing issue Uyghurs are now facing is the recent forcible transfer of young, unmarried and mostly teenage Uyghur women ranging from 16 to 25 years to Eastern China under the guise of “providing employment opportunities and generating income.” Already, hundreds of thousands of young Uyghur women have been forcibly transferred from East Turkistan into Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Qingdao, Shandong, Zhejiang, and other locations.

According to the report of The Xinjiang Daily on March 20, 2007, there had been 240,000 instances of the transfer of the local labour force from the Kashgar Region to China’s eastern provinces in 2006.[1] These girls are not allowed to return freely to their hometowns and are forced to work 12 hours each day under terrible working conditions. At present, local and central government authorities continue to implement aggressively the policy of transferring young Uyghur girls to Eastern China in the name of reconstructing the internal labour market. However, the selection of Uyghur girls and their forcible displacement in no way suggest that the real intention of the government is to reduce poverty among Uyghurs, nor even that it aims to bridge a massive wealth gap between China’s eastern and western regions.

Rather, the main aim of the policy is not only to use these Uyghur girls as cheap slave labor and potential sex workers, but also, more alarmingly, to culturally assimilate them into dominant and prevalent Chinese culture by uprooting them from their own unique cultural environment and reducing their opportunities to get married with Uyghurs in their hometowns.

Finally, it is, without doubt, a well-planned strategy to reduce the size of the Uyghur population in areas where the Uyghurs are still the majority and to fill in the vacuum left after the transfer of Uyghurs with upcoming Chinese settlers.

Under PRC policies of assimilation, Uyghur language schools are being closed and Uyghur teachers are being forced out of their jobs. The religious expression of Uyghurs is strictly controlled by government authorities, including the appointment of imams by the government who are instrumentalized to promote and spread communist propaganda, the confiscation of passports in order to prevent Uyghurs from participating in the Hajj and restrictions on the establishment of religious schools.

The aforementioned violations of human rights of Uyghurs have led to an ongoing clash between the imposition of the assimilation policy of Chinese authorities upon Uyghurs from above and Uyghurs’ life-and-death struggle to maintain their cultural identity from below. It is neither a clash of civilizations nor an antagonism of West and East that we are now witnessing, but it is a profound clash between violence against human dignity and the right to maintain one’s own cultural and spiritual resources against this very violence.

In the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the international community has been keenly observing any progress made in the human rights situation in China since the decision of the IOC to entrust the organization of the Olympic Games to China. As was expected by the IOC, the successful organization of the Olympic Games in Beijing “could leave a legacy to China” as a great positive event to bring about Chinese society modernization and developed economy.

Unfortunately, no substantial progress and developments in the human rights situation of Uyghurs in China has ever been made to date. Uyghurs are still living in a culture of fear, facing persecution and assimilation. Finally, I would like to finish my speech by raising the following question: Is it not intrinsically paradoxical as well as apparently cynical to promote the Olympic idea of “peace, friendship and solidarity” in a country where it is brutally denied and to pretend to believe that it is universal?

http://www.hrwf.net/hrchina/World%20Uyghur%20Congress.doc

[1] Radio Free Asia (RFA), Last Year Female Labour Force Transferred from Kashgar Reached 240000, Mar. 19, 2007.