BANDAR BARU BANGI, 30 Dicember 2019 – The Uyghurs are the natives of a region once known as East Turkistan, or the Autonomous Uyghur Xinjiang Region, the recognised name by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) today. Islam has always been the faith of this region.  In recent years however, the Chinese Government has shifted its stance with the endeavour to redefine their identity as a Minority Region that is a subset of a multicultural country, and have begun to negate the traditions that Xinjiang truly is the ethnic and cultural  native land of the proud Uyghurs.

Understanding China requires a thorough look at various aspects, regardless of the country’s embraced ideology. One can never deny the prominence of China as an economic and technological powerhouse of the world. Their might is simply undeniable.

Nevertheless, China fares badly on the humanity scoresheet. The way the Uyghurs are being treated by the government of China is highly atrocious. Innocent Uyghur men and women were arrested and sent to detention camps on baseless grounds of ‘deradicalisation’, tortured and forced to leave their religion and cultural values. This shameless act is an open secret to the world. The systematic atrocities against the Uyghurs seem like a genocidal grand plan to wipe them off of Xinjiang.

The ‘Anti-Uyghur’ policy is not new to the Communist regime of China. Due to their closed-door approach in the past decades, crimes against the Uyghurs were kept hidden from the world. But today, Xinjiang is under scrutiny. The inhumane acts meted upon the Uyghurs are gaining the world’s attention.

HALUAN is firmly against acts of terror of any form on the Uyghurs. The Uyghurs deserve their citizenship rights and must be treated as dignified human beings. HALUAN affirms the condemnation of various organisations against the atrocities on the Uyghurs in accordance with the Malaysian law and will join the coalition of Malaysian NGOs to represent the voice of Malaysians. The Uyghurs must be treated with dignity and allowed to practice Islam as their religion of choice. Forcing them to leave their faith is the biggest crime against humanity in a civilised world.