Uyghurs, second victims of Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

 After Rohingya genocide, Uyghurs are facing the same consequences by same actor for same purpose.

By Mehmet Tohti

Recently UN has called  China to end the internment camps that hold “up to million Uyghurs” and release those incarcerated immediately.

 Call for sanctioning Chinese officials who are responsible is repeatedly made to the Trump administration and US lawmakers seemed not to rest the matter without real action is taken.

Disappearance of Uyghur star scholar, Prof. Rahile Dawut and detention well known scholars,  young  pop stars, soccer players, singers,  international students is discrediting Chinese blatant denial and its  defence of “ vocational training or rehabilitation for minor offenders”.  Enforced disappearances and custodian deaths of Uyghur inmates are also causing alarm and became subject of frequent reporting.

Especially in southern part of East Turkistan with majority Uyghurs population and no access to any journalists to set foot, it is reported that 40% to 100% of Uyghurs have been sent to internment camps.

Question arises then why China is continuing its repugnant campaign targeting at Uyghurs in a way of ethnic cleansing while the memory of Rohingya’s genocide is so vivid?

It is all about 21st century Marshal Plan or referred as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), spearhead and driven by President Xi Jinping.

As the map shows, East Turkistan, which China calls Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region since Oct, 1955, is key node  where the main routes of BRI branches out and connects China to western Russia, Turkey, Europe  and to Maritime Silk Road at Pakistani Gwadar port through Kashgar.

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Dead silence of neighbouring Stan countries and other Muslim world on the BRI zone on Uyghurs’ cry is well understood, as their eyes are stuck to deep pocket of Chinese money, despite their ethno-cultural, historic and religious affinity with Uyghurs.

65 countries with 21 trillion GDP combined are expected to be part of BRI. More than half of world population live within BRI zone. China promised to pour USD1-8 trillion  to complete this project. Currently 25% of Goods and services moving globally in this region will be transported by two integrated components of BRI, Ancient Silk Road Economic Belt (Land Corridors) and Maritime Silk Road. Pakistani Gwadar Port is where Land corridor and Maritime Silk Road interconnects and opens China to Indian Ocean bypassing the dependence to Malacca strait.

As Mr. Henrique Schneider pointed, BRI is all about Chinese hegemony around the world with debt trap and sugarcoated attractions of “revitalizing the ancient Silk Road for common prosperity”. To be sure this is the first ambitious attempt by China to colonize poor nations and replace US to become global boss.  Therefore, Xi Jinping, who cemented his lifelong presidency with constitutional amendment, determined to achieve this plan, regardless of it’s the high cost. As I mentioned before, ongoing ethnic cleansing and possible fear of mass murdering in East Turkistan should be understood within the context of BRI.

 BRI is not merely about economic prosperity as presented by China; rather it is a long term strategy of colonizing countries with debt trap and to seek concession in return to establish hegemony with strong trade, military and political presence over time.   

The land mass of East Turkistan is located at the heart of this project and Uyghur’s plight sine 1949 is considered as peril for the future of BRI by China. President Xi believed that Uyghurs’ claim for their ancestral land from Chinese occupation is existential threat to the successful completion of BRI and therefore he initiated all out of war against Uyghurs to crush them at home and silence them beyond borders.

China took control of East Turkistan with the military and logistic help of Stalin in 1949 and plight of Uyghurs to restore its Statehood never stopped since then.  

Instead of treating Uyghurs with respect and dignity and seeing their ethno-social and ethno-religious identity as a bridge to other Nations in BRI zone, China has chosen the Orwellian ways to eliminate them. Recent construction of massive crematories in Uyghur neighbourhood set the alarm that something we afraid of may be coming. In fact Uyghur people in East Turkistan are already sealed off from outside world and no communication is available in and out.

BRI is the crossroad where the dream of Uyghurs to restore their statehood in their ancestral home and imperial dream of China to colonize the world is sharply colliding.

. Recent Chinese move of military base in Wakhan corridor in Afghanistan, thousands of covert Chinese soldiers stationed in Pakistan as “construction workers” and building military post in Tajikistan are series steps that China has taken in fear of Uyghur “insurgency” to disturb BRI corridors that stretches from East Turkistan to neighbouring west..

Uyghurs’ freedom plight seems to be hot topic within the context of BRI in near future.

Mehmet Tohti is prominent Human Rights Activist and former vice president of World Uyghur Congress. He lives in Ontario, Canada and works as legal professional.

Facebook/mehmettohti; twitter@Memettohti