Jun 26, 2007

East Turkestan: Forced Return Meets Resistance


Amnesty International has opposed Pakistan’s consideration of the forceful return of 22 Uyghurs to China, underlining that they face serious human rights violations upon their return.

Amnesty International has opposed Pakistan’s consideration of the forceful return of 22 Uyghurs to China, underlining that they face serious human rights violations upon their return.

Below is an article written by Javed Aziz Khan and published by The News International:

Amnesty International has opposed the forcible return of 22 Uighurs, alleged Chinese separatists reportedly hiding in tribal areas of Pakistan, to their homeland on the request of the Chinese government.

The Uighurs, under threat of arrest and deportation, are alleged to be members of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement. The Chinese authorities claim that the organisation is an armed secessionist group with bases in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China. Both the UN and the US listed the group as a “terrorist organization” in 2002.

China continues to make little distinction between Uighurs involved in peaceful or violent nationalist activities, branding them as “separatists” or “terrorists”. Whatever they are accused of, the risks posed to these individuals if forcibly returned to China are extremely grave,” said Tim Parritt, Deputy Director of the Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Program, in an email to The News.

According to Amnesty International (AI) it is against the forcible return of anyone to a country where they are at risk of serious human rights violations, including torture or the death penalty. The organisation, continued the email, would like to remind the Pakistani authorities that under international law, states are obliged not to expel, return or extradite any person to a country where he/she risks torture or other ill-treatment.

AI said that according to its reports the Chinese authorities demanded of Pakistan to locate and hand over 22 Uighurs who are said to be hiding in tribal area of Pakistan. “The Pakistan Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao is to discuss the issue with Chinese officials at a meeting of the Pakistan-China Joint Working Group on Terrorism in Beijing,” the email maintained.