Beijing [China], July 10 : The Urumqi Massacre, is remembered as one of the blackest chapters in the history of China's systematic oppression and genocide of ethnic minorities.
According to governmental sources, 197 people were killed and 1700 were injured during these riots. However, human rights organizations emphasize that these figures have been excessively undermined, according to a report by the European Values Center for Security Policy (EVCSP) released on Tuesday.
The EVCSP report quoted the statement of Dolkun Isa, the President of the World Uyghur Congress who while describing the Urumqi Massacre said that "the turning point in from China's ethnic segregation and discrimination policy to the beginning of the genocidal ethnic policy." Currently, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been tightening its grip on the East Turkistan region under the guise of counterterrorism, the same report claimed.
Genocidal activities have been continuing in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) even when the country has been receiving criticism from the US and Europe over subjecting the Uyghur community to forced labour.
Additionally, the country has also been rapidly attempting to deprive Uyghurs of their political, social, and cultural rights, effectively leading to the complete vanishing of the Uyghur identity, culture and customs.
The response adopted by the CCP to subvert the Urumqi riots was making mass arrests, putting people in detention, beefing up the operations of the security apparatus across East Turkestan, and exposing people to torture, forced confessions, and other human rights abuses starting a campaign of repression against the Uyghurs. Hence, the XUAR has now become one of the most heavily monitored areas in the world, with heightened use of technology to track and control the population of XUAR, the same report by EVCSP a Czech non-governmental organisation founded in 2005 claimed.
As a result of the genocidal activities of China in the XUAR and the Urumqi Massacre, China is condemned by the international community and has strained and severed China's international relations. Additionally, multiple human rights organizations have criticized China's atrocities in East Turkestan, leading to calls for sanctions and other punitive measures. Various individuals belonging to the Uyghur diaspora from around the world held events to commemorate the Urumqi Massacre. This year, the World Uyghur Congress organized a protest in front of the United Nations Office in Geneva to honour the victims of the peaceful demonstrations, the same report mentioned.
The report also emphasized that The Urumqi Massacre highlights critical issues of ethnic human rights, regional stability, international relations, and state policies of China, and addressing these issues now requires a nuanced and informed approach after considering the historical, cultural, and socio-political complexities of the region.
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