Washington, MINA – The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said that China committed genocide and crimes against humanity related to its treatment of Uighur Muslims and ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang autonomous region.
He said the US had documented China’s actions in Xinjiang since March 2017, including arbitrary imprisonment, deprivation of physical freedom, torture, forced labor and restrictions on religious freedom.
“After careful examination of the facts, I have decided that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the majority of Uighur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang, “Pompeo said as quoted by Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
“I believe this genocide is ongoing and we are witnessing a systematic attempt to destroy the Uighurs by the Chinese party state,” he added.
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Pompeo demanded China immediately to release those detained and stop the internment system, detention camps, house arrest, and forced labor.
He also said China must end its population control measures, forced abortions, and the removal of children from their families and end all torture and abuse in places of detention.
The Xinjiang region is home to 10 million Uighurs. Turkish Muslim groups make up about 45 percent of Xinjiang’s population.
More than 1 million Muslims in Xinjiang, have been detained in a network of “political re-education” camps, according to US officials and UN experts.
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The camps have been linked to forced labor and compulsory sterilization. (T/RE)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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