Uyghur News Recap: Feb. 10-16, 2022

WASHINGTON — 

Here is a summary of Uyghur-related news around the world in the past week.

Uyghur grad student detained in Xinjiang

Radio Free Asia reported that a Uyghur graduate student from a Japanese university was detained by Chinese government in the Uyghur region.

Uyghurs in Britain face intimidation

A report by civil liberties group Index on Censorship revealed that Uyghurs in exile were intimidated by China.

NBC Olympics host calls out China’s ‘genocide’ of Uyghurs

NBC host was praised for calling out China’s treatment of Uyghurs during Olympic coverage.

UN labor report says China uses ‘coercive measures’

The U.N. labor agency, International Labor Organization, said in a report that Uyghurs and other ethnic groups from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have work conditions signaling “coercive measures” that deprive them of free choice.

Uyghur restaurateur says he cannot watch Beijing Olympics

A Uyghur restaurant owner in Washington said that he can’t watch the Olympics in Beijing because it is a reminder of his family members imprisoned in Xinjiang.

Uyghurs demand accountability for ‘Ghulja Massacre’

RFA reported that Uyghurs were demanding the Chinese government to account for 200 Uyghur protesters who were killed 25 years ago when the Chinese government violently suppressed a demonstration where they were demanding religious freedom.

News in brief

Report: 2008 Beijing Olympics Uyghur torchbearer sentenced to prison

Uyghur Beijing Olympics torchbearer in 2008 was sentenced to 14 years in prison for watching “counter-revolutionary videos.” Adil Abdurehim was hailed as a loyal Chinese government official and chosen to carry the Olympic torch 14 years ago.

Quote of note

“The committee is bound to observe, however, that the employment situation of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China provides numerous indications of coercive measures, many of which arise from regulatory and policy documents,” experts with the U.N. labor agency International Labor Organization wrote.

Uyghur News Recap: February 3-9, 2022

WASHINGTON — 

Here is a summary of Uyghur-related news around the world in the past week.

Uyghur Olympic torchbearer in 2008 calls for boycott

In 2008, Kamalturk Yalqun carried the Olympic torch in Beijing, representing his 12 million-member Uyghur community from Xinjiang. Now in 2022, he is in the United States and has become an activist, calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games over China’s mistreatment Uyghurs, including imprisoning his father, Yalqun Rozi, a renowned Uyghur textbook editor.

US lawmakers urge State Department to help Uyghurs, Kazakhs

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China urged the U.S. State Department to help Uyghurs and Kazakhs facing deportation from countries such as Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan to China.

UN, China accused of colluding

The South China Morning Post reported that leaked documents hint that the United Nations colluded with China in fabricating a “mutually convenient stalemate” to U.N. criticism of China’s treatment of Uyghurs.

Turkish Olympian uses the East Turkistan independence flag

Duringthe Beijing Games, a Turkish athlete, Fatih Arda Ipcioglu, was hailed by rights activists for raising awareness for Uyghur rights in China. He used a pair of skis with the blue crescent moon and star flag that Uyghurs use as a symbol of their short-lived independence of Xinjiang in the last century, which they call East Turkistan.

China has Uyghur Olympian light the cauldron at Games

The New York Times reported that Beijing’s choice of a 20-year-old female Uyghur cross-country skier to light the Olympic cauldron was seen by rights activists and critics of Beijing as an attempt to whitewash its suppression of Uyghurs.

Twitter accounts flood #GenocideGames hashtag

The Wall Street Journal reported that pro-China Twitter accounts had flooded the hashtag #GenocideGames on the platform in an effort to weaken it as criticism of China’s mistreatment of Uyghurs.

Proctor and Gamble silent on Uyghur issue

Fox News reported that as an official sponsor of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, Proctor and Gamble is silent on China’s human rights violations of Uyghurs in order not to lose profit in China, even though it has called out “systemic racism” in the United States.

China’s UN envoy defends Uyghur torchbearer

Reuters reported that China’s ambassador to U.N. defended his country’s selection of a Uyghur athlete as one of the two last torchbearers of the Winter Games after his U.S. counterpart at the U.N., U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in an interview with CNN that China is using a Uyghur athlete to distract attention from country’s abuses toward the group.

News in brief

Radio Free Asia reported that Harris Mowbray, a U.S. college student, and a group of Uyghur researchers created a Braille alphabet for visually impaired Uyghurs. “I hope this Uyghur Braille script is used widely,” Mowbray told RFA. “Through this script, visually impaired people will be able to read, write, study and even write emails.”

Quote of note

“It seems to me that our sense of global citizenship and sportsmanship is not moving forward with these Olympic Games anymore.”

— Kamalturk Yalqun, Uyghur who carried the Olympic torch in Beijing for the 2008 Games.

State Department Recap: January 20-26, 2022

STATE DEPARTMENT — 

Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:

US, Russia, Ukraine

Following consultations with various European partners as well as Ukraine, the United States and NATO provided written responses to Moscow addressing Russia’s renewed security demands — the latest moves in diplomatic maneuvering aimed at heading off armed conflict.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivered the document in person Wednesday to Russia’s Foreign Ministry. Separately, NATO transmitted to Russia its own responses regarding European security in a document described by officials as a few pages in length.

US Responds to Russia’s Security Demands, Renewing Call for Diplomacy

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman assessed that China’s hosting of the Winter Olympics early next month was a factor in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calculation of military actions against Ukraine.

“We all are aware that the Beijing Olympics begin on February 4 — the opening ceremony — and Putin is expected to be there,” Sherman said. “I think that probably President Xi Jinping would not be ecstatic if Putin chose that moment to invade Ukraine. So, that may affect his timing and his thinking.”

On Sunday, the State Department ordered the departure of eligible family members from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. direct-hire employees amid the continued threat of Russian military action against Ukraine. The State Department also asked U.S. citizens in Ukraine to consider departing the country via commercial or other privately available transportation options.

US Orders Departure of Family Members of Ukraine Embassy Staff ​

Burkina Faso

The State Department said it was watching closely “the fluid situation” in Burkina Faso, where a military junta ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. But the U.S. said it was “too soon” to officially characterize the events in Burkina Faso as a coup.

“We call for the immediate release of President Kabore and other government officials, and for members of the security forces to respect Burkina Faso’s constitution and civilian leadership. We urge all sides in this fluid situation to remain calm and to seek dialogue as a means to resolve grievances,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said this week during a press briefing.

Burkina Faso Soldiers Say They Deposed President

US-Iran

The United States warned Iran was just weeks from developing the capacity to make a nuclear weapon. The alarm came amid indirect negotiations between the two countries seeking a mutual return to compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal.

“[Iran] is getting to the point where its breakout time, the time it would take to produce fissile material for a bomb, is getting down to a matter of a few weeks,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a virtual event Monday. How the U.S. and its allies would deal with the risks will be decided soon, Blinken said, adding that “given what Iran is doing, we can’t allow this to go on.”

As Iran Nears Uranium Breakout Capacity, US Mulls Bomb-Making Scenarios

Human trafficking

On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department released its annual “Trafficking in Persons Report.” Blinken called for other countries to improve “collective efforts to comprehensively address human trafficking,” as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem.

State Department Releases Annual Trafficking in Persons Report

State Department Recap: January 13-19, 2022

STATE DEPARTMENT — 

Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:

US, Russia, Ukraine

The United States will continue relentless diplomatic efforts to prevent Russia from further military aggression against Ukraine while providing defensive security assistance to Kyiv, Blinken said Wednesday.

“We’ve offered Russia a clear choice, a choice between pursuing dialogue and diplomacy on the one hand or confrontation and consequences on the other hand,” Blinken told VOA in an interview.

Standing with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a press conference, Blinken added that U.S. security assistance deliveries to Ukraine were ongoing and that more were scheduled “in the coming weeks.”

VOA Interview: Blinken Warns Russia of Action Should Moscow Invade Ukraine

After Ukraine, Blinken heads to Berlin on Thursday and then to Geneva, where he will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday. Blinken will urge Russia to “take immediate steps to de-escalate” tensions along its border with Ukraine. The hastily arranged trip for the top U.S. diplomat comes one week after U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva reached an impasse.

Blinken, Lavrov to Meet in Geneva Friday to Continue Diplomacy Over Ukraine

US-North Korea

In response to North Korea’s recent missile launches, the United States called on Pyongyang to “cease its unlawful and destabilizing activities.”

In a call with South Korean and Japanese officials, Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, “expressed concern” about the missile launches and urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue “without preconditions.”

North Korea’s launch on Monday, which South Korea said involved short-range ballistic missiles, marked North Korea’s fourth weapons test this month as Pyongyang flexes its military muscle while ignoring the United States’ offers of talks.

North Korea Confirms Latest Missile Test

US-Iran

U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley will meet with Barry Rosen, an American who was taken hostage in Iran in 1979, while giving “full attention” to and seeking the release of all wrongfully detained American citizens in Iran, a State Department spokesperson told VOA.

Rosen began a hunger strike in Vienna on Wednesday to press U.S. and Iranian officials to come to an agreement about the release of Americans and other Westerners of Iranian origin jailed by Tehran. He hopes the move will help to break a monthslong stalemate in indirect talks between the two sides.

Former US Hostage in Iran to Begin Hunger Strike to Press for Prisoner Deal

Humanitarian assistance to Afghans

The United States said it would continue to support the people of Afghanistan, as Washington delivers more doses of COVID-19 vaccine and provides humanitarian funds.

He highlighted the United States’ latest contribution of more than $308 million toward humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people during a virtual meeting with U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths. The U.N. said it is “in a race against time” to prevent millions of Afghans from falling deeper into a severe economic and humanitarian crisis.

UN Chief: ‘Race Against Time’ to Save Afghan Economy