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الصمت العالمي حول المعتقلات الصينية

Apr 8, 2019 Brahma Chellaney

نيودلهي ـ منذ أكثر من عامين، تشن الصين حملة قمع غير مسبوقة ضد الأقليات المسلمة في البلاد، معتقلة ما يقدر بنحو سدس السكان البالغين المسلمين في إقليم شينجيانغ الواقع في أقصى غرب الصين. ومع ذلك، باستثناء تغريدة حديثة من وزير الخارجية الأمريكي مايك بومبو، والتي دعت الصين إلى "وقف حملة القمع"، يظل المجتمع الدولي صامتًا إلى حد كبير.

من خلال اعتماده على سياسة الاعتقال الجماعي، يتبع الحزب الشيوعي الصيني نموذج الاتحاد السوفيتي. لكن معسكرات الاعتقال في الصين أكبر بكثير وأكثر تقدماً من الناحية التكنولوجية من سابقاتها السوفياتية، وقد صُمٌمت لمعاقبة ليس فقط المنشقين السياسيين، بل مجتمع المؤمنين بأكمله.

على الرغم من أن الباحثين المستقلين وجماعات حقوق الإنسان يطلعون بنشاط على الأساليب المستخدمة هناك (على سبيل المثال، يُجبر المسلمون على أكل لحم الخنزير وشرب الكحول)، فإن لدى السلطات الصينية الفرصة لمواصلة هجومها على الإسلام دون عقاب. رغم قيام الأجهزة الأمنية الصينية بمطاردة أقلية الاٍيغور وغيرهم من المسلمين في أماكن بعيدة مثل تركيا، لم تُواجه البلدان والشركات الصينية المشاركة في هذا الاضطهاد أي عقوبات دولية أو تتحمل أي تكاليف أخرى.

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Brahma Chellaney

Writing for PS since 2009
117 Commentaries

Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research and Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, is the author of nine books, including Asian Juggernaut, Water: Asia’s New Battleground, and Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis.

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Tok Koon Chia Apr 9, 2019

I wonder if the esteemed author himself has ever wondered that perhaps the reports on Chinese atrocities in Xinjiang are vastly over-exaggerated and that the various Muslim countries are actually being sensible by refraining from condemning China irresponsibly?
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Dark Chocolate Apr 9, 2019

What is reality is the Global Silence on India's occupied Kashmir. Thousands disappeared without a trace over the years only show up in mass grave. Where is the outrage?
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Godfree Roberts Apr 8, 2019

"Global Silence on China’s Gulag"? Hardly!

Eleven muslim countries sent inspectors to tour Xinjiang and they were very impressed. One said he was 'envious' of the opportunities the young Uyghur were being given. The World Muslim Council said, "The Council welcomes the outcomes of the visit conducted by the General Secretariat's delegation upon invitation from the People's Republic of China; commends the efforts of the People's Republic of China in providing care to its Muslim citizens; and looks forward to further cooperation between the OIC and the People's Republic of China."

Pakistan's charge d'affairs, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, also toured Xinjiang. Here's her report:

“During this visit, I did not find any instance of forced labour or cultural and religious repression,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Charge d‘affaires, Pakistan‘s Embassy in China, told the state-run Global Times on Thursday.
“The imams we met at the mosques and the students and teachers at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute told us that they enjoy freedom in practicing Islam and that the Chinese government extends support for maintenance of mosques all over Xinjiang,” said Baloch, who visited Xinjiang as part of delegation of diplomats.
“Similarly, I did not see any sign of cultural repression. The Uighur culture as demonstrated by their language, music and dance is very much part of the life of the people of Xinjiang,” she said.
Asked about the security situation in Xinjiang, which has been “beset by terrorism”, Baloch said, “We learned that the recent measures have resulted in improvement of the security situation in Xinjiang and there have been no incidents of terrorism in recent months.”
“The counter-terrorism measures being taken are multidimensional and do not simply focus on law enforcement aspects. Education, poverty alleviation and development are key to the counter-terrorism strategy of the Chinese government,” she said.
Xinjiang‘s regional government invited diplomatic envoys as well as representatives from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Thailand, and Kuwait following reports about detention of thousands of Uighur and other Muslims in massive education camps.
Baloch said the delegation was given full and open access to the three centres that they visited in Kashgar and Hotan.
“The training program includes teaching of national common language (Chinese), law and constitution and vocational skills. The students also participate in recreational activities like sports, music and dance. We witnessed several skill classes being offered in these centres,” she said.
“During the visits to these centres, we had the opportunity to interact with both the management and the students. We observed the students to be in good physical health. The living facilities are fairly modern and comfortable with separate dormitories for men and women. They are being served halal food,” she said.
She said the Uighur language is being used in official establishments, airports, subway stations, police stations or hotels.
“Even the copies of the Koran that we saw in the mosques and the Islamic centre were translated into the Uighur language. The most visible sign of protection of Uighur culture by the government is the government-run bilingual kindergarten schools where children learn Putonghua as well as Uighur language and culture from a very young age,” she said. The Times of India .
- Paul Friesen Apr 10, 2019
  
  Here is what Amnesty International has to say about Xinjiang:
  
  Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region
  
  "Under the leadership of new regional Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) authorities put new emphasis on “social stability” and increased security. Media reports indicated that numerous detention facilities were set up within the XUAR, variously called “counter extremism centres”, “political study centres”, or “education and transformation centres”, in which people were arbitrarily detained for unspecified periods and forced to study Chinese laws and policies.
  
  "In March, the XUAR enacted the “De-extremification Regulation” that prohibits a wide range of behaviours labelled “extremist”, such as spreading “extremist thought”, denigrating or refusing to watch public radio and TV programmes, wearing burkas, having an “abnormal” beard, resisting national policies, and publishing, downloading, storing or reading articles, publications or audio-visual materials containing “extremist content”.
  
  "In April, the government published a list of prohibited names, most of which were Islamic in origin, and required all children under 16 with these names to change them.
  
  "In May, there were media reports that the Chinese authorities in the XUAR had initiated a policy to compel all Uighurs studying abroad to return to China. Six Uighurs who had studied in Turkey but had returned to the XUAR were given prison sentences ranging from 5 to 12 years on undefined charges. In April, Chinese authorities detained relatives of several students in Egypt to coerce them to return home by May. Reports were received that some who returned were tortured and imprisoned. In July, the Egyptian authorities began a massive round-up of hundreds of Chinese nationals in Egypt, mainly Uighurs. Of these, at least 22 Uighurs were forcibly returned to China."
  
  I am acutely aware of the fact that we are subjected to a huge volume of anti-China propaganda. I take very little of what I read at face value. But I think I can trust Amnesty International. They criticize many different governments, including my own, and do not seem to have an agenda against any country in particular.
  
  What I take from this is not that China is evil, but that it is not perfect. I understand that it is hard to hold a country together against forces probably capable of tearing it apart, and I observe that countries where ethnic strife gets out of hand are not good places to be. But I think we should not ignore human rights violations, and that China could probably do better.
  
  Remember that Pakistan is heavily indebted to China under the "Belt and Road" initiative, and that remarks from its diplomats could be biased.
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- Dark Chocolate Apr 9, 2019
  
  Meanwhile Muslims in India are facing harsh treatments and the government is complicit in many of the abuses. And this guy has the gall to advocate on behalf of the Muslims outside of India.
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Jehanzeb Khan Apr 8, 2019

The same can be said about the Hindutva crazed Indian prime minister and the shift of India freedom secular principles to those that focus on its hindu majority.

Whilst Pakistan should shed the weight of bearing policy decisions of the past to prop up "freedom fighters", India should be investigated for its war crimes in Kashmir.
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الصمت العالمي حول المعتقلات الصينية

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