WASHINGTON: As leaders of G20 countries assembled in Delhi for a Summit, the exiled government of Chinese-occupied East Turkistan today asked the members of the grouping to act against China which is also participating in the meeting or be ready to be branded as “complicit” to genocide of Uyghur Muslims.
Seeking “swift and united” action against Beijing, the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile (ETGE) said the G20 nations “face both an ethical and geopolitical imperative to act now” against China’s ongoing genocide in the region called ‘Xinjiang’ province by Beijing.
The two-day G20 Summit will start in New Delhi tomorrow and it is being attended by top leaders of the member countries, including US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron.
China is being represented by its Prime Minister Li Qiang, instead of President Xi Jinping who skipped the Summit.
“The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) calls on world leaders to confront China’s brutal campaign of genocide, colonization, and occupation in East Turkistan—known as ‘Xinjiang’ by Beijing,” said a statement issued by the ETGE.
“China’s ongoing atrocities targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples have been officially designated as genocide and/or crimes against humanity by the Government of the United States and the Parliaments of nearly a dozen Western nations, including G20 member states such as Canada, France, and the United Kingdom,” it said.
“Despite these symbolic recognitions, the international community— encompassing institutions such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, as well as influential bodies like the G20— has failed to take meaningful action to end the ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples,” the statement added.
“This inaction has only served to embolden China to continue its atrocities with impunity,” it noted.
The ETGE said Xi Jinping reaffirmed China’s commitment to continuing its genocidal policies against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples during a stopover in East Turkistan following the BRICS Summit in South Africa last month.
“Xi Jinping’s recent comments during his visit to East Turkistan confirm what we’ve long known: the Chinese regime is committed to its genocidal campaign against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples,” said ETGE President Ghulam Yaghma.
“Ignorance can no longer serve as a shield for inaction; the G20 must either rise to combat these atrocities or be forever branded complicit through its deafening silence,” he said.
The statement said that the G20 nations, as representatives of the global order and the leading nations in the world, “face both an ethical and geopolitical imperative to act now against China’s ongoing genocide in East Turkistan, which is no doubt the greatest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.”
It said that ignoring this crisis not only perpetuates immense suffering but also risks the long-term erosion of international principles and the sovereignty of nations globally.
“The world must not turn a blind eye to the strategic threat that China poses to global security in exchange for fleeting short-term economic benefits,” the statement said.
“The implications of the geopolitical humanitarian crisis in East Turkistan extend far beyond the ethical realm,” the ETGE said.
It said East Turkistan is strategically significant, rich in essential natural resources such as oil, natural gas, and rare earth minerals that are crucial for both China’s economy and modern technology globally.
It serves as a critical junction in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious economic and infrastructure project aiming to expand Chinese influence by connecting China with Europe, Africa, and other parts of Asia, the statement said.
“Within this framework, Occupied East Turkistan not only facilitates vital trade routes but also provides China with key military logistical advantages, thereby supporting China’s ambitions for global dominance,” the government in exile said.
“East Turkistan is the chilling harbinger of China’s unchecked global ambitions. Their relentless tactics of colonization, indoctrination, and extermination are not just confined to our borders; they are a template for the world,” warned ETGE Prime Minister Salih Hudayar.
“Should China’s heinous crimes and unchecked expansion persist, the entire globe must prepare for the horrifying proliferation of these monstrous strategies on an unprecedented scale,” he further added.
The ETGE said the choices made by world leaders at the G20 summit have far-reaching implications, especially as lives are lost and families shattered in East Turkistan every day.
“Silence and inaction not only make these nations complicit in an unfolding human tragedy but also represent a strategic blunder with potentially dire global consequences,” it said, adding East Turkistan is more than just a Uyghur issue as it’s a bellwether for international human rights and global stability.
“Therefore, swift and unified action led by the G20 nations is not just advisable, but essential,” it said.
The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile demands that the G20 publicly denounce China’s ongoing genocide, support East Turkistan’s case at the International Criminal Court, grant asylum to fleeing Uyghurs and Turkic people, counter Chinese intelligence threats to both East Turkistani communities and the security of G20 nations.
It also wants the G20 to urge the UN Security Council to address the humanitarian crisis in East Turkistan, enforce bans on products tied to Uyghur slave labor, and recognize East Turkistan as an occupied country while supporting its decolonization and independence.
