Defend the Uyghurs

The president of the USA, Joe Biden, during his inauguration.PATRICK SEMANSKY / AFP

The declaration by which the United States has described the repression of the Uighur Muslim minority at the hands of the Chinese government as genocide redoubles global attention on this unacceptable situation.

Both the moment in which it was made public - by the Trump Administration, with a certain cynicism, in its last hours - and the fit of the concept of "genocide" in this case with the classification provided by law may be debatable. international.

But what is undeniable is that the evidence that has managed to cross China's impervious informational borders reveals human rights abuses on a massive scale committed by the Beijing regime against Uyghurs, including secret "re-education" camps, where they are arbitrarily interned. thousands of people and forced sterilizations are practiced.

With an absolutely closed attitude, China not only denies the accusations, but even the existence of any serious problem with this ethnic, religious and cultural group, closer to other Central Asian peoples than to traditional Chinese culture.

Yesterday, Beijing announced sanctions against 28 US officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as of Tuesday.

The movement is a diplomatic retaliation that, although directed against a decision of the previous Administration, represents a first reason for friction with the new president of the United States, Joe Biden, who now must decide the next step.

And here it is necessary to underline that, despite being in the antipodes of Trump, Biden has been very firm about the violation of the human rights of the Uighur minority.

In fact, during his election campaign, he too, through a spokesman, called genocide what is happening in the autonomous province of Xinjiang.

His new Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has endorsed that qualification in an appearance for confirmation before a Senate committee.

It is obvious that, to obtain world stability, the United States and China must reach an understanding at least on the big issues.

But neither this nor the calculation that certain pressures may not have immediate effect can lead to the resignation of the defense of human rights or to a relativization of extremely serious events, as is the case with the Uighur minority.

That defense must be presided over by serenity and effectiveness.

An attitude in which, in addition, in this specific case, Europe would have to be more firmly involved.

The president of the United States now has the complicated task of ratifying that defense and at the same time avoiding a collision course with Beijing - with whom he maintains important disagreements in other fields - whose consequences can be disastrous for the entire planet.