Guest view: Only US can block in China, India oppression
For observers of human rights violations, the news last week of US sanctions against China for its abuses of Uighur Muslims came as a surprise.
Uighurs are a Muslim community in the Xinjiang province at the Western border of China that have a different culture, physical features, language and faith than the majority Chinese. The State Department has blacklisted 28 public security companies and entities involved in surveillance and detention of the Muslim minorities from doing business with US companies.
"China has forcibly detained over one million Muslims in a brutal, systematic campaign to erase religion and culture in Xinjiang. China must end its draconian surveillance and repression, release all those arbitrarily detained and cease its coercion of Chinese Muslims abroad" tweeted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October the 8th.
An accurate count of the number of Muslims detained is not known but it may be closer to two million. The Chinese cannot hide this but have tried to whitewash it as re-education and vocational training camps. Really.
As Pompeo pointed out, the abuse of this minority goes beyond detention.
There is video documentation and eyewitness reports of all signs of the Muslim faith and Uighur culture being erased. Satellite pictures show old mosques have been bull dozed and buildings with any features of the Uighur culture destroyed.
Chinese officials can invite themselves into Uighur homes to keep an eye on its residents. Uighur Muslims need permission to travel from one town to another and can only communicate with those they have permission to speak with.
The Chinese Government has a ton of experience managing dystopia. The cultural revolution of the mid 1960 to 1976 and the one child policy that was enforced for decades with heartless brutality and ended just recently are examples.
China is one of the top abusers of human and civil rights but because of its huge economy can get away with much. Having US companies manufacture their products in China is akin to buying blood diamonds.
The surprising part of the sanctions against China on Muslim human rights abuses is that Pompeo and the Trump administration are not exactly known for their sensitivity toward Islam and Muslims.
The number of false and bigoted statements attributed to them is long and well documented. This makes the cynic in me wonder if this is another tool in Trump's trade war with China. The fear would be that when there is a resolution of the trade war, this issue may disappear.
Another example of U.S. holding up human rights of Muslims under duress are the statements on Kashmir. After the right-wing Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narenda Modi unilaterally revoked Kashmir's special status and placed its eight million residents under curfew with all communications cut off and thousands detained, the State Department took immediate notice. "We are concerned about reports of detentions and urge respect for individual rights and discussion with those in affected communities," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement in August.
So far, there have been no sanctions and the government in India has studiously ignored the criticism and continues to put out brazenly false propaganda that this draconian action was taken to improve Kashmir's economy. Really.
When the British quit India and the subcontinent was divided into India and Pakistan, the status of Kashmir was left undecided.
Both the Government of India and the United Nations promised the Kashmiris a plebiscite to decide their fate. India is worried that if the Kashmiris are given a choice now, unlike 70 years ago, they would not want to join India. Unofficial polls indicate they may opt for independence.
A permanent solution to the conflict via plebiscite would bring peace and boost the economy of the region. But without strong outside pressure, this is highly unlikely.
With the ascent of the right-wing Hindu Nationalist party, the BJP, India's liberal democracy is changing. Hate crimes, including mob lynching of Muslims and Dalits and violence against Christians have increased. Two million Muslims have been made stateless in the North Eastern province of Assam.
The reason why China and India calculate they can suppress civil and human rights of millions of their own people is that they have huge and growing economies. In our global economic system, it is impossible to survive without dealing with these behemoths.
The solution to these world problems is not the United Nations or the European Union or the rich oil states who are busy suppressing their own people, but the clout that U.S. carries.
China and India need the US economy as much or more than U.S. needs theirs. Even small measures that U.S. may take, as the State Department actions, can make an immeasurable impact in the lives of millions.
• Javeed Akhter is a physician and freelance writer from Oak Brook.