Denouncing the "deafening silence" surrounding the policy of repression of the Uyghur minority led by Beijing, Raphaël Glucksmann calls on Europe and France to take sanctions against China. For the MEP, who sits within the socialist group, the Chinese power is guilty of "the largest mass internment in the world today", which "falls within the international criteria to qualify a genocide". Accusing the governments of Europe of doing nothing "for fear of the economic power of China", he is proposing a whole series of measures, which, according to him, could be effective in putting pressure on Beijing.
Can we speak of genocide in relation to the situation of the Uyghurs in China?
RAPHAËL GLUCKSMANN. It is the largest mass internment in the world today. Uyghurs are deported, not for what they do, but for who they are. The Chinese regime is eradicating an identity and enslaving millions of human beings, transforming them into organ banks, in fact "human material", as Stalin said. So, yes, that falls within the international criteria to qualify a genocide, with, in particular, the systematic sterilization of women, instrument of disappearance of a people. It is the current crime against humanity that comes closest to the genocides perpetrated in the twentieth century. It takes place in deafening silence.
Why this ignorance?
For fear of Chinese power. And out of indifference. European leaders have not had a word to condemn this crime since 2016. Nor have the leaders of Muslim countries, while the Uyghurs are targeted as Muslims: wishing a "good Eid" or reading the Koran is enough to be deported. This silence kills.
It is being broken ...
Finally our leaders are starting to talk. Jean-Yves Le Drian (Editor's note, Minister of Foreign Affairs) denounced the facts, but no consequences are envisaged. This is not only insufficient, but also indecent. We confirm the deportation of a people, but we do not announce any sanctions aimed at forcing the Chinese authorities to close the camps. We went from "who does not say a word consents" to "I say a word and I consent".
Could we do something?
Yes, we have the tools to put pressure on Beijing. In the European Parliament, we voted for a resolution providing for targeted sanctions against leaders who participate in crimes against humanity. They can be applied to officials in the Chinese state apparatus. But governments are doing nothing.
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Who would be targeted?
Chinese policy makers in Xinjiang. But also European companies that collaborate with the Chinese repressive apparatus, by selling surveillance technologies, for example. Also targeted are Chinese firms that work on repression and export to Europe, starting with Huawei. I am thinking of facial recognition systems or bar codes affixed to Uyghur houses, providing information on the number of occupants, children, whether or not they pray ...
Are you thinking of other measures?
We must also act on European companies which benefit from forced labor. Uyghur detainees are transferred to factories that supply 83 major global brands. From the European Parliament, I have launched a public campaign targeting these brands. Lacoste and Adidas have thus undertaken to cease all collaboration. Nike or Zara, for example, refuse to change their business model. It is time that multinationals were held accountable for crimes committed in their production chain and earning them huge sums of money.
Would such sanctions be enough?
It would be a start and would make Chinese leaders understand that there is a price to pay for concentration camps. The only way is to enter into a balance of power.
Why this restraint of Europeans?
A form of vassalage spirit. We saw during the Covid-19 crisis that we are unable to produce masks or paracetamol without China. In the 1990s, it was claimed that the globalization of trade would globalize human rights and democracy. This did not happen. On the contrary: globalization has made our democracies dependent, creating in them a feeling of powerlessness. This globalization is turning against the countries which initiated it.
So this dependence condemns us to inaction?
No, because it works both ways! If the Europeans no longer bought products or dealt with China, it would be a disaster for the Chinese. We condemn ourselves to powerlessness in the face of Beijing, while we have weapons. This is the whole drama of Europe: out of civilizational fatigue, because our leaders themselves no longer believe in the principles they are supposed to promote, we behave like apathetic old people. Our servitude is voluntary.
Is it moral bankruptcy?
Yes, but it is also contrary to our interests. If we do nothing, the Chinese regime will always go further. Its expansionist policy must be contained. Today it is the Uyghurs and Hong Kong who are targeted, tomorrow Taiwan and others. Fighting for the Uyghurs is also fighting for ourselves.
A mobilization appears, it can move the lines?
That's the beauty of what is happening: the mobilization started from young people on social networks. Without media or political party. It will culminate in a march being organized on October 3 in Paris with Dilnur Reyhan, the great voice of the Uighurs exiled in France, to show that, for French youth, human rights still mean something. The stronger the mobilization, the more our leaders will be forced to act.