North 24 Parganas: The Islamic Association for Peace held a protest on Saturday in front of the Chinese Consulate in the North 24 Parganas district against the alleged persecution of Uyghur Muslims by China and the wrong inclusion of Arunachal Pradesh in the Chinese standard map 2023.
The Islamic Association protested with posters and banners on the street opposite the Chinese Consulate Office at Salt Lake, based in the Bidhannagar area. A team of police was, therefore, deployed in the area to prevent any untoward situation.
The protestors demanded the exclusion of Arunachal Pradesh from the Chinese standard map and also to stop the persecution of the Uyghur Muslim community in China. Besides, they also demanded a boycott of Chinese products.
"We have come here to peacefully protest against the atrocities against Uighur Muslims in China. We, the peace-loving Muslims of the world, want all humans to live in peace. We want peace for everyone; that's why we are staging a sit-in protest for some time so that the whole world gets to know that we want all humans to remain human, and no one should commit atrocities in the name of religion. This is what we want," Abdullah, a protestor, told ANI. "We have seen the atrocities against Muslims in China through Facebook and YouTube. Therefore, we will appeal to the Chinese government to keep their Muslims at peace. Everyone should live like brothers; we are making this appeal from India, Bharatwarsh," he added.
China has been accused of committing grave human rights abuses and persecution of minority communities, especially those from the Uyghur community in the Xinjiang province.
A 2022 report by the UN titled 'Xinjiang Report', found that Beijing's actions against Uyghurs and other minorities could amount to "crimes against humanity."
Since 2018, several human rights bodies, including those of the UN have docmented mounting human rights abuses.
However, despite a seemingly high acceptance rate, China broadly rejected recommendations on the rights of Uyghurs and Tibetans, cooperation with the UN and unrestricted UN access to all regions of the country, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, the death penalty and the ratification of international treaties.
Recently, China's human rights record faced international scrutiny during the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, taking place from January 22 to February 2.
Meanwhile, in August last year, China released the 2023 edition of its so-called "standard map," incorporating the country's claims over the nine-dash line, thereby laying claim to a large part of the South China Sea. The map also shows Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims is "South Tibet," as part of its territory.
India lodged a strong protest against China, rejecting claims made by Beijing in the so-called "standard map" and saying they have no basis to claim India's territory.
The Ministry of External Affairs said such steps from the Chinese side would only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said it is an "old habit" of China to stake claims on territories that do not belong to them. He dismissed Beijing's "absurd claims" and said "putting out a map does not mean anything."
Other than India, several other countries, namely the United States, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan, also condemned Beijing's move.
—ANI