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China rejects allegations of detaining million Uighurs in camps in Xinjiang

By Stephanie Nebehay

 

FILE PHOTO: A Chinese pagoda towers over the old town in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

 

GENEVA (Reuters) - China rejected on Monday allegations raised by a U.N. panel that 1 million Uighurs may be held in internment camps in the restive Xinjiang region, but said that some people underwent re-education after being deceived by extremists.

 

Hu Lianhe, a senior Communist Party official, said authorities in the far western Xinjiang region guarantee citizens freedom of religious belief and protects "normal religious activities".

 

China says that Xinjiang faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists who plot attacks and stir up tensions between the mostly Muslim Uighur minority who call the region home and the ethnic Han Chinese majority.

 

Gay McDougall, a panel member, said on Friday it had received many credible reports that 1 million ethnic Uighurs were held in what resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy, a sort of no rights zone".

 

"The argument that 1 million Uighurs are detained in re-education centres is completely untrue," Hu told the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

 

"There are no such things as re-education centres."

 

Speaking on the second day of the review of China's record in protecting the rights of its 55 ethnic minorities, Hu accused foreign terrorists and extremists of trying to ignite secessionist forces in Xinjiang, leading to assassinations, arson and poisonings.

 

He said China had clamped down on such crimes in accordance with the law and did not seek "de-Islamisation" of the region, but added: "Those deceived by religious extremism ... shall be assisted by resettlement and education."

 

He said China had imprisoned people for grave crimes, while minor criminals were assigned to vocational training and not subject to arbitrary detention or ill-treatment, without giving numbers.

 

U.N. human rights experts and Uighur activists voiced dismay with the delegation's comments. The panel will issue its findings on Aug. 30.

 

"I notice that you didn't quite deny that these re-education or indoctrination programmes don't take place," McDougall told the Chinese delegation on Monday, seeking clarification on how many people undergo re-education.

 

She told Reuters after the review: "We have quite a long way to go in terms of our dialogue with China."

 

Panelist Gun Kut described most of the delegation's answers as "very defensive", adding: "I'm sure you didn't come all the way from China to basically say that everything is okay and there is not much to be done."

 

Dolkun Isa, president of the exiled World Uighur Congress who attended the session, voiced disappointment.

 

"They even denied there are re-education camps. This is not a couple of hundred people - it is more than 1 million to 3 million in detention. But the Chinese government just closes its eyes," he told Reuters.

 

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Alison Williams)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-08-14

[bluesofa]

45 minutes ago, webfact said:

said that some people underwent re-education after being deceived by extremists.

Why isn't it written for us in Thailand to understand easier?

"Said that some people underwent attitude adjustment after being deceived by fake news on Facebook"

 

[zydeco]

And now they are arresting members of the Voice of America reporting on them. Just imagine if this was Russia putting millions in concentration camps, arresting dissidents, and jailing foreign press. The Neocons and establishment press in the US would already be demanding a nuclear attack.  But China?  Oh, they just love China.

Edited August 14, 2018 by zydeco

[tubby johnson]

A fascinating solution to dealing with rabid Islamists.

[kamahele]

3 hours ago, zydeco said:

And now they are arresting members of the Voice of America reporting on them. Just imagine if this was Russia putting millions in concentration camps, arresting dissidents, and jailing foreign press. The Neocons and establishment press in the US would already be demanding a nuclear attack.  But China?  Oh, they just love China.

I don't know that the current administration would be demanding anything of Russia.....

[Sir Dude]

Quote

China rejects allegations of detaining million Uighurs in camps in Xinjiang

Yes, and the Russians also reject that there are any of their troops in Ukraine, plus say that no chemical weapons were used in Syria. Denial seems to be par-for-the-course these days from such totalitarian regimes. A couple of unannounced satellite passes over the area should reveal all.

Edited August 14, 2018 by Sir Dude

[curlylekan]

Going to Kashgard before, I would say that if the Chinese government could wipe the whole Tibetan, Uyghur, Taiwanese population or anyone who isn't Han Chinese out, they would do it, but too much international press during a time when they are attempting to colonize the planet, keeps them from that goal. (But I do think it's on their bucket list.) I've neither been to nor seen such a police state in my life. After all, it still is Maoist style China and Mao learned from Stalin. The Uyghur population has my full respect. I fully believe the UN on this one. John Oliver's piece on the Uyghur's is pretty much on point.

[chingmai331]

"One million Uyghur persons under State detention?"  'That's totally fake news', said the Chinese statesman. 'There are only 978,345 Uyghurs under detention'.