TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) and the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (ETNAM) handed in evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to launch an investigation into genocide and other human rights violations ordered by senior Chinese officials.
According to the ETGE, the legal basis of the complaint is derived from the round-up of Uyghurs that China implemented in neighboring Cambodia and Tajikistan. These Uyghurs had fled China's Xinjiang province (East Turkistan) because of torture, forced sterilization, and even organ harvesting at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Although China is not a signatory to the ICC, the ETGE argues that the communist government should still be held accountable, as the deportation of Uyghurs has taken place in Cambodia and Tajikistan, both of which are ICC members. Evidence in the complaint revealed that in Xinjiang many Uyghurs have been tortured by electrocution; furthermore, many have also been made to eat pork and drink alcohol — acts meant to humiliate the Muslim detainees.
An estimated 500,000 Uyghur children have been taken away from their homes and sent to orphanages, where they are presently undergoing indoctrination in place of family life.
China is enforcing strict birth control measures in the province in order to wipe out Uyghurs as well as other ethnic minorities. The authorities have been giving minority women regular pregnancy checks followed by forced abortions, while at the same time they have been encouraging local Han Chinese to birth more children, according to the AP.
An investigation by the newswire indicates that having too many children — a maximum of two in cities and three in villages — is the main reason people are sent to detention camps; in addition to internment, Uyghur families found in violation of this policy face tremendous fines, while Chinese families are considerably less likely. Many who are incarcerated have also been arrested for having traveled abroad or worked at local mosques.
Rodney Dixon QC, a lawyer for ETGE, told Euronews that the evidence from people who managed to flee Xinjiang provides ample accounts of Chinese atrocities: "My client now brings this case to the ICC, asking the prosecutors to take actions and get the international communities to support this as a clear pathway to achieving justice for the victims."
