As defenders of the faith, Malaysia must lead the charge to protest against China, says Kanat.
By Fernando Fong
April 17, 2022
A prominent Uyghur human rights activist has urged Malaysia to be the defenders of the Muslim faith.
Omer Kanat, Executive Director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), said Malaysia should not stay silent about large scale crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs in China.
Experts have called it one of the worst cases of human rights violations since World War Two, but we need action. How long before the United Nations and the OIC take action? Omer Kanat on what has the world done to raise concerns on the Uyghur genocide.
He pointed out that in July 2019, 22 Western nations raised concerns about China’s unspeakable atrocities in Xinjiang.
In response, at least 37 countries ‘recruited’ by China came up with a letter, and they whitewash China’s crimes as counterterrorism operations.
And here is the most shocking part – 14 of these countries are Muslim majority states which are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Muslim nations must stop being willfully blind to China’s unspeakable crimes against the Uyghurs. Omer Kanat calling for a collective voice of the Muslim world to speak up.
Kanat was speaking at an Uyghur Tribunal event in Kuala Lumpur organised by the Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia (Abim).
Malaysia As A Torchbearer Of Islam
He thanked the Malaysian government for standing up for the Uyghurs, but stressed that more can be done.
The Uyghur Tribunal started as a series of hearings in London to gather evidence on whether the Chinese government’s alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region constitute a genocide.
Abim vice-president Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Shamsudin say that at least a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained in the region.
He stressed that Malaysia is not anti China, but is morally bound to speak out against unspeakable atrocities.
Wadah president Datuk Ahmad Azam Ab Rahman (right) speaking at the Uyghur Tribunal. (Credit: Abim)
"The Uyghurs are held in extra-judicial camps or sent to prisons. Former detainees and residents of Xinjiang are being exposed to torture, mass surveillance, and forced sterilisation."
Abim vice-president Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Shamsudin on abuses taking place in Xinjiang.
Also present at the event are representatives from other NGOs including Association of Nexgen Christians of Malaysia (ANCOM), the International Women’s Alliance for Family Institution and Quality Education (WAFIQ), Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs (ACCIN), Malaysia4Uyghur and Wadah (Society for The Enlightenment of The Ummah Malaysia).
Sir Geoffrey Nice, who previously led the prosecution of the former Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic, was also among the speakers as chair of the tribunal.
Ancom advisor Jason Leong addressing the participants at the Uyghur Tribunal by Abim. (Credit: Abim)
Source: therakyatpost.com