Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Urgent Action for two Uyghurs
Friends and family have not heard from two Uighur students in more than a month. Amnesty International is very worried about their safety.
PUBLIC
AI Index: ASA 17/028/2009
UA 158/09
Fear of Torture and other Ill-Treatment
18 June 2009
CHINA
Yusufjan (Yuesefujiang) (m), aged 27
Memetjan (Maimaitijiang) (m), aged 24
Yusufjan and Memetjan, both ethnic Uighurs and students at Xinjiang University, were detained on 10 May in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China. There is no information on their current legal status or whereabouts and there are fears that the men may be subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.
According to China Aid Association, a US-based Christian NGO, on 10 May Yusufjan, Memetjan, and five other students were holding a meeting at Xinjiang University to discuss religious issues. Their meeting was broken up by two officers from the local internal security police force, accompanied by more than ten plain-clothed men, who led all seven away in handcuffs for interrogation.
According to China Aid Association, the five other students were held for 15 days and each fined 5,000 yuan (approximately 730 USD) for “holding an illegal gathering”. This charge and the students punishment does not comply with Chinese law which suggests that their detention was arbitrary and that corruption or discrimination may have played a part.
China Aid Association have stated that the authorities have threatened Yusufjan and Memetjan with more severe punishment than that received by the five students who were released.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Uighurs are a mainly Muslim ethnic minority who are concentrated primarily in the XUAR. Since the 1980s, the Uighurs have been the target of systematic and extensive human rights violations. This includes arbitrary detention and imprisonment, incommunicado detention, and serious restrictions on religious freedom as well as cultural and social rights. Chinese government policies, including those that limit use of the Uighur language, severe restrictions on freedom of religion, and a sustained influx of Han Chinese migrants into the region, are destroying customs and, together with employment discrimination, fuelling discontent and ethnic tensions. Chinese government has mounted an aggressive campaign that has led to the arrest and arbitrary detention of thousands of Uighurs on charges of “terrorism, separatism and religious extremism” for peacefully exercising their human rights. On 14 August 2008, Wang Lequan, Communist Party Secretary of the XUAR, announced a "life and death" struggle against Uighur "separatism".
Local authorities maintain tight control over religious practice, including prohibiting all government employees and children under the age of 18, from worshipping at mosques.
Torture and other ill-treatment are endemic in all forms of detention, despite China having ratified the UN Convention against Torture in 1988.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Write a personally-worded message in English, Mandarin or your own language
- calling on the authorities to release Yusufjan and Memetjan immediately and unconditionally;
- calling on the authorities to provide information on their whereabouts, and the reasons and legal basis for their detention;
- urging the authorities to guarantee that they are not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment while in custody;
- urging the authorities to ensure they are given access to a lawyer of their choice, their families and any medical treatment that they may require;
- calling on the authorities to respect and protect the right of Uighurs to enjoy their own culture, to practise their religion, and to use their own language.
- calling on the authorities to make a clear distinction between activities that involve the peaceful exercise of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and those that would be internationally recognized as criminal acts.
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China:
WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017, People's Republic of China
Fax: 011 86 10 6596 1109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional People's Government:
Nur BEKRI Zhuxi
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu
2 Zhongshanlu
Wulumuqishi 830041
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Email: master@xinjiang.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Chairman
Director of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional Department of Public Security:
LIU Yaohua Tingzhang
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Gong'anting
58 Huanghelu
Wulumuqishi 830001
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Director
COPIES TO:
His Excellency LAN Lijun
Ambassador for the People's Republic of China
515 St. Patrick Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5H3
Fax: (613) 789-1911
Please respond quickly on behalf of these two Uighur students. Thank you.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Urgent Action Office
Amnesty International Canada
14 Dundonald Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1K2
Moving July 4 to 3-1992 Yonge St, Toronto M4S 1Z7
Tel: (416) 363 9933 ext 25
Fax: (416) 363 3103
www.amnesty.ca/urgentaction
PUBLIC
AI Index: ASA 17/028/2009
UA 158/09
Fear of Torture and other Ill-Treatment
18 June 2009
CHINA
Yusufjan (Yuesefujiang) (m), aged 27
Memetjan (Maimaitijiang) (m), aged 24
Yusufjan and Memetjan, both ethnic Uighurs and students at Xinjiang University, were detained on 10 May in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China. There is no information on their current legal status or whereabouts and there are fears that the men may be subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.
According to China Aid Association, a US-based Christian NGO, on 10 May Yusufjan, Memetjan, and five other students were holding a meeting at Xinjiang University to discuss religious issues. Their meeting was broken up by two officers from the local internal security police force, accompanied by more than ten plain-clothed men, who led all seven away in handcuffs for interrogation.
According to China Aid Association, the five other students were held for 15 days and each fined 5,000 yuan (approximately 730 USD) for “holding an illegal gathering”. This charge and the students punishment does not comply with Chinese law which suggests that their detention was arbitrary and that corruption or discrimination may have played a part.
China Aid Association have stated that the authorities have threatened Yusufjan and Memetjan with more severe punishment than that received by the five students who were released.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Uighurs are a mainly Muslim ethnic minority who are concentrated primarily in the XUAR. Since the 1980s, the Uighurs have been the target of systematic and extensive human rights violations. This includes arbitrary detention and imprisonment, incommunicado detention, and serious restrictions on religious freedom as well as cultural and social rights. Chinese government policies, including those that limit use of the Uighur language, severe restrictions on freedom of religion, and a sustained influx of Han Chinese migrants into the region, are destroying customs and, together with employment discrimination, fuelling discontent and ethnic tensions. Chinese government has mounted an aggressive campaign that has led to the arrest and arbitrary detention of thousands of Uighurs on charges of “terrorism, separatism and religious extremism” for peacefully exercising their human rights. On 14 August 2008, Wang Lequan, Communist Party Secretary of the XUAR, announced a "life and death" struggle against Uighur "separatism".
Local authorities maintain tight control over religious practice, including prohibiting all government employees and children under the age of 18, from worshipping at mosques.
Torture and other ill-treatment are endemic in all forms of detention, despite China having ratified the UN Convention against Torture in 1988.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Write a personally-worded message in English, Mandarin or your own language
- calling on the authorities to release Yusufjan and Memetjan immediately and unconditionally;
- calling on the authorities to provide information on their whereabouts, and the reasons and legal basis for their detention;
- urging the authorities to guarantee that they are not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment while in custody;
- urging the authorities to ensure they are given access to a lawyer of their choice, their families and any medical treatment that they may require;
- calling on the authorities to respect and protect the right of Uighurs to enjoy their own culture, to practise their religion, and to use their own language.
- calling on the authorities to make a clear distinction between activities that involve the peaceful exercise of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and those that would be internationally recognized as criminal acts.
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China:
WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017, People's Republic of China
Fax: 011 86 10 6596 1109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional People's Government:
Nur BEKRI Zhuxi
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu
2 Zhongshanlu
Wulumuqishi 830041
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Email: master@xinjiang.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Chairman
Director of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional Department of Public Security:
LIU Yaohua Tingzhang
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Gong'anting
58 Huanghelu
Wulumuqishi 830001
Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Director
COPIES TO:
His Excellency LAN Lijun
Ambassador for the People's Republic of China
515 St. Patrick Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5H3
Fax: (613) 789-1911
Please respond quickly on behalf of these two Uighur students. Thank you.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Urgent Action Office
Amnesty International Canada
14 Dundonald Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1K2
Moving July 4 to 3-1992 Yonge St, Toronto M4S 1Z7
Tel: (416) 363 9933 ext 25
Fax: (416) 363 3103
www.amnesty.ca/urgentaction
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Harper enlists activist to help Celil
Harper enlists activist to help Celil
U.S. businessman known for obtaining freedom of political prisoners in China
CAMPBELL CLARK
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
May 12, 2009 at 3:37 AM EDT
OTTAWA — The federal government has enlisted U.S. businessman turned activist John Kamm in efforts to secure the release of jailed Uyghur-Canadian Huseyin Celil and others in China, turning to more sophisticated approaches after years of fruitless efforts.
Mr. Kamm, a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, is legendary for obtaining the freedom of dissidents through respectful but persistent inquiries with Chinese officials at all levels - using an approach Beijing accepts to win ground on a tense topic. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his ministers initially criticized the Chinese government when Mr. Celil, a Canadian citizen from China's Uyghur minority, was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 after a closed-door trial on terrorism charges.
But as they have attempted to thaw chilled relations with China in recent months, their criticisms regarding Mr. Celil and other rights cases have been less public.
Three weeks ago, Canadian officials brought in Mr. Kamm to seek his advice and help in meeting with aides to Mr. Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, as well as with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
Related Articles
The Globe and Mail
Mr. Kamm is beginning to work on the case of Mr. Celil, who is in a remote prison in the northeast Chinese city of Urumqi.
Brock University China expert Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat in China, said bringing in Mr. Kamm shows the government is looking for new options to handle such issues with "commitment and sophistication."
"I guess it also indicates that the government feels that we need to look outside Canada to get the expertise to try and engage China effectively on this matter," he said.
"The Chinese clearly respect him and are prepared to work with him despite the fact that [his organization's] raison-d'être is to try to assist people we feel have been unjustly imprisoned in China for political reasons."
The move comes as the Conservative government is trying to find its own new approach to China, with Mr. Cannon the latest minister to troop to Beijing, meeting Vice-President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi yesterday.
The Conservatives are also seeking to revive a revamped version of the Canada-China Human Rights dialogue - closed-door meetings between officials that were suspended in 2006 over criticisms they were little more than lip service to rights - but this time with domestic officials who have jurisdiction over rights issues, rather than diplomats.
After Mr. Harper's government's initial whacking of Beijing over rights cases, Canadian companies that do business in China raised fears trade would be hurt.
Mr. Kamm, once regional vice-president of Occidental Chemical Corp., made his U.S. Chamber of Commerce colleagues uneasy when he turned to pressing rights issues in China in 1990. But his Dui Hua Foundation - it means "dialogue" in Mandarin - is known for its smooth, effective touch.
"It's patience, and more importantly, persistence. You keep asking for information. You just never give up," Mr. Kamm said in an interview.
He declined to discuss Mr. Celil or any other case, but said that in general, he takes a respectful approach, making inquiries for information rather than demanding release, knowing China sometimes responds to repeated questions with early release.
He doesn't ask officials about political prisoners; he refers to the specific Chinese charge.
He fishes for better medical care, or transfer to a model prison, rather than immediate release.
He seeks to defuse the sentiment that a foreigner is insulting China's rights record, and avoids automatic replies.
"If you go in and say, 'I think this person has been wrongly imprisoned,' you'll get a stock response, which is, 'We treat people according to the rule of law.' That's the stock response," Mr. Kamm said.
"But if you say, I understand this person has cirrhosis of the liver, or ask about family visits, that's considered more helpful."
He said his work would not be viable without rights advocates pressing the issue. But he added that he uses the sales lessons from his liquor-salesman father, Arthur: concentrating on results, cultivating people in low positions because they may have authority later, and gathering the kind of details about who he is meeting that salesmen once kept in little black books. "I still do," he said.
Mr. Celil's Canadian lawyer, Chris MacLeod, said he has begun exchanging e-mails with Mr. Kamm, but the case has been through a period of "stagnation," and Canadian rights groups have called for more efforts.
"There really hasn't been a whole lot of talk recently about Mr. Celil," said Amnesty International Canada's China campaigner, Lindsay Mossman.
****
Dealing with dissidents
Some of John Kamm's lessons for dealing with China on dissidents:
DIG UP EVERYTHING
Use details about the dissident in talks with officials.
USE THEIR LANGUAGE
He doesn't use the term "political prisoner."
DON'T DEMAND, ASK QUESTIONS
He makes repeated inquiries for information.
PREVENT AUTOMATIC RESPONSES
He attempts not to make officials defensive.
TALK TO EVERYONE
Including court officials, judges, prison officials, and government officials high and low.
Source
U.S. businessman known for obtaining freedom of political prisoners in China
CAMPBELL CLARK
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
May 12, 2009 at 3:37 AM EDT
OTTAWA — The federal government has enlisted U.S. businessman turned activist John Kamm in efforts to secure the release of jailed Uyghur-Canadian Huseyin Celil and others in China, turning to more sophisticated approaches after years of fruitless efforts.
Mr. Kamm, a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, is legendary for obtaining the freedom of dissidents through respectful but persistent inquiries with Chinese officials at all levels - using an approach Beijing accepts to win ground on a tense topic. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his ministers initially criticized the Chinese government when Mr. Celil, a Canadian citizen from China's Uyghur minority, was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 after a closed-door trial on terrorism charges.
But as they have attempted to thaw chilled relations with China in recent months, their criticisms regarding Mr. Celil and other rights cases have been less public.
Three weeks ago, Canadian officials brought in Mr. Kamm to seek his advice and help in meeting with aides to Mr. Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, as well as with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
Related Articles
The Globe and Mail
Mr. Kamm is beginning to work on the case of Mr. Celil, who is in a remote prison in the northeast Chinese city of Urumqi.
Brock University China expert Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat in China, said bringing in Mr. Kamm shows the government is looking for new options to handle such issues with "commitment and sophistication."
"I guess it also indicates that the government feels that we need to look outside Canada to get the expertise to try and engage China effectively on this matter," he said.
"The Chinese clearly respect him and are prepared to work with him despite the fact that [his organization's] raison-d'être is to try to assist people we feel have been unjustly imprisoned in China for political reasons."
The move comes as the Conservative government is trying to find its own new approach to China, with Mr. Cannon the latest minister to troop to Beijing, meeting Vice-President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi yesterday.
The Conservatives are also seeking to revive a revamped version of the Canada-China Human Rights dialogue - closed-door meetings between officials that were suspended in 2006 over criticisms they were little more than lip service to rights - but this time with domestic officials who have jurisdiction over rights issues, rather than diplomats.
After Mr. Harper's government's initial whacking of Beijing over rights cases, Canadian companies that do business in China raised fears trade would be hurt.
Mr. Kamm, once regional vice-president of Occidental Chemical Corp., made his U.S. Chamber of Commerce colleagues uneasy when he turned to pressing rights issues in China in 1990. But his Dui Hua Foundation - it means "dialogue" in Mandarin - is known for its smooth, effective touch.
"It's patience, and more importantly, persistence. You keep asking for information. You just never give up," Mr. Kamm said in an interview.
He declined to discuss Mr. Celil or any other case, but said that in general, he takes a respectful approach, making inquiries for information rather than demanding release, knowing China sometimes responds to repeated questions with early release.
He doesn't ask officials about political prisoners; he refers to the specific Chinese charge.
He fishes for better medical care, or transfer to a model prison, rather than immediate release.
He seeks to defuse the sentiment that a foreigner is insulting China's rights record, and avoids automatic replies.
"If you go in and say, 'I think this person has been wrongly imprisoned,' you'll get a stock response, which is, 'We treat people according to the rule of law.' That's the stock response," Mr. Kamm said.
"But if you say, I understand this person has cirrhosis of the liver, or ask about family visits, that's considered more helpful."
He said his work would not be viable without rights advocates pressing the issue. But he added that he uses the sales lessons from his liquor-salesman father, Arthur: concentrating on results, cultivating people in low positions because they may have authority later, and gathering the kind of details about who he is meeting that salesmen once kept in little black books. "I still do," he said.
Mr. Celil's Canadian lawyer, Chris MacLeod, said he has begun exchanging e-mails with Mr. Kamm, but the case has been through a period of "stagnation," and Canadian rights groups have called for more efforts.
"There really hasn't been a whole lot of talk recently about Mr. Celil," said Amnesty International Canada's China campaigner, Lindsay Mossman.
****
Dealing with dissidents
Some of John Kamm's lessons for dealing with China on dissidents:
DIG UP EVERYTHING
Use details about the dissident in talks with officials.
USE THEIR LANGUAGE
He doesn't use the term "political prisoner."
DON'T DEMAND, ASK QUESTIONS
He makes repeated inquiries for information.
PREVENT AUTOMATIC RESPONSES
He attempts not to make officials defensive.
TALK TO EVERYONE
Including court officials, judges, prison officials, and government officials high and low.
Source
Thursday, February 26, 2009
China fire protesters were Uighurs
China fire protesters were Uighurs
Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:22am GMT
BEIJING (Reuters) - Three family members who set themselves on fire in a car in Beijing Wednesday were Uighurs, an ethnic group from China's far-western frontier, who had come to the capital to petition lawmakers, a source told Reuters.
China's national parliament begins its annual session next week and many aggrieved citizens try to come to the capital at this time to air complaints about everything from corruption, lost land and jobs to investments gone sour.
The family had come to Beijing to petition, apparently related to a dispute over housing, the Beijing-based source with knowledge of the situation said Thursday.
The husband and wife, aged 59 and 58, were hospitalised with burn injuries, the man's serious, the Xinhua news agency said late Wednesday without specifying their identities.
Their son, aged 28, was not injured and is in police custody, the source said.
Police stopped the grey car with Xinjiang licence plates when the driver, apparently lost, turned onto the Wangfujing pedestrian shopping street.
The husband, who was doused in gasoline, lit himself when the police stopped the car for a traffic violation, the source said.
The Xinjiang government's representative office in Beijing denied a report by the Hong Kong-based Centre for Human Rights and Democracy that the couple was affiliated with the office.
(Reporting by Lucy Hornby and Benjamin Kang Lim)
Source
Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:22am GMT
BEIJING (Reuters) - Three family members who set themselves on fire in a car in Beijing Wednesday were Uighurs, an ethnic group from China's far-western frontier, who had come to the capital to petition lawmakers, a source told Reuters.
China's national parliament begins its annual session next week and many aggrieved citizens try to come to the capital at this time to air complaints about everything from corruption, lost land and jobs to investments gone sour.
The family had come to Beijing to petition, apparently related to a dispute over housing, the Beijing-based source with knowledge of the situation said Thursday.
The husband and wife, aged 59 and 58, were hospitalised with burn injuries, the man's serious, the Xinhua news agency said late Wednesday without specifying their identities.
Their son, aged 28, was not injured and is in police custody, the source said.
Police stopped the grey car with Xinjiang licence plates when the driver, apparently lost, turned onto the Wangfujing pedestrian shopping street.
The husband, who was doused in gasoline, lit himself when the police stopped the car for a traffic violation, the source said.
The Xinjiang government's representative office in Beijing denied a report by the Hong Kong-based Centre for Human Rights and Democracy that the couple was affiliated with the office.
(Reporting by Lucy Hornby and Benjamin Kang Lim)
Source
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