Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-07-15-Speech-3-170"
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"en.20090715.11.3-170"2
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"Mr President, the outbreak of violence in the autonomous region of Xinjiang is being severely repressed by the Chinese Government. The clashes between Uighurs and Hans have taken the official death toll to 186, but the bloodshed continues.
This violence is being presented by China as a mere interethnic conflict between Hans and Uighurs, when it is in fact the almost inevitable result of its repressive policy in the Xinjiang region. The region is strategic but difficult to control. As a key transit route and with its wealth of natural resources – gold, oil and gas – it is crucial to the future of China’s energy supply. However, its population includes many non-Chinese ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Uighurs. The latter, which make up almost half of the population, are for the most part Sunni Muslims of Turkish-speaking origin. For a decade, they have been systematically discriminated against and threatened with assimilation and death, and their identity is in danger.
In fact, China’s policy towards these ethnic minorities was liberal in the 1980s but it has gradually become tougher, and the Chinese authorities seized upon 11 September 2001 in order to publicise their fight against – and note how they are all merged – terrorism, separatism and religious extremism. In April 2009 Amnesty International issued a stark warning: after Tibet, there will be Xinjiang. The policy of non-violence having failed, the Uighur separatists would seek other ways of having their demands for recognition of their identity met, and this has indeed happened.
However, China cannot continue to maintain its cohesion through repeated acts of bloodshed. As a signatory to international agreements, it is bound to protect its ethnic minorities. Moreover, its constitution, together with its 1984 law on regional autonomy, also oblige it to protect these minorities. Is Europe going to continue to shut its eyes and merely condemn the repression and unsuccessfully beg for the release of the political prisoners? No. Human rights in China are a political problem, and we must dare to remind that country of its commitments to its people and of the risk that it would run with regard to the international community should it fail to fulfil them. We shall expect strong action from the Swedish Presidency in this regard."@en1
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