BEIJING: A public hearing by a “Uygur tribunal” on accusations of so-called genocide in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is illegal and the people who gave “testimony” are just actors, Xinjiang officials have said.
Xu Guixiang, a spokesman for the Xinjiang regional government, said the British tribunal, opened on June 4, was set up by Western anti-China forces and East Turkestan organizations, groups of secessionists advocating Uygur “independence”. It has invited a dozen so-called anti-China experts and scholars to prove a nonexistent lie of “genocide” by the Chinese government against the Uygur ethnic group.
“It is simply a shameless act by people who treat the law as child’s play,” he said at a news conference in Beijing.
The attempt to put the label of “genocide” on Xinjiang can be called the biggest false accusation in human history.
Such absurd claims have trampled on international law, interfered in China’s internal affairs and seriously hurt the feelings of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, he said.
More than 20 “witnesses” have given their “testimony” at the “hearing”, which is beyond common sense and comprehension. Their ability in fabricating and lying has reached its peak, Xu said.
Marhaba Aolan, a professor at Xinjiang University, said: “As a Uygur university teacher, I strongly condemn and oppose the witnesses who have claimed that they have been tortured, abused and sexually assaulted when they were detained in Xinjiang.”
She said the tribunal is not a judicial body but a private company registered in the United Kingdom under the name of “Uygur tribunal”. Its largest donor is the infamous “World Uyghur Congress”, an anti-China separatist organization, she added.
“It has no basis or validity in international law, so any ruling or verdict by the court will only be a piece of useless paper.”
Elijan Anayat, another spokesman for the Xinjiang government, said based on the presumption of guilt, this pseudo tribunal fabricated evidence and invited so-called witnesses and victims who are just a few “actors” that have been exposed many times.
– The Daily Mail-China Daily News exchange item
