News

New Zealand Urged To Recognise Uyghur Genocide

Supporters of the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement rally in front of the British Embassy in Washington on April 16, 2021, ahead of an April 22 vote in the British House of Commons on whether or not to declare that a genocide is underway in East Turkistan (Xinjiang) and China's treatment of the Uyghur Muslims on © Drew Angerer/Getty Images

WASHINGTON: May 3, 2021 – New Zealand’s ACT Party will be asking the New Zealand Parliament to debate a motion and vote on designating China’s atrocities against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan (renamed “Xinjiang”) as genocide.

The motion, put forth by ACT Party deputy leader Brooke van Velden, is similar to those that were passed in the Parliaments of Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Supporters and members of the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement rally outside the White House to urge the United States to end trade deals with China and take action to stop the oppression of the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples on Aug 14, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

The motion will ask MPs to vote on whether the human rights atrocities in China’s Occupied East Turkistan amount to genocide, and whether they should call upon the Government to “act to fulfill its obligation” under United Nations conventions.

“We thank New Zealand’s ACT Party and its Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden for introducing this motion,” said Vice President Abdulahat Nur of the East Turkistan Government in Exile. “The Uyghur and other Turkic people of East Turkistan are left at mercy of democratic nations across the globe to act to end the genocide; recognition is the first step,” he added.

To date, New Zealand has recognized genocide three times in the past including The Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi, and genocide conducted by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

“There is no doubt that what China is doing to Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in Occupied East Turkistan is genocide as defined under the UN Genocide Convention,” said Prime Minister Salih Hudayar of the East Turkistan Government in Exile. “We urge all political parties in New Zealand, especially the ruling Labour Party to vote yes on this motion and stand with the victims of genocide,” he added.

Prime Minister Salih Hudayar

The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) and East Turkistanis (Uyghurs and others originating from East Turkistan) worldwide are hopeful that New Zealand will continue its long-standing policy of opposing genocide across the globe, including the genocide currently happening in Occupied East Turkistan.

The ETGE continues to call on other democratic nations across the world, including the EU, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, and India, to also recognize the genocide occurring in East Turkistan.

The ETGE is also calling on the governments of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the European Union, India, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. to grant refuge to Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples fleeing genocide in East Turkistan and support East Turkistan’s case against China at the International Criminal Court.

Mark Buckton

Mark is a journalism vet of 20 years with most of those years spent in Tokyo, Japan, as a columnist for The Japan Times and numerous other publications. His work has appeared on CNN, in the BBC, NPR, and in several dozen other media forms and publications across five continents.