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China’s Uyghur genocide must end, say 76 signatories.
The cardinals of Myanmar and Indonesia are among the signatories of a statement calling for action to stop “one of the most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust: the potential genocide of the Uyghurs and other Muslims in China.”
Uyghur genocide and other atrocity crimes are known to be occurring in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (which the Uyghurs call East Turkestan).
Other signatories include: former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; London’s Coptic-Orthodox Archbishop; some of Britain’s most senior Rabbis; Muslim faith leaders; the Buddhist Society UK President; the Dalai Lama’s representative in Europe; and the chief executive of Humanists UK.
“We have seen many persecutions and mass atrocities. These need our attention.
“But there is one that, if allowed to continue with impunity, calls into question most seriously the willingness of the international community to defend universal human rights for everyone – the plight of the Uyghurs,” the statement says.
“After the Holocaust, the world said ‘Never Again.’ Today, we repeat those words ‘Never Again’, all over again.
“We make a simple call for justice, to investigate these crimes, hold those responsible to account and establish a path towards the restoration of human dignity.”
The statement continues, saying “at least one million Uyghur and other Muslims in China are incarcerated in prison camps facing starvation, torture, murder, sexual violence, slave labour and forced organ extraction.”
They note outside the prison camps,
- basic religious freedom is denied
- Mosques are destroyed
- children are separated from their families, and
- even owning a Holy Quran, praying or fasting can result in arrest.
Recent research reveals a campaign of forced sterilisation and birth prevention targeting at least 80 per cent of Uyghur women of childbearing age in the four Uyghur-populated prefectures.
According to the 1948 Genocide Convention, this action could elevate China’s actions to the Uyghur people to the level of genocide.
China’s state media says their goal is to “break their [Uyghur] lineage, break their roots, break their connections and break their origins.”
Commenting on the Uyghurs’ plight, the Washington Post says the state media’s words make it “hard to read that as anything other than a declaration of genocidal intent.” High-level Chinese government documents speak of “absolutely no mercy.”
Parliamentarians, governments and jurists have a responsibility to investigate, the statement says.
“As faith leaders, we are neither activists nor policy-makers. But we have a duty to call our communities to their responsibilities to look after their fellow human beings and act when they are in danger. In the Holocaust some Christians rescued Jews.”
“We urge people of faith and conscience everywhere to join us: in prayer, solidarity and action to end these mass atrocities. We make a simple call for justice, to investigate these crimes, hold those responsible to account and establish a path towards the restoration of human dignity.”
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