At the height of China’s crackdown on ethnic Kazakhs in the East Turkistan region, Kazakhstan became a center for activism, raising awareness of these human rights abuses. However, in recent years, fear has silenced many of those voices.
Kazakhstan’s Zhas Alash newspaper recently published an article in late July, highlighting the plight of 22 Kazakh intellectuals currently imprisoned in China. Yet, their relatives in Kazakhstan are too afraid to speak out, fearing that any advocacy could worsen the situation for their loved ones. Previously, Kazakh activists had appealed to the international community and the Kazakh government on behalf of their missing relatives. But China’s hardline policies, initiated in 2016, have intensified the repression against Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities in the region.
Among those mentioned in the article are journalists, teachers, and literary figures who often had close ties to the Chinese state and had never shown any opposition to the authorities. However, even the apolitical expression of national identity has become dangerous, particularly in East Turkistan.
This situation underscores the depth and severity of China’s crackdown, as well as the silence surrounding the issue in Kazakhstan. The silencing of Kazakh intellectuals and the fear of their families highlight the ongoing human rights crisis in the region and the growing hesitance to address it openly.
recource: https://www.rferl.org/a/33088408.html