"State-sponsored mass slavery": East Turkistan Govt in Exile slams China over ongoing Uyghur genocide

Washington DC [US], April 19 : The East Turkistan Government in Exile has alleged that human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in China's Xinjiang region remain ongoing, citing new testimony and recent international warnings.

In a press release, the group referred to findings published by researcher Adrian Zenz, which include testimony from Zhang Yabo, a former Chinese police officer who served in Khotan between 2014 and 2023.

According to the ETGE, Zhang described the forced deployment of Uyghurs and other Turkic individuals to cotton harvesting work, instances of torture and deaths in detention, and the transfer of former detainees from internment facilities into the formal prison system.

The ETGE further claimed that Chinese authorities ordered the destruction of reeducation camp records in 2020, the same year it filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court.

"Beijing did not dismantle its genocide. It professionalised it," ETGE President Mamtimin Ala said in the statement, adding that continued inaction by the international community has worsened the situation.

The group also cited a warning issued on January 22 by United Nations experts, which stated that state-imposed forced labour affecting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other minorities could amount to enslavement as a crime against humanity.

It alleged that by 2025, such labour deployments had reached 3.4 million instances, including more than 20,000 people transferred from Kashgar prefecture to other parts of China.

Describing the situation as "state-sponsored mass slavery," Salih Hudayar, the group's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security, called on governments to block imports of goods allegedly produced through forced labour and urged accountability proceedings at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

The ETGE also criticised China's Ethnic Unity Law, passed in March, claiming it further institutionalises policies targeting non-Han communities.

Vice President Sayragul Sauytbay said the issue should be treated as one of "illegal Chinese colonial occupation" and called for international support for legal action and what she described as the right to self-determination.

In its statement, the ETGE urged the international community to take measures, including stricter enforcement of forced labour laws, targeted sanctions against officials, and legal action at international courts.

It also called for formal recognition of East Turkistan as an occupied territory.

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