Dolkun Isa doesn’t have the money or powerful backing that most people who successfully lobby Congress have. But he’s going up against the government of China, anyway.
Isa is the head of the The World Uyghur Congress, an international non-profit group that represents millions of Uyghurs who want independence from China’s repressive rule. They accuse the Communist party of trying suppress their religion and dilute their culture. Activists like Isa say Uyghurs are regularly subjected to inhumane conditions, psychological abuse, and forced indoctrination.
A series of recent reports documenting China’s alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs stirred alarm among politicians Capitol Hill. So Isa went to Washington in November to meet with powerful legislators, in hopes of garnering more American support for his community.
He may have some reason to be optimistic. Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez recently co-sponsored “The Uyghur Human Rights Act,” in an attempt to punish Chinese officials for allegedly holding at least one million Uyghurs in internment camps.
“This is something from a horror movie … not something you imagine happening in the 21st century,” Rubio told VICE News. “We cannot allow our foreign policy, our commitment to human rights, to be decided by whether or not there will be retaliation.”
“This is something from a horror movie … not something you imagine happening in the 21st century.”
Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have both mentioned the Uyghur issue in recent speeches. But Isa would like their boss, President Trump, to take a more aggressive stance. He was hoping Trump would raise the issue to President Xi Jinping during their recent meeting at the G-20 summit in Argentina. But that didn’t happen.
Ultimately, Isa worries that Rubio’s bill, and the Uyghur cause, won’t get that far in Washington.
“It is difficult, because most of the countries[are] just trade partners with China,” Isa said. “And most of the countries just think about the economic [issues].”
Rubio shared his concerns. “What I fear is that it’s not a high enough priority with everything going on in the world.”
This segment originally aired November 28, 2018 on VICE News Tonight on HBO.
from Trendy News Today https://ift.tt/2QDuEl5
via IFTTT
0 Comments