On January 11, Turkey’s Gelecek Party held a large-scale press conference in the capital Ankara. They demanded the Turkish government and the ruling party boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics, Uyghur Times – Uyghur language edition reports.
Here is their appeal:
We are roughly 540 Uyghur women and 2300 children that have been detained as prisoners of war by the PPK forces in Syria. Our living conditions are terrible, especially during the winter. We have suffered both mentally and physically at the hands of the PKK fighters. Some have even died in the camps because of poor living conditions, health issues, a shortage of food and medical supplies, and bad weather conditions.
Denmark will not send diplomats to the Beijing Winter Olympics, due to human rights issues in the host country, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Friday.
The Netherlands won’t send a government delegation either, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Frits Kemperman told Reuters. He said the Covid-19 rules in China would make it difficult for Dutch diplomats to discuss their concerns about human rights issues.
China says it has managed to gain support from some Persian Gulf States on its treatment of Uyghurs, following talks between their foreign ministers. Beijing invited ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait, and the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to discuss further cooperation, The Times (UK) reports.
NETHERLANDS – The Dutch border police arrested an American couple, Michael Horowitz and Dr. Devra Marcus, on Sunday. They had accompanied the family of Serikzhan Bilash, a Kazakh human rights advocate, to the Netherlands, China Aid reports.
In a recent interview on BFM-TV French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann (Place Publique) said, that France must ban products linked to Uyghur forced labor. Several multinational companies in the French market use Chinese subcontractors with links to Chinese concentration camps and coerced labor. The system uses slaves, not employees, Glucksmann continues.
The Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative honored a prominent Uyghur-American attorney and human rights advocate Nury Turkel with the first Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty in 2021.
Turkel is a U.S.-educated attorney and leading human rights advocate whom House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. His inspiring personal story and skilled advocacy have drawn global attention to the ongoing abuses against the Uyghur people.
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN — A renowned Uyghur scholar Dr. Akram Hashimov has passed away in Uzbekistan at 59, Uyghur Times Uyghur Edition reports.
The list of late Mr. Akram Hashimov ‘s life achievements stands long: He was an associate professor of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, a senior researcher of the National Music Arts, a Doctor of Arts, and Master of Discipleship. Dr. Hashimov was one of the leading Uyghur cultural figures in Uzbekistan.
Zainura Isa, an Uyghur poet and a great daughter of the Uyghur nation passed away due to an illness in Istanbul on January 8, 2022.
Ms. Isa was born in Kashgar in 1944. She spent her childhood in Aksu and in Turpan. After graduating from high school, she entered the ‘Xinjiang’ University of Language and Literature in 1960. In 1965, she graduated from the University with honors. After graduating, she became a lecturer at the same university.
Kazakh State TV has paraded Vikram Ruzahunov, an Uyghur jazz musician from Kyrgyzstan, in front of the cameras for a coerced confession. Ruzahunov had multiple cuts and bruises on his face while appearing on the screen and ‘confessing’ that someone had paid him 200 dollars to enter Kazakhstan.