What you need to know about the Uyghurs in China

The Games in China are controversial, as everything is entangled by the human rights violations surrounding the Uyghurs. The main reason for many countries not to send dignitaries to the Olympic Games. The Dutch delegation and thus King Willem-Alexander also stays home.

This week, Uyghur athlete Dinigeer Yilamujiang (20) together with an athlete from northern China lit the Olympic flame. Human Rights Watch sees it as a middle finger to the rest of the world, just like many experts who consider it a political statement from China. The IOC received a lot of criticism but remains non-committal. What is happening in the background of the Winter Games?

Amnesty International explains it very clearly: In China, Uyghurs are systematically detained in re-education camps. China describes it as countering extremism, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch it is a gross violation of human rights. Everything surrounding the camps is suspicious, as brainwashing and torture are the order of the day. This is not only confirmed by Amnesty International, but there has even been research conducted by an independent tribunal in London that also corroborates this. Our government also issued a statement expressing their serious concerns about human rights in China, particularly regarding the situation in Xinjiang.

In the Xinjiang region of China live the Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority. The Chinese government labels the Uyghurs and Islamic minorities as apostates. An unimaginable one million (!) Uyghurs and Muslim minorities in China are detained in re-education camps. China claims this is to combat terrorism, as Islamic expressions are banned in the country.

In China, Uyghurs are wiretapped, followed through facial recognition, and threatened. But even the 1500 Uyghur refugees in the Netherlands still deal with Chinese agents who instruct them not to tell any ‘falsehoods’. With the pressure tactic of family members left behind in the Xinjiang region. Uyghurs studying abroad increasingly disappear when they go home for family visits. The Dutch government advocates at the UN for an independent investigation into the re-education camps in the Uyghur region.

Worldwide, Uyghurs are calling for a boycott of the Winter Games in China. Initially, the call was directed at the IOC to ensure that it does not take place in China. Now the call to not watch the Games is becoming increasingly urgent.