World Uyghur Congress slams China over Ramadan arrests, restrictions in Xinjiang
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Berlin: The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) voiced grave concerns Friday over Ramadan curbs in China's Xinjiang, including arrests of Uyghurs for "secretly fasting," signaling no religious freedom in East Turkistan.
Citing Radio Free Asia's Uyghur Service, WUC said police in Hotan Prefecture detained six villagers from Bulaq Chorgey, Bash Chapal, Dul Tugman, and Korgan on February 27. "Ramadan restrictions continue to be tightened, year after year. The recent detention of six Uyghurs proves that people don’t even have the freedom to do it in the privacy of their homes. Surveillance, coerced labour, these practices violate not only international law, but Chinese domestic laws," said WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun.
The group linked this to China's "Sinicization" push, reshaping Islam to fit Communist ideology: mosque alterations, fasting bans, religious education prohibitions, and criminalizing prayer or veils as "extremism." WUC called it assimilation eroding Uyghur faith.
This unfolds amid UN Human Rights Council talks in Geneva, where Rapporteur Nazila Ghanea flagged China's destruction of Uyghur cemeteries under "standardization" without family consent.
(Inputs from IANS)