SA must speak up on treatment of Uighurs

MUSLIMS in China are increasingly living under a police state.

More than 1 million Uighurs are believed to have been held in “re-education camps”, where they face psychological indoctrination in questionable conditions.

Ethnic Uighurs, the vast majority of the region’s Muslim population, have been forced into an environment that seeks to erase their culture. The objective seems to be to wipe out all traces of what’s distinct about being a Uighur.

Detainees are forced to attend political re-education lessons and sing political songs, denounce Islam and swear loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, in addition to being forced to eat pork and drink alcohol – acts forbidden by Islam.

Outside of the camps, more than 10 million Turkic Muslim minorities in the region are subjected to a dense network of surveillance systems, checkpoints and interpersonal monitoring, which severely limit their personal freedom. Despite these appalling abuses and the efforts of journalists and organisations, including UN human rights bodies, the world remains largely unaware of this crisis or is unwilling to speak out about it for fear of political or economic consequences, but we must present a united voice of condemnation. It is time for the South African government to be vocal about China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims. MARIAM BALLIM Isipingo