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Statement Presented to the
Congressional-Executive Committee on China
By Kaiser Seyet
The Uyghur American Association
Setember 08, 2003
Escalating refoulement of Uyghur Refugees
The Uyghur American Association is deeply concerned
about the rising number of peaceful Uyghur dissidents
being returned to the People’s Republic of China.
Although media attention has raised the deportation of
Tibetan refugees from Nepal and caused governments to
act, no such attention has been paid to the escalating
phenomena of peaceful dissents being returned from
Central Asian states and Pakistan under pressure from
the Chinese government.
Before the formation of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO), Chinese diplomats would bring
accusations of criminal wrongdoing against Uyghur
refugees and seek their deportation. Wanted posters in
Chinese and the local language have been posted on the
streets in many cities. The pressure employed against
the refugees and their place of refuge can be summed
up with this except from a 1996 internal Chinese
Communist Party Document;
"Limit the activities of outside ethnic separatist
activities from many sides. Bear in mind the fact that
Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the home-bases
for the activities of outside separatists forces.
Through diplomacy, urge these countries to limit and
weaken the activities of separatist forces inside
their border. Take full advantage of our political
superiority to further develop the bilateral friendly
cooperation with these countries. At the same time,
always maintain pressure on them. Considering the
ethnic separatism activities outside of the border,
carry out all necessary dialog and struggle.
Strengthen the investigation and study outside of the
border. Collect the information on related development
directions of events, and be especially vigilant
against and prevent, by all means, the outside
separatist forces from making the so-called "Eastern
Turkistan" problem international."
Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Document
Central Committee (1996) No.7 Record of the Meeting of
the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the
Chinese Communist Party concerning the maintenance of
Stability in Xinjiang
When the SCO was formed, official contacts started in
the Central Asian war on terrorism. At that point, the
campaign against 'East Turkistan separatists' had not
been internationalized, but quietly, dissidents
continued to be arrested and returned to face
imprisonment, torture and even death, just for leaving
the peoples Republic of China.
After the events of September 11, 2001 and the
beginning of the US war on terrorism, Chinese
government officials began to equate the peaceful
expression of thought with terrorism. In many official
Chinese government statements, terrorism and
separatism appear side-by-side as crimes to be fought.
The criminalization of peaceful ideas is not condoned
by the US Constitution nor any international body or
agreement, yet such a tactic is used to repress
dissent in countries that neighbor the PRC. The entire
process should be viewed as an extension of the
Chinese government Police State.
The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment provides
that ‘no State Party shall expel, return ("refouler")
or extradite a person to another State where there are
substantial grounds for believing that he would be in
danger of being subjected to torture.’ The principle
of non-refoulement is a basic right of all people that
flee tyranny and oppression and clearly, according to
the annual US Department of State Human Rights Report,
the Peoples Republic of China abused the rights of
citizens accorded under their constitution. Abuses
included instances of extrajudicial killings, torture
and mistreatment of prisoners, forced confessions,
arbitrary arrest and detention, lengthy incommunicado
detention, and denial of due process. Such compelling
evidence from the US State Department merits attention
to safeguard the human rights of people escaping
oppression in the Peoples Republic of China.
The Uyghur American Association recommends that the US
government, in its official dealings with Central
Asian states, including Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan
and Kyrgyzstan,
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Reinforce the ideal of the rule of law, namely, the
principle of non-refoulement with regard to people
escaping persecution and oppression from the Peoples
Republic of China;
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Raise concerns about the treatment of refugees and
their rights as guaranteed under the UN Declaration of
Human Rights;
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Raise the issue of forced repatriations, the abuse of
human and civil rights before the proper UN bodies,
and
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Press for meaningful reform and change within the
People’s Republic of China such that so many do not
feel compelled to flee their homeland.
Signed,
UAA Board of Directors
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