EXCLUSIVE: Recounting China's Baren crackdown, activist Rushan Abbas wants world to speak out on Uyghurs

In the events before and after the 1990 Baren Uprising, Chinese police brutality reportedly killed some 3,000 Uyghurs.As the world marks the 33-year anniversary of the Baren township clashes which took place between April 5 and April 10, somequestions stillremainunanswered. But they go beyond the fight for the independence of East Turkestan. It is about the rights of ethnic Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang province.

WION spoke to Uyghur American activist Rushan Abbas, the founder of nonprofit group Campaign for Uyghurs, as she recounts the horror of Baren uprising and opens up about her sister Gulshan Abbas who was sentenced to 20 years of jail in China.

She termed the events that took place in Baren Township in 1990 as nothing short of "horrific".

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Recalling about the horrendous crackdown, the Uyghur American activist said Chinese government, as part of their ongoing campaign of colonisation, forced assimilation and population control, began forcing Uyghur and other Turkic women to undergo abortions.

"This act of violence against innocent civilians was the last straw for the villagers of Baren, who had already suffered for decades under Chinese occupation," she told WION.

In response, the Uyghurs peacefully protested, but when their voices went unheard, "they took up arms to defend themselves"against the Chinese "invaders".

"Instead of listening to the concerns and grievances of the people, the Chinese occupation forces responded with brutal force. They flooded Baren Township with People's Liberation Army soldiers and launched a massive massacre of innocent civilians, including women and children," she added.

Over the extent of the violence and bloodshed, she expressed shock, saying thousands of innocent Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples were massacred, some even subjected to heavy weaponry and airstrikes.

"The people of Baren were simply fighting for their basic human rights and freedom, yet they were met with unimaginable violence and cruelty from the Chinese government."

She urged the international community to continue to speak out against such atrocities and stand in solidarity with those who are fighting for their basic human rights and freedom.

The leaked Xinjiang Police Files tainted China's rights situation which the country still claims stand unsullied. The in-depth reports exposed not only Xinjiang internment camps but went straight down to revealing the information and images of the detainees too. The leak coincided with the former UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's visit to China on May 23, 2022, an outcome of which only drew criticism from many supporting rights of Uyghurs and speaking against China's "genocide."

Abbas said that Volker Turk, as the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for human rights, has a responsibility to uphold and protect human rights, including those of individuals in Tibet, Hong Kong, and East Turkistan.

It is important to note that the Chinese government has consistently denied the existence of human rights abuses in these regions, despite numerous reports to the contrary.

Abbas asserted that Turk must do the right thing and hold the perpetrators accountable.

"Any efforts by the UN or other international bodies to address these issues will likely be met with opposition and pushback from the Chinese government."

She said the situation in East Turkistan is a grave concern for human rights advocates around the world, "including the detention of my sister Dr. Gulshan Abbas and the millions of other Uyghurs."

Gulshan Abbas was arrested by China in March, 2019 on terrorism-related charges after disappearing in September 2018.

"Given China's track record of denying access to independent experts and rejecting calls for accountability, it is difficult to predict the likelihood of her release or any significant progress in addressing the Uyghur Genocide."

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