China's monitoring tactics of Uyghurs are disturbing: Report



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Amid inadequate media coverage of the ongoing persecution of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, one could say that such reports are episodic. Writing in the Toronto Star Michael Levitt says that world attention on the plight of the Uyghur has reduced. He also states that Uyghur persecution in China is one of the "most egregious and appalling" crimes against humanity, Greek City Times reported. However, according to the latest Al Jazeera report by Erin Hale published on May 4, 2023, which cites a Human Rights Watch (HRW) forensic investigation reveals that Chinese authorities have monitored the phones of the ethnic minority Uyghur for the presence of 50,000 known multimedia files that were used to flag what China views as extremism, with the mere possession of the Quran reason enough to trigger a police interrogation.

Greek City Times is a leading Greek lifestyle site, reporting and updating about Greek culture. If mere possession of the Quran can lead to a police interrogation, one can well imagine what else could happen for other related offences, Greek City Times reported.

The HRW Search found more than 1,000 unique files on about 1,400 Urumqi residents' phones that matched those on the master list of the police. Analysis of these files has revealed that 57 per cent appeared to be common Islamic religious materials, including readings of every surah (chapter) of the Quran. Chinese security services have a long list of "violent and terrorist" content which includes violent audio, video and images produced by armed groups such as ISIS, Greek City Times reported.

It also includes material from organisations that promote the identity or self-determination of Uyghur, including the separatist East Turkestan Independence Movement, World Uyghur Congress, and the United States government-funded news outlet Radio Free Asia. The files also include information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which is heavily censored in China.

Al Jazeera reports that the master list analysed by HRW is part of a wider 52GB trove of documents from a Xinjiang police database that was leaked to the Intercept, a US-based media outlet in 2019, but not made public until now. In recent years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has increased its repression of the Uyghur which includes state-imposed restrictions on religious freedom, language rights, cultural expression, and freedom of movement.

Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained more than a million Uyghur in what it calls "re-education camps" and subjected those not detained to extensive surveillance, religious restrictions, forced labour and involuntary sterilization, Greek City Times reported. Researchers in the West have described it as "the largest incarceration of a minority group since the holocaust".

Last year, a UN Human Rights office report revealed "patterns of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" in the camps. Most people detained in the camps were never charged and had no legal avenue to challenge their detentions. Often many are denounced by the CPC as extremists or terrorists for simply practising their religion. Intimidation of Uyghur abroad by China is also commonplace, including efforts to detain and deport them back to China. It has also pressurised other governments to repatriate those who have fled China.

Notably, China continues to use its vast influence to manipulate UN processes and to ensure that its allies avoid public acknowledgement of the persecution of the Uyghur. Following the release of the OHCHR report, the UN Human Rights Council voted down a motion in October 2022 by the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to hold a debate on human rights abuses in Xinjiang, marking only the second time in sixteen years that the council rejected a motion, Greek City Times reported.

The rejection was condemned by Uyghur activist groups, many of whom helped lead advocacy efforts around the resolution and called it a major setback for accountability efforts and the credibility of the Human Rights Council. That the repression of the Uyghur continues in one way or the other is therefore worrisome. The list of content being monitored by the CPC according to HRW, also includes non-political material such as the Chinese travel show filmed in Syria called "On the Road", readings from the Quran and Islamic songs.

While the police officially monitor Uyghur phones for "extremist" material, HRW says that in many cases, ethnic Muslims are flagged as supporters of violent extremism for simply practising Islam. Chinese police in Urumqi also require residents to download an app called JingwangWeishi. This app gives Chinese authorities the ability to monitor the contents of their mobile phones. Visitors to Xinjiang are also required to download a similar app called Fengcai. The HRW forensic investigation shows that only nine per cent of the flagged files contained violent content and 4 per cent contained content calling for violence, Greek City Times reported.

An investigation by HRW into the metadata of this master list found that during nine months from 2017 to 2018, police conducted nearly 11 million searches of a total of 1.2 million mobile phones in Xinjiang's capital city Urumqi. Xinjiang's automated police mass surveillance systems enabled this phone search. Similarly, a leaked list of 2,000 detainees at a re-education facility in Aksu prefecture in 2018 showed that 10 per cent had been detained for downloading "violent and terrorist" multimedia or having a connection to someone who downloaded it, Greek City Times reported.

Uyghur Muslims are thus subject to heavy surveillance as part of the CPC's efforts to eliminate cultural, linguistic, and religious differences from the country's majority Han culture. Michael Levitt correctly sums up the need to stand up for the Uyghur now. He argues that the post-Holocaust vow of "Never Again" should be updated to "Never Again Now.", Greek City Times reported.

That means the world must use all means at its disposal to step up pressure against China to end its genocidal persecution of the Uyghurs. (ANI)

 

   

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari passes away



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of a heart attack.

The 63-year-old politician died on Thursday (March 28) around 8:30 pm while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Earlier, the jail authorities took him to the district's Rani Durgavati Medical College Hospital after he fainted in the jail last Tuesday. Later a team of nine doctors provided immediate medical attention to him. But, despite their best efforts, he died after 14 hours in the ICU.

Indian media NDTV reported that this 5-time MP from Uttar Pradesh has been in jail since 2005.

A large contingent of police was deployed outside the hospital soon after Ansari was taken to the hospital and prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been issued across Uttar Pradesh following his death, news agency PTI reported.

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said additional policemen have been deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts as well as Central Reserve Police Force.

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The ICJ ordered Israel to take steps to stop the famine in Gaza



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to take necessary and effective measures to stop the spread of famine in the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip.

On Thursday (March 28), the International Court of Justice unanimously gave the order to Israel. But Hamas leaders say a ceasefire is necessary to prevent a humanitarian crisis.

South Africa asked the court for new measures as part of a case accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza. Later the court gave this order.

The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to take necessary and effective measures to ensure basic food supplies for the Palestinian population and to stop the spread of famine, Reuters reported. The order came as Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters battled around Gaza's Al Shifa hospital.

The people of Gaza are going to face worse conditions, the court judges said. The court observed that the people of Gaza are not only at risk of famine but that famine has already begun, the judges said in the order.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said the verdict was not enough. Israel must be ordered to cease military attacks to end the suffering.

He added, "We welcome any new demands to end the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, but we hope that the court will order a ceasefire as a solution to the misery our people in Gaza are living through."

There was no immediate comment from Israel's Foreign Ministry on the International Court of Justice ruling.

The UN Security Council voted on Tuesday to demand an immediate ceasefire and the immediate unconditional release of all hostages. The United States abstained from voting, but did not veto.

 

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76 more killed in Gaza, death toll rises to nearly 32,500



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Even after the UN Security Council passed a cease-fire resolution, the Israeli barbaric attacks on the Palestinian-besieged Gaza have not stopped. Another 76 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours by Israeli attacks. The death toll has increased to about 32,500 people. The number of injured has reached about 75000 people.

Al-Jazeera reported this information in a live update on Thursday (March 28).

Quoting the Ministry of Health of Gaza, the report said that since last October, the number of dead in Palestine has reached 32490 in the Israeli barbaric attack in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, an emergency ceasefire resolution was passed in the besieged Gaza Strip. The resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Monday (March 25) calls for a cease-fire in Gaza as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.

In this proposal, 14 countries of the Security Council voted in favor of the proposal. Israel's close ally, the United States, abstained from voting.

Welcoming the proposal, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, after a long wait, the Security Council has passed a resolution regarding the cease-fire in Gaza. This proposal must be implemented. Failure of any party to implement the ceasefire and its terms would constitute an unforgivable offence. 

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Israel wants to wipe out Palestinians: UN



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Gazans are going through one of the worst times in living memory. The lives of Palestinians are in danger due to the long-term killings and severe food shortages. The world is criticizing the surprise attack on the destitute Gazans. However, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is unwilling to stop the attack. In this situation, the international organization, which could not find any solution after repeated efforts, said that Israel is going to wipe out the Palestinians.

On Monday (March 25), the special envoy for human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanez, released her detailed report. She said that since the start of the attack, Israel has targeted Gazans. The Israeli forces assumed that these Gazans could be attacked, killed, or even destroyed. Israel's genocidal action has become clear through this. They are trying to erase Palestinians from Palestine.

The news agency AFP reported this information.

According to the report, Albanez attacked Israel in harsh language at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. She said Israel destroyed Gaza. She also said, 'What is happening in Gaza shows the intention of genocide. We cannot turn away from it. We have to face it, we have to stop this genocide and action must be taken against those who took this step.''

Francesca Albanez is working as Special Envoy for Palestinian Human Rights. She told the United Nations Human Rights Council last Monday that the organization's member states should end arms embargoes against Israel and arms supplies to Israel.

Support for the UN expert panel, which has been working on allegations of genocide against Israel since the start of Israel's assault on Gaza, has been growing in Palestine. Various countries are now showing interest in investigating the allegations of genocide.

Ambassadors of different countries are supporting this report of Albanez. Ambassadors from Muslim and Arab countries, as well as Latin American countries, are among those supporting Albanez's report to hold Israel accountable.

Pakistan has supported this Albanez report on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC has also called for an arms embargo on Israel. When Albanez presented the report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Pakistan's representative said, "We appreciate your courage in documenting the genocide in Gaza."

Accusations of genocide against Israel are intensifying as it continues to operate in Gaza's Rafah area in defiance of international calls. The Ministry of Health of Palestine said on Wednesday that 76 people were killed in the attack in the last 24 hours. With this, 32490 people have been killed in Israel's attacks since October 7.

The representative of Egypt, on behalf of the Arab countries, said they were deeply concerned about Israel's structural and systematic attack on the Gaza Strip, making it uninhabitable. Qatar represented the Gulf countries in the meeting. They want international action to stop the war that Israel is waging in Palestine. 

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