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UK Genocide Accusation Latest In Growing Criticism Of China

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

The United Kingdom’s House of Commons said for the first time last week that genocide is taking place against Uyghurs and others in East Turkistan

WASHINGTON: April, 2021 – The UK’s parliament voted on Thursday to endorse a motion accusing Chinese authorities of committing crimes against humanity and genocide in its treatment of ethnic and religious Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan.

“We thank the House of Commons for declaring China’s genocide in East Turkistan,” Prime Minister Salih Hudayar said. “We urge Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UK Government to support our case against China at the International Criminal Court, grant refuge and expedite asylum for Uyghurs and take meaningful actions to end this genocide swiftly.

Prime Minister Hudayar leads a recent demonstration in front of the US State Department

Mr. Hudayar escaped China in 2000 as a political refugee and victim of China’s violence against activists.

Over 100 of his relatives have been taken to concentration camps since 2017, where four have been killed.

Thursday’s motion was submitted by Nusrat Ghani, a Conservative member of parliament who the Chinese government recently sanctioned for her work on this issue.

It is non-binding and passed by a unanimous voice vote.

Beijing denies these allegations and defends the camps.

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

The East Turkistan Government in Exile, the democratically elected official body representing East Turkistan and its people, says Turkistanis want the UK to actively promote much-needed international intervention.

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.