By Alex
The US has been accused by China of “abusing” a United Nations event that was organized to mark an international day against Islamophobia. This was after the American ambassador in New York used the event to highlight Beijing’s persecution of its Uyghur minority.
In response, the Chinese ambassador to the UN accused the US of trying to create discord between China and Muslim nations during a special event at the General Assembly on Friday.
The event was held in anticipation of the first International Day to Combat Islamophobia on Wednesday. The General Assembly had voted last year to observe the day annually on March 15th, which is the anniversary of the 2019 attack on two mosques in New Zealand that resulted in 51 fatalities.
During the event, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, declared that the US had acknowledged the growing instances of “discrimination and violence” experienced by Muslims, and referred to the plight of the Uyghurs in China and the Rohingya in Myanmar.
Thomas-Greenfield stated: “We have also concluded that the Chinese government has engaged in genocide and crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.”
During the event, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, stated that Muslims are increasingly subjected to “discrimination and violence,” referring to the treatment of the Uyghurs in China and the Rohingya in Myanmar. She further stated that “the Chinese government has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.” She urged the international community to condemn the atrocities and demand accountability, calling for the release of all those unjustly detained in China to be reunited with their families.
However, China’s delegation spokesperson strongly condemned the remarks, rejecting the accusations made by the US and calling the allegation of genocide against the Uyghur minority a “lie fabricated by the United States.” He accused the US of committing genocide against Native Americans and war crimes in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq, including the indiscriminate killing of civilians, including women and children. The spokesperson called on the US to stop making lies for their political interests and stated that the world is clear-eyed about the US political agenda of using “Xinjiang” to condemn China. He further stated that the US attempt to sow discord between China and Islamic countries is doomed to fail.
Uyghur Genocide
The persecution and genocide of the Uyghurs by China has been thoroughly documented by human rights groups and the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and has received widespread condemnation from Western governments. However, Muslim-majority countries have been relatively quiet on the matter. Several, such as Gulf states, have instead fostered closer diplomatic and economic relations with Beijing.
In October of last year, the UN Human Rights Council voted down a motion calling for a debate about the Uyghur situation in occupied Uyghuristan. Countries in the Middle East and Africa sided with China, despite widespread condemnation from Western governments and human rights organizations. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, consisting of 55 Muslim-majority countries, has also developed strong ties with China. Last March, OIC members sponsored a General Assembly resolution to establish the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, which China co-sponsored. Chinese Deputy Ambassador Dai Bing addressed the General Assembly on Friday, praising China’s cooperation with Islamic countries and citing the recent diplomatic agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which was reached in Beijing, as an example of China’s regional influence.
Uyghurs ‘under assault’
According to Omer Kanat, the executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, a Washington-based advocacy organization, China is attempting to deceive the world regarding its treatment of the Uyghurs. Kanat stated that the situation is not a matter of open debate and that the Uyghurs are under attack due to their Muslim and ethnic identity. If China’s UN diplomats believe that they can trick the world, they are mistaken, according to Kanat.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the national deputy director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), also denounced China’s persecution of Uyghurs and its effort to divert attention to the US’s past mistreatment of Muslims.
CAIR, which characterizes China’s treatment of Uyghurs as genocide, criticized Muslim-majority countries last year for neglecting to support the demand for a UN discussion on the issue.
Mitchell stated, “The fact that there is Islamophobia in the United States does not excuse the heinous crimes the Chinese government is committing against its Uyghur Muslims. There’s no question that Islamophobia contributed to why so many individuals were tortured and killed during the so-called war on terror, without Western countries batting an eyelash. The United States must account for its Islamophobia and war crimes, but there is no comparison to what the Chinese government is doing to Uyghur Muslims.”
Additionally, China’s Islamophobia involves the maltreatment of imams and the incarceration of their entire families. At least 800,000 Uyghur children have been separated from their parents and sent to state boarding schools to be taught to adore the Communist Party and detest Islam. If China’s appalling crimes are not categorized as Islamophobia, then what are they?