This is a message of support that will not please Beijing. US President Joe Biden expressed Thursday his “solidarity” with the Uyghurs of China, in a message to Muslims around the world, as they prepare to celebrate the month of Ramadan.
“Together with our partners, the United States stands in solidarity with Muslims who continue to face oppression, including the Uyghurs in China, the Rohingyas in Burma, and other persecuted Muslim populations around the world. “said Joe Biden in a statement.
Accusations of “genocide” in Xinjiang
“During this sacred time of reflection, the United States also reaffirms its support for Muslim communities facing hardship and devastation,” the White House tenant added, citing victims of the February earthquake. in Turkey and Syria, and the floods last summer in Pakistan. “Today especially, we commemorate the universal human right to practice, pray, and preach our religious beliefs peacefully and openly,” said Joe Biden.
The message from the American president to the Uyghurs in China comes at a time of great tension between Washington and Beijing. The Biden administration has taken up the accusation of “genocide” in Xinjiang, a region in northwestern China populated in particular by Uyghur Muslims and the site of bloody attacks for years.
Accusing separatists and Islamists, the Chinese authorities launched a major campaign of repression a few years ago in the name of anti-terrorism. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights evokes for its part the possibility of “crimes against humanity”, which Beijing rejects, also accused by Western countries of enclosing the Uyghurs massively in camps of re-education.