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Article Excerpt
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM (USCIRF) REPORTER'S ROUNDTABLE MODERATOR: LEONARD LEO, CHAIRMAN, USCIRF SPEAKERS: USCIRF COMMISSIONERS; REBIYA KADEER, UIGHUR MUSLIM ACTIVIST TRANSLATOR: ALIM SEYTOFF, GENERAL SECRETARY, UIGHUR AMERICAN ASSOCIATION LOCATION: WASHINGTON, D.C DATE: WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2009
LEONARD LEO: Well, good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for coming to our meeting today, our press roundtable today. My name is Leonard Leo and I serve as chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. We're joined this morning by a number of our commissioners. I know a couple of others will be arriving in the midst of our event. But maybe if the commissioners could introduce themselves. Felice?
FELICE GAER: I'm Felice Gaer. I'm the former chair of the commission.
MICHAEL CROMARTIE: Michael Cromartie, vice chair of the commission.
DON ARGUE: Don Argue, commissioner.
RICHARD LAND: Richard Land, former vice chair.
MR. LEO: As most of you probably know, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent agency of the federal government, a bipartisan agency. And the purpose of it is basically to help to ensure that issues of international religious freedom become a more integral part of our country's foreign policy and national security agendas. We do that by making very specific policy recommendations to the president and the secretary of State and Congress.
And, as a number of you know, the centerpiece of our work is a report that issues on May 1st of every year, where we make very specific policy recommendations regarding around 27 or so countries. And it's also the time when we recommend that certain countries be designated by the administration as countries of particular concern. And, as you all know, China is one of those countries.
The commission has been gravely concerned over the years about the Chinese government's practices of religious repression. And over the past week or so, we've been especially concerned about the government's repression of the peaceful religious practices of the Uighurs -- the protests like those that happened last week happened for a reason.
China has put religious minorities' and human rights defenders' backs to the wall. And that causes the kind of resentment, disagreement and instability that results in what we're seeing right now in the Xanjiang province.
The U.S. and international community must speak out strongly about this repression. And it needs to happen quickly because, as we will hear from Ms. Kadeer, the violence and deaths continue. Restrictions on the religious freedom of the Uighurs has been undertaken in the name of security and national unity. But what it is in fact causing is tremendous amount of resentment, disagreement, instability. And it's a matter of significant concern.
We have a statement that, I think, all of you will receive a copy of, or have received a copy of, which lays out a number of recommendations that we think the administration should undertake in responding to the crisis in China presently.
Those recommendations include seeking an independent investigation of the violence that occurred. And then also asking the president to undertake new action against China under the International Religious Freedom Act, perhaps in the form of sanctions or travel restrictions or other methods that are set forth in the International Religious Freedom Act.
And now what I'd like to do is turn our session over to Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, who really doesn't need much of an introduction. I'm sure you all know who she is and have been following what she has been saying in the midst of the events in the Xanjiang province.
She is a preeminent human rights activist and defender. She has shown tremendous courage and moral character, both in the midst of this crisis, but over the years, in many other contexts.
As some of you know, Ms. Kadeer spent -- I think it was -- six years in a Chinese prison. And our thoughts are also with you because of the fact that your two sons, we understand, remain in incarceration as well, and are not in particularly good health.
And so you have paid a high price for defending human rights and freedom of religion on behalf of the Uighurs. And we are privileged to have you here with us today to offer some remarks on what is going on. And then we will open it up for a conversation with all of you. Ms. Kadeer?
(Note: Ms. Kadeer's comments are delivered via translator.) REBIYA KADEER: First of all, I would like to thank the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom for holding this very important press conference with the concern of the Uighur peoples' religious freedom -- at this time, under repression. I'd also like to thank all the reporters who are here at this very special press conference.
I would like to begin with the name of what we call East Turkestan. The Uighur people have always called our country as East Turkestan. And after we were forcefully annexed by the Chinese authorities in 1949, we became part of PRC -- what many Uighurs consider as an occupation. After 60 years of the Chinese government's repression, the Chinese policies have been backfiring.
As a result, we see a lot of resentment among Uighurs. And what you have witnessed on July the 5th is one of them. On July the 5th, the Uighur young people took to the streets, initially peacefully, to protest against the mob beating and killing out the Uighurs in Guangdong province.
And, as in the cases in the past, the Chinese government always uses force to deal with any kind of Uighur peoples' peaceful protests and legitimate demands. The same thing happened in 1997 when the Chinese security forces massacred the peaceful Uighur protestors in the city of Gulja. And this time, we are witnessing the same.
And when those Uighurs took to the streets to protest, they actually held up China's national flags. And initially, the Chinese security forces just provoked them for a couple...
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