The American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, criticized Sunday the choice of China to carry the Olympic flame, in its last meters Friday in Beijing, by an athlete born in Xinjiang.
Read alsoUyghurs: new “Xinjiang papers” confirm Xi Jinping’s role in the repression
The United States, and some of its allies, have chosen to boycott the Winter Olympics diplomatically, citing human rights violations in Xinjiang, the northwest region of the country where cross-country skier Dinigeer was born. Yilamujiang, the last bearer of the flame with her compatriot Zhao Jiawen during the opening ceremony.
“This is a desire by the Chinese to distract us from the real issue, which is that Uighurs are being tortured, Uighurs are victims of human rights abuses by the Chinese, and we need to keep that front and center.
“, estimated the American ambassador Sunday on CNN.
Dinigeer Yilamujiang, 20, is from Altay in northern Xinjiang, a mountainous region where China claims the invention of skiing.
As a response to criticism of human rights in Xinjiang, Chinese media have been praising the winter sports destination in recent weeks.
"We know that a genocide was committed there",
launched Sunday Linda Thomas-Greenfield,
"we denounced it, the president (Joe Biden) denounced it."
"We have made it clear that China is knowingly carrying out these crimes against humanity
," the diplomat continued.
Asked about the safety of American athletes there who would speak out on human rights, she said she
"hoped the Chinese would take no action"
targeting them.
“Our goal is to make sure our athletes are safe, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that,”
she added.
According to human rights organizations, at least a million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities, mainly Muslims, are or have been incarcerated in camps in this region of northwestern China, placed under close surveillance by the authorities.
Beijing disputes, saying that they are vocational training centers intended to keep them away from terrorism and separatism, after numerous deadly attacks attributed to Islamists or Uyghur separatists.
On Saturday, following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on China to allow UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to visit the Xinjiang, which has so far been refused by Beijing.