KUALA LUMPUR, 11 July: The Vice President of the World Uyghur Congress, Seyit Tumturk, revealed that media from around the world are prohibited from visiting the Xinjiang province in China regarding the oppression of the Muslim population there.
He said that this has been happening for over 60 years, however it is impossible for any media agency to cover the issue or they too will face action from the Chinese authorities.
“The media is totally not allowed to visit the area and it is impossible for them to get coverage and play the issue regarding the issue of Muslim oppression.
“If the government finds out the media is trying to make this an issue, they will be prevented, arrested and possible tortured in prison,” he said at a press conference with the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) yesterday.
Currently, the majority of the Muslims in the province, who are of the Uyghur ethnicity, are facing many challenges to carry out their practices as Muslims.
The latest is that Muslims in Xinjing are prohibited from fasting during the Ramadan month.
This is part of the string of human tragedies suffered by Muslims in Xinjiang over the years.
In 2009, Muslims from the Uyghur ethnicity were brutally murdered in a riot stemmed from prejudice and suspicion from the Chinese Han ethnicity.
In addition to that, the process of eroding culture and religion is also being performed systematically on the Uyghur ethnicity.
This process has been going on intensively since the September 11 tragedy, and the process involves the prohibition of wearing hijab (veils) or covering themselves among the women, as well as carrying out their practices and ceremonial rituals as a Muslim, especially among the children.
NS