Image: Simon Sun / Unsplash
By Anne Kader
A delegation from the Arab League visited the “Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region” (that most Uyghurs prefer to call East Turkistan), and claimed that allegations of “ethnic genocide” and “religious persecution” are false, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated on Monday.
Arab countries have repeatedly failed to acknowledge China’s atrocities against the Uyghurs and other Turkic groups. On the contrary, Beijing has managed to convince its Arab partners that China is taking good care of its “minority groups”, including Uyghurs.
The 34-member group from 16 Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria visited the Uyghurs’ homeland between May 30 to June 2 after first attending a senior official-level strategic “China-Arab States Cooperation Forum”.
The group was fooled to believe a distorted reality, as China is known for its Potemkin-style settings when hosting foreign observers in the Uyghurs’ homeland. It boasts harmony and stability, a growing economy and a vibrant culture, while Uyghurs are going through genocide (as determined by the UN Genocide Convention)