Kadeer Ends European Tour with a Productive Visit to the Netherlands
Peter Terpstra
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
During a one-day visit to The Netherlands, Ms Kadeer discussed the Chinese
suppression of the Uyghur people with human rights organizations, Dutch
Members of Parliament, the press and academic experts.
The Hague - 15 December 2009
Following her visit to six other countries, Ms Rebiya Kadeer ended her one-
month European tour with a productive visit to the Dutch city of The Hague. Ms
Kadeer, leader of the suppressed Uyghur people visited the Netherlands on
Monday, December 14 2009, with the aim of engaging in dialogue with Dutch
civil society, academia and government.
“When I was finally released from prison by the Chinese government in 2005, I
promised myself that I would travel to Siberia to tell the story of the Uyghur
people if only a single person wanted to hear it”. That is how Ms Kadeer
opened her address to a wide range of human rights organizations in the
morning of her visit. After outlining the long history of Uyghur oppression,
Ms Kadeer explained how the Chinese government had used the 9/11 attacks and
the current economic crisis as smokescreens to further suppress the Uyghur
people without interference from the international community.
Following the discussion with human rights organizations, Ms Kadeer proceeded
to talk with Dutch Members of Parliament. By invitation of MP Mr Harry van
Bommel, Ms Kadeer had a meeting with members from the Commission of Foreign
Affairs, in which she explicitly stipulated how the Dutch Parliament could
take concrete steps towards the protection of human rights of the Uyghur
people. After discussing the dire situation of the Uyghurs in East Turkestan
following the July 5th unrest, the Dutch MPs agreed to submit parliamentary
inquiries into the ongoing media blackout in Urumqi, capital of East
Turkestan, which is used by the government of China to inhibit all
communication with and amongst the Uyghur inhabitants of the region.
Ms Kadeer then went on to meet with a group of academic experts to discuss
political, human rights and communications issues from a Uyghur perspective.
During this meeting, co-hosted by UNPO and the Clingendael Institute, the
participants discussed the influence of the situation in East Turkestan on the
international relations between China and other countries.
Ms Kadeer travelled back to Washington D.C. on December 15th, to continue her
advocacy from the D.C. Headquarters of the Uighur American Association.
Click here to download this release in pdf version:
http://www.unpo.org/images/rebiya_kadeer14dec2009.pdf
Source:
http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10487/81/
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Amnesty International Report 2009 on China:
http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/asia-pacific/china