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Updated October 18th, 2020 at 20:03 IST

China abducted my family after I became vocal about genocide against Uyghurs: Activist

An Uyghur-American activist, in an interview, revealed how her family members were abducted after she started campaigning for the Uyghurs in China.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
China
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Millions of people from the Uyghur and Turkish Muslim communities in western Xinjiang have been allegedly detained in camps since 2017, under a systematic crackdown on ethnic minorities which world leaders have termed as cultural genocide. An Uyghur-American activist, in a YouTube interview, recently revealed that the Chinese government was initially holding one million people, however, the number has now increased to three million. The activist explained how her family members were abducted after she started campaigning for the Uyghurs and raising awareness about the ongoing genocide against the ethnic minority. 

Rushan Abbas said, “After I came to know about the unprecedented situation and atrocities happening against the Uyghurs and all of it was not getting to the mainstream media, I established a campaign for Uyghurs. All because of my activism, and just because I was very vocal about what is happening in my homeland, my sister and my aunt were abducted”. 

READ: UN Watch Official Blasts China Over Uyghur Rights Abuse, Slams Countries Backing Beijing

READ: US Needs To Recognise 'genocide', Take Strong Action Against China: Uyghur Leader

‘Friends of China revealed barbaric regime..’

Rushan said that her sister and aunty were abducted six days after she gave a speech at one of the think tanks in Washington DC. She revealed that since then she has given up her job in a bid to focus full time on activism. Since October 2019, Rushan has the Executive director for the Campaign for Uyghurs and raising awareness about the genocide against the Uyghurs.

In the interview, the activist said that after China started to open to the West in the late 70s, people were free to do what they wanted. She revealed that, however, right after the 9/11 attack in the US, Chinese authorities started turning against the Muslims. Overnight they came up with the plan for Uyghurs and then they started labelling them as ‘Muslim extremist,’ Rushan said. 

READ: China Admits Death Of Uyghur Man Who Was Allegedly Detained In Xinjiang Camps

Previously, Rushan had slammed 45 countries who signed a statement supporting the genocide of the Uyghurs. She had said that the supporters of China are themselves under an authoritarian regime. “These so-called friends of China have revealed the kind of barbaric regime they possess,” the activist said. 

According to reports, the Xinjiang region is home to around 10 million Uyghurs. The Turkic Muslim group has repeatedly accused China’s authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has repeatedly turned down the requests by international bodies to independently visit and investigate the region, despite growing backlash from international communities.

(Image: @RushanAbbas/Twitter)

READ: China Targets Utsuls Of Hainan, Huis After Crackdown On Uyghur Muslims: Report

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Published October 18th, 2020 at 20:03 IST

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