Kathmandu, April 18

The United States has raised serious question on human rights violation by the Chinese government in its autonomous region, Xinjiang. Xinjiang is in the northwest part of China with a population of around 21 million.

Talking to a group of journalists today, a senior diplomat of the US to Nepal said that they had serious concern about Chinese government’s violation of human rights in Xinjiang.

“The people of Xinjiang are suffering. They can’t practice their religion and culture. The government is totally dominating them,” the US diplomat said. “Around 60 per cent population in Xinjiang is Muslim. They are denied their rights to religion.” Citing destroyed mosques of the Xinjiang region as an example, the senior diplomat said that those who wanted to practice their religion were beaten up and taken to the detention camp.

Xinjiang region is a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The strategic BRI route proposed by China will connect it with Europe through Kazakhstan. BRI also incorporates China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

“The US is not talking about the BRI and CPEC projects of China. That is their concern. We also have good relations with China in terms of trade, diplomacy and others issues,” the US senior diplomat said, adding but the Chinese government has violated human rights in Xinjiang province.

The senior US diplomat also revealed that they had retained documents on human rights violation by the Chinese government in the province and the detention camps run by the central government.

“We not only care about our people but are concerned about the human rights of all human beings of the world. If the Chinese government ill treats its own people what would be its measures in dealing with the citizens of other countries?” the US senior diplomat questioned.

Though China had signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it has failed to abide by the international instrument, said the US diplomat. The diplomat also informed that the US had hosted sessions on the violation of human rights in China in Geneva and in Washington. “But the violation of human rights and religious rights of the people in Xinjiang continues unabated,” the US diplomat said, adding that people out there were forced not to read Quran, the Muslim religious book, and that they were compelled to practice communism. They were also forced to eat pork and drink alcohol against their religious values, he said.

Besides violating their human rights, the Chinese government has adopted a sophisticated surveillance mechanism to constantly monitor the activities of the people, according to the US diplomat.

“Even the US special rapporteurs have come up with reports that show human rights violation in China. However, such reports have failed to impact the deteriorating rights situation,” the senior US diplomat said.

“As a human being we should all lend voice to those people. But that does not mean we are against the Chinese government,” he said.