China’s New Berlin Wall

 Written By: Rukiye Turdush

Follow : @parlabest

The recent pilgrimage of Chinese government muslim delegation, including elderly Uyghurs and Hui Muslims to Saudi Arabia revealed how the Chinese government has tried to build a wall between free Uyghurs living outside China and the chained Uyghurs in East Turkistan. Uyghurs living in Saudi Arabia took to social media to describe how Uyghurs from East Turkistan who have recently come to Saudi for the annual Muslim pilgrimage are avoiding restaurants and shops belonging to Uyghurs. However, they report that Hui Muslims visited the Uyghurs living in Saudi.

One Uyghur taxi driver in Saudi said that Uyghurs who had just arrived for the Hajj pilgrimage looked very scared and immediately got off his taxi when they learned he was Uyghur and knew their language. They knew they would be punished by the Chinese government upon return to China for speaking with Uyghurs abroad. Let alone meeting or even saying hello to other Uyghurs when they travel abroad. This is because strict government surveillance and intensive spying makes it nearly impossible for Uyghurs to communicate with their loved ones online. All online communications are strictly censored and monitored by the Chinese government. In 2016, global watch dog Freedom House ranked China as “the world’s worst abuser of Internet freedom.”

To date, countless Uyghur writers, journalists, bloggers or other Uyghurs who try to reveal the truth by posting pictures or videos showing Chinese oppression are harshly punished and imprisoned. The World Uyghur Congress has published dozens of names that have been arrested, but that is only the tip of the ice berg as it is very difficult to get the exact number under such restrictions on information flow from the Chinese government.

Looks like no one is paying attention to China’s new kind of Berlin Wall that it is trying to create between the free world and the Chinese communist colony of East Turkistan, almost 30 years after the Berlin between East and West Berlin collapsed. From 1961 to 1989, during the existence of the Berlin Wall more than 5000 people tried to escape over the wall and over 200 were killed.

The number of sacrifices Uyghurs have made and the countless deaths that have occurred because of China’s new Berlin Wall is far beyond physical territorial border — it is both cyber and psychological.

The Chinese wall extends its border in every Uyghur’s brain. The wall can stick on every Uyghur and follow them wherever they go as it followed the Uyghurs who came to Saudi Arabia for the annual muslim pilgrimage. It not only tries to conquer the Uyghurs body but tries to conquer their thoughts, words, behaviours, and soul. Because, it is a wall between disappearance and survival; slavery and freedom; it is a wall between fear and bravery. The Berlin wall in Germany was made with stone and people tore that wall down with hand tools. However, China’s new Berlin wall is made with terror, it can be only thrown over with hearts for freedom. What did our ancestors say? Lose your money, lose your life, but not your heart.

The Latest: US urges Myanmar to avoid inflaming tensions

By Associated Press August 25 at 5:01 PM

YANGON, Myanmar — The Latest on militant attacks on security forces in Myanmar (all times local):

3:15 a.m.

The United States is strongly condemning attacks on security forces in western Myanmar but urging a government response that “avoids inflaming a tense situation.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says that as security forces act to prevent further violence and bring the perpetrators to justice, they should respect the rule of law and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The U.S. statement Friday follows attacks by ethnic Rohingya militants on security outposts in the western state of Rakhine that have left 71 people dead.

Nauert says the attacks underscore the importance of the government implementing recommendations of a commission chaired by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan. The commission published its final report on Thursday on to resolve communal violence in the region.

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6 p.m.

Myanmar’s government says attacks by ethnic Rohingya militants on security outposts in the western state of Rakhine have left 71 people dead.

The office of the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said Friday that 59 of the dead were attackers and 12 were security officials.

A militant group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, took responsibility for the attacks, saying they were in defense of Rohingya communities that had been abused by government forces.

The attacks marked a significant escalation of the group’s armed struggle, which began with attacks last October that killed nine border police officers.

Those attacks triggered counterinsurgency operations by the army, resulting in what human rights groups say were massive human rights violations, including killings, rapes and the burning down of many homes.

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1:30 p.m.
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The office of Myanmar’s leader says the death toll in militant attacks on several police and border outposts in a troubled western state has risen to 25.

Leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s office posted on Facebook that eight police officers and one immigration officer had been killed and police had also recovered 16 militants’ bodies.

The update Friday afternoon also said some weapons had been taken from the police in the attacks.
===

Suu Kyi’s office said earlier that the attacks were intended to coincide with the release of a report from the Rakhine Advisory Commission. On Thursday it recommended improvements to economic development and social justice in Rakhine state to resolve communal violence between Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Myanmar Army starts fresh crackdown on Rohingyas

https://youtu.be/KiDrgW809KE
Published at 02:45 PM August 25, 2017

Residents of a Rakhine state village in Myanmar were seen fleeing after the Myanmar Army started another crackdown on marginalised Muslim community. The panicked villagers took refuge on the nearest mountains.

Why China’s Ganging up against Uyghur Muslims is a threat for the world?

By: Gulnaz Uighur

Follow at: @iamgul8

There are chances that you have not heard about Uyghurs or about our connection with China. So before writing about the threat, here is an introduction to our community. Uyghurs are ethnically Turkic people living in the areas of Central Asia. We practice a moderate form of Islam and our land is called East Turkestan. Though, in 1949 China occupied it and named it as Xinjiang( means new territory). Since then we Uyghurs have been subjected to unspeakable atrocities by the communist regime. Our land is rich in natural resources which became the reason behind its occupation. Our culture and values are entirely different from Chinese ideology. Due to this, we have been imprisoned in our own homes.

The Heights of oppression in China

Uyghurs are not allowed to Practice Islam. Thousands of mosques have been destroyed in the name of development. There have been notices to praise Xi Jinping before Allah, these posters are pasted in every corner of Xinjiang (read East Turkestan). We are not allowed to fast during the month of Ramadan. Beards are banned for Uyghur men. Children below 18 yrs are not allowed to visit pray,visit mosques or learn Islam. If a parent is caught teaching Quran to their kids, they get punished. 

Regular raids are conducted in Uyghur houses without even a warrant. Our language is not taught in schools, there are no job vacancies for us. Child labor is prevalent (I myself have been a victim). Uyghurs are not allowed to leave China, our passports are kept with the authorities. So if someone wants to go abroad, then we first need to visit the police station. Therefore our trip to abroad can easily end in torture,humiliation or imprisonment( authorities in China don't need a reason to arrest Uyghurs). There are many such things happening with us right now. While you take a sound sleep at your well equipped apartments, our homes are searched and our beloveds, taken away. Most of the time we never hear about their fate, whether they live or die. We never know! 

On top of it all, if some of us escaped or got lucky to legally leave the country. Some Uyghurs who travel for education or are living in asylum are somehow trying to get their life together. But Xi Jinping is not able to see that either, according to him domination is the key to prosperity. 

From Economy to Expansion

Under Xi Jinping’s regime, the Uyghur conflict has been set on fire. China is now Ganging up with other countries against Uyghurs. The recent example is of Turkey’s declaration of blocking Anti-China media came just after signing security deals with the country. Turkey has been a major supporter of Uyghurs and this is a major setback. Although, its not the first time that Xi Jinping has used economic ties to restrict the freedom of our community. Recently, Egypt also detained dozens of Uyghur students and arrested hundreds of Uyghurs on the behest of China. This happened despite all of them living legally in Egypt.(Here is a petition for you to support). 

But how the suppression of Uyghurs is a threat for the world? 

If one closely studies the reason and pattern of persecution by China, then one can easily distinguish its motive of using economic tools as a compliment to its expansion policies. By looking at the examples of Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, Pakistan and even Italy( recently Dolkun Isawas not allowed to speak at a conference in Italian senate and was detained instead) etc. We find that just after signing some deals , China was able to dictate their policies about Uyghurs. Earlier these countries didn’t have a problem with us but suddenly they find it difficult to protect Human Rights. There are Uyghurs who were living from past 10 years but today they are forced to flea and live in fear. 

The world knows that Human rights have no place in China itself. And if China continues to strengthen its ties with other countries through projects economic projects. Then soon the human rights situation will become horrible even for the native citizens of those countries. China has always been aggressive about its recession policies and will do anything to expand. The wounds of cultural genocide are still fresh in everyone’s mind. The results of steel revolution by Mao have been horrible too. 

Therefore, the world must learn from the Uyghurs despotism and stop China from throttling the Human rights of Uyghurs. Or it won’t take long for Xi Jinping to choke the necks of those who support him now.