NEW YORK: The United States led more than 30 countries on Tuesday in condemning what it called China’s “horrific campaign of repression” against Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang at an event on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly that was denounced by China.
In highlighting abuses against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in China, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said the United Nations and its member states had “a singular responsibility to speak up when survivor after survivor recounts the horrors of state repression.”
Sullivan said it was incumbent on UN member states to ensure the world body was able to closely monitor human rights abuses by China and added that it must seek “immediate, unhindered, and unmonitored” access to Xinjiang for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR).
Sullivan said Tuesday’s event was co-sponsored by Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, and was joined by more than 30 UN states, representatives of the European Union and more than 20 nongovernmental organizations, as well as Uighur victims.
“We invite others to join the international effort to demand and compel an immediate end to China’s horrific campaign of repression,” he said. “History will judge the international community for how we respond to this attack on human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director for Asia of the European External Action Service, said the EU was “alarmed” by the situation and also urged “meaningful” access to Xinjiang.
“We are concerned about ... information about mistreatment and torture,” she said. “China is always inviting us to the camps under their conditions, we are in negotiations right now for terms and conditions for free access.”
On Monday US President Donald Trump had called for an end to religious persecution at another event on the sidelines of the UN gathering and repeated his comments in a speech on Tuesday.
Trump, who has been cautious about upsetting China on human rights issues while making a major trade deal with Beijing a major priority, said religious freedom was under growing threat around the world but fell short of specifically mentioning the Uighur situation.
“Volume is coming up at a pace that we hope that the Beijing government recognizes not only US but the global concern about this situation,” David Stilwell, US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs told reporters at a briefing.
“We will see how that plays out and how Beijing reacts and take it from there.”
A representative for the Chinese delegation to the UN General Assembly accused Washington of violating the UN Charter by criticizing China.
The United Nations says at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in what China describes as “vocational training centers” to stamp out extremism and give people new skills.
Sullivan said the United States had received “credible reports of deaths, forced labor, torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment” in the camps.
He said there were also many reports that the Chinese government forces detainees to renounce their ethnic identities as well as their culture and religion.
Though US officials have ramped up criticism of China’s measures in Xinjiang, it has refrained from responding with sanctions, amid on-again, off-again talks to resolve a bitter, costly trade war.
At the same time, it has criticized other countries, including some Muslim states, for not doing enough or for backing China’s approach in Xinjiang.
Rishat Abbas, the brother of Uighur physician Gulshan Abbas, who was abducted from her home in Urumchi in September 2018, told Tuesday’s event that “millions of Uighurs are becoming collateral damage to international trade policies, enabling China to continue to threaten our freedoms around the world, enable it to continue its police state.”
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has repeatedly pushed China to grant the United Nations access to investigate reports of disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly of Muslims in Xinjiang.
China’s envoy in Geneva said in June that he hoped Bachelet would visit China, including Xinjiang. Bachelet’s office said in June that it was discussing “full access” with China.
US leads condemnation of China for ‘horrific’ repression of Muslims
US leads condemnation of China for ‘horrific’ repression of Muslims
- China urged to give “immediate, unhindered, and unmonitored” access to Xinjiang for the UNHCR
- UN says at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained in China crackdown
Magnitude 5.2 earthquake strikes off Crete — EMSC
SARAJEVO: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck in the sea off the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday but no damage or injuries have been reported, a Fire Service official said.
The quake was at depth of 17 km, 85 km away from the town of Heraklion, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center said.
Ukraine invited to NATO summit in The Hague: Zelensky
VILNIUS: Ukraine has been invited to a NATO summit later in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, after earlier warning it would be a “victory” for Russia if it was not there.
The heads of NATO states will gather in The Hague, Netherlands, from June 24-26, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s calls for alliance members to ramp up defense spending set to dominate the agenda.
“We were invited to the NATO summit. I think this is important,” Zelensky said Monday after he held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Vilnius.
Kyiv is seeking to shore up its support from Europe because of uncertainties over vital military aid under Trump.
Last week Zelensky had said that “if Ukraine is not present at the NATO summit, it will be a victory for Putin, but not over Ukraine, but over NATO.”
Zelensky wants NATO to offer security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or peace deal with Russia — something Moscow has called “unacceptable.”
Support for Israel falling across Western Europe: YouGov
- As little as 20% of respondents in 6 surveyed countries hold positive views of Israel
- Trends mirrored in US polling, with negative sentiment among 53% of Americans
LONDON: Support for Israel in Western Europe has hit an all-time low amid the ongoing war in Gaza, according to YouGov.
Data compiled by the polling firm shows that less than 20 percent of respondents in six countries — Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Spain and the UK — have a favorable view of Israel, with unfavorable views accounting for 63-70 percent depending on the country.
The range for those surveyed who believe Israel’s actions in Gaza have been “right” and “proportionate” goes from 16 percent in France to as low as 6 percent in Italy. In the UK, 12 percent believe Israel’s response has been proportionate.
The question of whether Israel was right to invade Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, is slightly higher, with 29 percent of Italians and 40 percent of Germans agreeing. However, 24 percent of Italians and 12 percent of Germans feel that Israel should not have invaded Gaza at all. In the UK, 38 percent feel that the invasion was warranted, with 15 percent disagreeing.
Just 24-25 percent of French, German and Danish respondents feel that Israel has any justification continuing operations in Gaza. The total is 18 percent in the UK and 9 percent in Italy.
The highest number of people on Israel’s “side” in Western Europe is 18 percent in Denmark, while the lowest is Italy at 7 percent.
The lowest polled nation for supporting the Palestinian cause is Germany at 18 percent, while the highest is Spain at 33 percent.
The numbers of respondents believing that Hamas had any justification attacking Israel range from 9 percent to 5 percent. In the UK, the number is 6 percent.
Respondents are pessimistic about the prospects for peace in the region. The French audience is the most optimistic, with 29 percent saying they believe peace is possible in the next decade. At the other end of the spectrum is Denmark with just 15 percent.
The trends mirror polling from outside Europe. In April, Pew Research Center polling found that 53 percent of Americans held a negative view of Israel, up from 44 percent in March 2022.
In addition, Data for Progress found that 51 percent of Americans disagreed with Israeli plans to take full control of Gaza and move Palestinian civilians.
The same percentage said US President Donald Trump should “demand that Israel agree to a ceasefire” in Gaza.
UK govt under pressure from own MPs over Israeli arms exports
- Steve Witherden: ‘We can’t claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach’
- London previously suspended around 30 weapons export licenses but hundreds remain
London: UK authorities are under pressure to halt arms exports to Israel from MPs within the governing Labour Party.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended around 30 arms export licenses to Israel in September, amid warnings that the weapons could be used to breach international law in Gaza, but hundreds of other licenses remain in place.
During a parliamentary debate on Monday, Labour MP Steve Witherden criticized a lack of transparency on arms exports to Israel, and asked the government to explain what criteria would be needed to enact a broader ban.
He highlighted the UK’s role in the manufacture and export of parts for the F-35 fighter jet, which is used by the Israeli military.
Palestinian rights group Al-Haq has previously said the export license for F-35 parts creates a “carve-out” that gives “rise to a significant risk of facilitating crime” by the Israeli military.
Witherden said: “The foreign secretary’s recent condemnation of Israel’s action as ‘monstrous’ was welcome but incomplete, for my very same government continues to facilitate such actions.
“We can’t have it both ways. We can’t condemn atrocity whilst simultaneously fueling the machinery that enables it. We can’t claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach.”
He added: “It’s the government’s position that the need to continue to supply F-35 components outweighs the risk of genocide and, if so, is there any circumstance that would lead to the UK stopping that supply?
“The government has claimed that there are red lines that would trigger a halt to exports, but Gaza is already a slaughterhouse.”
Witherden continued: “Children are emaciated or dying of hunger. Hospitals have been intentionally destroyed. Israel’s leaders vow to wipe out Gaza and still the weapons flow.”
He added: “I call on this government to suspend all arms exports to Israel to ensure that no British-made weapons are used in Israel’s brutal plans to annexe, starve and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population.”
Trade Minister Douglas Alexander responded that UK rules prevent sales of F-35 components directly to Israel, but that as part of a global supply network, there are limits on what the UK could do to prevent parts reaching the country.
“Undermining the F-35 program at this juncture would, in the view of the government, disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defense as a whole,” Alexander said, adding that he believes Israel’s actions in responding to the “act of barbarism” by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, have been “disproportionate” and “counterproductive to any lasting peace settlement.”
He reminded MPs of the government’s decision to suspend arms licenses shortly after taking office last year.
“This measure is still in place and I’d like to reiterate that, based on our current assessment of potential breaches of international humanitarian law, we aren’t licensing military equipment provided directly to the (Israeli military) that could be used for military operations in Gaza,” he told the House of Commons.
“It’s right to acknowledge that our export licenses granted in relation to Israel cover a wider remit than simply those items that may be used in Gaza.
“There are a relatively small number of licenses for the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) relating to equipment which we assess wouldn’t be used in the current conflict including, for example, parts of air defense systems that defend Israel from acts such as the major aerial attack from Iran in April 2024.
“We also think it’s right for us to continue providing military-grade body armor used by non-governmental organizations and journalists, and to provide parts to the supply chain which are ultimately re-exported back out of Israel to support the defense of our NATO allies.”
Russian farmers appeal to Putin for help against antelope invasion
MOSCOW: Farmers in Russia’s Saratov region have appealed to President Vladimir Putin for help in dealing with an invasion of saiga antelopes that have migrated from Kazakhstan and devastated their fields.
The appeal, posted on several popular farmers’ channels on Telegram, said that the saiga population has grown uncontrollably in recent years, reaching up to one million in Russia alone.
Saratov, located along the Volga River, is the country’s sixth-largest grain-producing region, with an annual harvest of about 4 million metric tons, accounting for 3.5 percent of Russia’s total grain harvest.
Farmers reported that about 500,000 saigas crossed into Russia from Kazakhstan at the end of May. They said that thousands had drowned in local rivers, contaminating the water supply.
“We hope for your understanding and assistance in resolving this situation, which threatens the very existence of agriculture in our region,” the farmers said in their appeal. Culling or hunting saigas, which were nearly extinct in the 1990s, is prohibited in Russia.
A separate letter to Putin, signed by heads of the region’s leading farms and obtained by Reuters, said that crop losses from saigas are not covered by insurance because the animal is not yet listed as an agricultural pest.
The Saratov regional Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday that it has set up damage assessment commissions and is developing a mechanism to support farmers.
The surge in the population of saigas, easily recognized by their trunk-like nose that filters sand particles from the desert air, is considered a global conservation success story.
Evgeny Karabanov from Kazakhstan’s Grain Union lobby group told Reuters that an estimated 4.0-4.5 million antelopes are currently roaming in the Central Asian country, compared to only 25,000 in the 1990s.
“Their migration area has significantly expanded... No one is asking them for passports,” Karabanov said.
