Uyghur Community Ask NZ Parliament: Declare Genocide
Members of the Uyghur community in New Zealand yesterday
sent a letter Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, asking that
genocide be declared about the situation of Uyghurs of
Xinjiang, China. This letter was also delivered to all
members of parliament. Excerpts of this letter are now
released to media and news providers, in light of parliament
addressing the issue of Uyghur genocide in the house of
representatives today and this week, and the worldwide
concern for the Uyghur people. For their safety, this public
statement by the Uyghur community is
anonymised.
"We are writing to you on
behalf of the New Zealand Uyghur community to inform you of
the situation of Uyghurs living in New Zealand, and to
request your support for the motion to declare China's
oppression of the Uyghurs as amounting to genocide."
The New Zealand Uyghur community
wrote.
"We believe that
this declaration would defend New Zealand’s values, and
align New Zealand with our allies to do our part to stop the
horrific crimes against humanity unfolding in Xinjiang
(Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
[XUAR])."
"We understand that New Zealand is
not a military superpower, or a trade superpower, however,
New Zealand is a moral superpower. We can influence the fate
of the 20 million Uyghur people suffering back
home."
The Uyghur community
commeneded Ardern on her willingness to address the issue in
face to face meetings with Chinese Government, and for her
awareness of the
atrocities.
"We understand
from the statements made by the government that you are
aware of the atrocities faced by the Uyghur people in
Xinjiang. As one of the smallest ethnic communities in New
Zealand, we sincerely appreciate that you have raised this
issue face to face, on the highest level with the Chinese
Communist Party."
"However, we are
desperate. For those of us in New Zealand, the most painful
torture we face is social isolation. It is not only because
our friends, relatives and colleagues back home are either
in prisons, concentration camps or subject to omnipresent
surveillance and a total lack of freedom. It is because
Uyghurs in the 21st century, no matter where we are, are
living dead."
"Our people have no basic
human rights, and we are living in fear. We Uyghurs overseas
cannot communicate with our loved ones, we cannot visit them
and they cannot come to visit us. They are not even allowed
access to their passports."
"In March of
this year, an independent report by a US-based think tank
(Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy) concluded that
the People's Republic of China (China) bears state
responsibility for committing genocide against the Uyghurs
in breach of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention).
The think tank’s findings were based on an extensive
review of the available evidence, and an application of
international law to that evidence."
"It is
clear to our community that the Chinese Communist Party
seeks to eradicate us." They wrote.
"Dear Prime Minister, we urge you to act. We urge you to do more than condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s actions as crimes against humanity. Given what we all now know, this term is no longer sufficient. We urge you to support the motion to declare China’s actions against our people as genocide."