Uighurs returned to China 'disappear' says rights group

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has spoken out about the apparent "disappearance" of twenty ethnic Uighurs in a BBC News article from last Friday, January 29. After the riots last July in northern China, which left 97 dead, many Uighurs fled as refugees to Cambodia. However, in December, twenty were forcibly returned to China -- and now have disappeared into a "black hole." It is important to note that the majority of those killed in the riots were of the majority Han group and the Han population of Urumqi, the provincial capital, demanded retribution. Sophie Richardson of HRW says that the Chinese government must disclose the location and status of the group and "treat all returnees humanely, ensure fair trials, and not persecute individuals for activities and speech that are protected under international law." Although China's Foreign Ministry has not issued a comment, Bejjing has referred to those who fled to Cambodia as criminals.

This sad development in the deeply embedded ethnic conflict between the majority Han and the minority Uighurs is evidence of the lack of human rights in China. Despite opposition from the United Nations and the United States, the Chinese government forced the group to return from Cambodia, where they had seeked asylum. The lack of transparency in the Chinese government is also demonstrated, as even the relatives of the captured do not know their wherabouts. Because many Uighurs have suffered harsh treatment and torture when returning from other countries, it is virtually guranteed that the group in question will face prosecution with the possibility of death. As in Tibet, the Chinses government has tried to dilute the indigenous culture by moving millions of Han into the region. Currently, Han account for 40% of Xianjiang's population and about 45% are Uighurs. China sees the growing presence of the Han as a way to quell ethnic tensions by way of sheer dominance, but tensions between the mainly Muslim Uighurs and the atheistic Chinese government have been simmering for years. The tensions are founded by several deep cleavages: regional, religious, ethnic and even cultural; thus, the Uighurs want more autonomy than is allowed by Bejjing.
 
 
Source: "Uighurs returned to China 'disappear' says rights group." BBC NEWS | News Front Page | Asia-Pacific. British Broadcasting Corporation, 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8487724.stm.
 
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