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Beijing dismisses ‘hearsay’ on muslim internment
BEIJING, Nov 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – China defended its internment of
Muslims in the country’s northwest as a terror prevention measure on Tuesday,
calling on the international community to reject “hearsay” and believe its
official line.
Up to a million Uighurs and other Chinese Turkish-speaking minority groups
have been placed in political re-education camps in the Xinjiang region,
according to a group of experts cited by the United Nations.
After originally denying the existence of the centres, Beijing has
repeatedly described the camps as vocational “training centres” that were
built to help people drawn to extremism to stay away from terrorism and allow
them to be reintegrated into society.
But the programme has faced rising criticism outside the country — notably
from the United States and human rights groups.
“We hope our journalist friends and our other foreign friends will take
into consideration the information and briefings on the situation given by
the Chinese authorities,” said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“Rumours and hearsay should not be believed,” he said standing next to his
German counterpart Heiko Maas at a press conference.
“It’s quite clear that the government in Xinjiang knows best what is
happening in Xinjiang — not other people and third party organisations.”
Critics say China is seeking to assimilate Xinjiang’s minority population
and suppress religious and cultural practises that conflict with Communist
ideology and the dominant Han culture.
Former inmates of the camps say they were detained for having long beards
or wearing the veil.
Attacks attributed to Uighurs have left hundreds dead over the last few
years in China, many of them in Xinjiang, where Beijing says its concerned
about a rise in Islamic radicalism.
The authorities have put in place intrusive measures of security —
ubiquitous surveillance cameras, DNA sampling, home visits by officials and
GPS trackers in cars.
“We call that a combination of repression and prevention. But we place the
priority on prevention. If it’s done well, terrorism won’t expand and take
root. It’s the most effective way to combat terrorism,” Wang Yi said.
The German foreign minister did not mention the Xinjiang region at the
press conference, but did say he had “spoken on the question of human rights”
during his closed meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
A debate on the situation in Xinjiang was held in the German parliament
last Thursday.
China’s ambassador to Berlin expressed Beijing’s “profound discontent” and
put in an official protest following the “blatant interference” in its
“domestic affairs”.
BSS/AFP/RY/1708 hrs