Protesters gather outside UN headquarters demanding justice on Urumchi Massacre anniversary

Jul 06, 2024

Geneva (Switzerland), July 05 (ANI): In a poignant display of defiance, Uyghur Muslims gathered outside the UN Headquarters in Geneva to observe the 15th anniversary of the 2009 Urumchi massacre. On July 05, 2009, thousands of Uyghurs in Urumchi demonstrated against the Chinese government’s handling of the Shaoguan incident. The event served as a reminder of unsolved complaints and continued human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang province, commonly known as East Turkestan. Today, demonstrators held up photographs of missing loved ones, demanding justice for nearly 1 million Uyghurs jailed in internment camps. Zumretay Arkin, Director of Global Advocacy at the World Uyghur Congress, stated, “Since 2017, the Chinese government has been conducting a genocide against my people, the Uyghur people, and the Turkic people of East Turkistan. Over 3 million Uyghurs and Turkic people have been detained in internment camps, where they face torture, abuse, malnutrition, sexual harassment, and other atrocities. Mass surveillance is pervasive, even in the diaspora community, leaving Uyghurs feeling unsafe both inside and outside the UN in Geneva.”