A MEMORANDUM OF PROTEST AND ACTION

TO

THE EMBASSY OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA 

 

Stop Persecuting the Uyghur Communities: 

Recognize their Freedom of Religion and Rights to Live

 

Resolution of the Uyghur Round Table Discussion 

organized by ACCIN, IIS, IKRAM & ABIM 

on 23rd July 2019

We, the undersigned organisations wish to affirm the fundamental rights of every human being to the right to life and the freedom of religion and belief. This affirmation is recognised in the charters, declarations and covenants of the international community. Specifically, we affirm Article 6.3 of the Asian Human Rights Charter which states that “the freedom of religion and conscience is particularly important in Asia where most people are deeply religious; many find their primary identity in religion”. The article together with other express provisions in other International Conventions of Human Rights is the necessary rights and conditions that serve to protect every human life and interest and make this world a better place to live in.

 

This month, the world commemorates the 10th anniversary of the July 5th 2009 Urumqi Massacre, we wish to highlight the critical situation of human rights abuses of the Uyghur ( Kazakh, Kyrgyz ) people and other minority groups across the Xinjiang (East Turkestan) area. We note that the human rights violations of the Uyghurs people and their respective communities have increased significantly resulting in the rapid deterioration of the welfare and wellbeing of the Uyghur people.

 

In February 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report which documented Chinese authorities as having detained people without the due process of the law and placed them in “political education” camps for their perceived disloyalty to the government. According to Chinese concentration camp survivors, testimonial report that detainees in these camps are subjected to forced political indoctrination, renunciation of their faith, mistreatment, in some cases tortured and raped. Humiliating Islam by way of educating them Islam is evil.  Such acts could certainly be deemed as persecution on the basis of one’s faith and religion. It is contemptuous and should never be tolerated. In recent months, other UN officials, human rights organizations, and independent journalists have also supported such findings.

 

There are also restrictive legislation, suppression of the highest order and repressive policies in place to which the Uyghurs people routinely find themselves subjected. Uyghurs are not allowed to peacefully practice their religion, to speak or move freely or even to be educated in their native language. This is made worse when many Uyghurs are arbitrarily detained, confined in “political re-education” camps or made to disappear while in the custody of Chinese authorities. These are grave human rights violations on the right to life and freedom of religion and belief.

 

For these reasons, we, the undersigned organisations strongly urge and demand the Chinese government to do as follows:

 

1. Respect the human rights of the Uyghur people, in particular, their right to life,  freedom of religion and belief. This is especially so when human rights such as the right to life and freedom of religion and belief are not something that can be bestowed or taken away by a government but intrinsic in every person as part of human dignity and worth. 

2. As the world and international community continue to witness and hear reports of gross abuses and the rapidly deteriorating situation of the Uyghurs, the Chinese government must desist and immediately stop the persecution and extreme repression of the Uyghur people.

3. The Chinese government must immediately end the use of “re-education” camps as hundreds of thousands of innocent Uyghurs have been rounded up by the Chinese authorities into these camps to suffer physical abuse, maltreatment and even torture. Some have been found to have vanished in these camps.

4. The government of China should respect and protect the rights and religious freedoms of ALL its citizens, and the Uyghurs of China deserve the same rights and protection given to other communities as well.

 

We, the undersigned organisations also call on the international community to do the following: 

 

1. To increase the voices of protest and disfavour upon the Chinese government for acts and omissions that do not respect and uphold the human rights of all people, including the Uyghur people and other religious minorities or communities who are prevented from having the freedom of religion and belief and the rights to a meaningful life.

2. Collaborate improve the situation for the Uyghur people through concrete actions that wholly account for the history, traditions, language, religion and culture of the Uyghur people. Priority should be given to address attempts at forced cultural assimilation that could quite possibly lead to the annihilation of Uyghur identity.  

3. Counter-narrate the white paper that attempts to present a narrative as a tool to justify the cruel policies against Uyghur. 

4. Guided tour visit is worth it only if China unconditionally allows an independent U.N. fact-finding mission to visit East Turkestan with unfettered access to all camps, all detainees and to speak with any detainees and officials they want. Otherwise, this visit will only be used by China to deceive the international community.

5. To reject the implication of extremism as a basis for the Chinese “re-education’ detention program. This is more than a Sinicization of Islam and Muslims in China. We strongly remind China that we will not tolerate the indoctrination of any form of nationalism to deny Muslims to practice their religion freely.

6. To form ASEAN Civil Society Action Group on Uyghur ie: Youth Movement, Women's Movement, Grassroots NGOs. We call on all parties to stand in solidarity with Uyghur who is now in distress.

7. Establish ASEAN Parliamentarian Network For Uyghur Voices. ASEAN member countries to extend protection to and issue their stand on the Uyghur refugees who seek asylum in ASEAN countries in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

8. ASEAN countries to raise the issue of the Uyghur at appropriate multilateral levels, including the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, and the OIC.

9. To develop a smart media strategy. High impact media network eg; “Uyghur Reality Media”

10. OIC Uyghur Contact Group. The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) must call an emergency meeting of its Contact Group on Uyghur. 

11. International Advocacy Network. To call upon the relevant parties to pay attention to this issue and provide support and assistant through this network. 

12. Grassroots campaign among inter-faith groups. The Alliance of Masjid in Defense of Uyghur. Save The Masjid of Uyghur.

 

To The Government of PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA:

 

1. Immediately release all persons held in “de-extremification, transformation-through-education” or other facilities in the XUAR, unless there is sufficient credible and admissible evidence that they have committed an internationally recognized offence.

2. Grant detainees access to international lawyers and any legal assistance. 

3. Ensure that everybody in the XUAR is able to communicate with family members and others without interference or monitoring. 

4. Cease requests to other countries for the return of individuals to China in violation of the non-refoulement principle.

 

To the Government of Malaysia: 

 

1. Respect the obligation of non-refoulement. 

2. Ensure that any Uyghurs, Kazakhs or others have prompt access to a fair and effective asylum process, legal counsel, a thorough assessment of the risks of human rights violations or abuses they might face upon return and the ability to challenge any removal orders.

3. Provide Uighurs, Kazakhs or others seeking sanctuary with real opportunities to rebuild their lives in safety. 

4. The government of Malaysia to take up the role of a mediator to negotiate a peaceful solution to the plight of the Uyghur.

5. Re-assess of Chinese occupation in East Turkestan and its 7 Decades of Genocide Policies.

6. Plan immediate strategies to save Uyghur Nation from the current Genocide Policies.

7. Understand the wills of Uyghur people’s need for freedom and liberty.

8. Assessment of capabilities, possibilities and opportunities for independent nationhood for Uyghur people 

9. Realizing the real threat from Communist China's expansion aspiration.

 

The Uyghur Demands.

 

1. Establish ASEAN Parliamentarians Caucus for Uyghur Human Rights.

2. Appeal Malaysian Government to introduce a Bill on the current Uyghur Human Rights Plight.

3. Urging International Community to Condemn the PRC’s crime against humanity and its attempt to eradicate the Uyghurs in East Turkestan

4. Urgent action plans and strategies to protect the lives of the Uyghur people currently being held in concentration camps/prisons/orphanages.

5. Urging for a Global action to Close all concentration camps, and release all Uyghur political prisoners.

6. Allow members of international organizations to go to East Turkestan, inspect the concentration camps and prisons of political prisoners, investigate the crimes on humanity committed by the Chinese government towards the Uyghurs, and determine how many Uyghur have been killed in camps/jails/orphanages.

7. Allow the Uyghur living abroad to visit their homelands and resume all communications between Xinjiang and abroad. 

8. Urging United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to investigate and publish ICERD Report on the discrimination of the Uyghur people. 

 

The situation of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang and other religious minorities in other parts of China continues to worsen or deteriorate, we ask people from all parts of the world to pray and take steps to care for the lives and well-being of the Uyghur people and other religious minorities that are persecuted and under threat from the Chinese government. At all cost, human rights violations that are pervasive such as persecution on cultural and religious grounds, arbitrary arrests and the silencing of peaceful dissent must be resisted and cannot be allowed to fester and ferment.

 

We also call on all governments to uphold and protect the rights of Uyghurs including those of Uyghur refugees who may have fled their country for fear of discrimination and unjustified persecution. Like other refugees, they too deserve the same protection and justice.

In furtherance of this purpose, we the undersigned organisation acknowledge and affirm this Memorandum of Protest.

 

23rd of JULY 2019

Signed and Acknowledged by

 

COALITION OF MALAYSIAN 4 UYGHUR

 

1. Allied Coordinating Committee Of Islamic NGOs (ACCIN)

2. Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia (ABIM)

3. Majlis Perundingan Islam Malaysia (MAPIM)

4. Wadah Pencerdasan Umat Malaysia (WADAH)

5. Islamic Information & Services Foundation (IIS)

6. Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (IKRAM)

7. Global Peace Mission Malaysia (GPM)

8. Sekretariat Himpunan Ulama Rantau Asia (SYURA)

9. Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM)

10. Pertubuhan Iqra’ Malaysia (PIM)

11. Malaysian Youth Council (MBM)

12. Persatuan Al-Hunafa

13. Islamic Propagation Society International (IPSI)

14. Persatuan Ulama Malaysia (PUM)

15. Pertubuhan Hijrah Republique Network (HR)

16. Persatuan Darul Fitrah

17. Malaysian Humanitarian Aid & Relief (MAHAR)

18. Research & Information Centre On Islam (RICOI)

19. Al-Jamiyah

20. Pertubuhan SALWA Malaysia

21. Pertubuhan Penggerak Masyarakat Malaysia

22. Association of NexGen Christians of Malaysia (ANCOM)

23. Amnesty International Malaysia

24. Pertubuhan Pembangunan Antarabangsa dan Penyelidikan Untuk Kelestarian (IDRIS)