Yesterday, another Western country and the first in Europe, the Netherlands, recognized that the Uyghur situation is genocide. We will never forget MP Snored Sjoerdsma for his statementthat “The detention camps, where it is estimated more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are locked up, are so big that you can see them from space… The biggest mass incarceration of ethnic minorities since World War II.”
These words, which came after Parliamentarians listened carefully to the statements of Uyghur refugees in the Netherlands—including eyewitnesses to the camps—and investigated thoroughly, indicate not only the sense of true justice possessed by the MPs, but also the humanitarian nature of the people of the Netherlands.
We, the people of East Turkestan, have gone through the most difficult days in our history over the last four years. I sincerely thank the Parliament of the Netherlands for fulfilling its responsibility as human beings by recognizing our situation as genocide.
Despite mounting facts regarding this ongoing genocide in East Turkestan, most countries have failed to speak out because of their economic interests with China.
I hope and believe that this declaration by the Netherlands will give the members of other governments, particularly those in Europe, the courage to speak out and act in opposition to this crime against humanity being committed by China.
Rebiya Kadeer
Leader of the Uyghur National Movement