WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that a long-awaited UN report reaffirmed the US view that China is committing “genocide” against the Uyghurs and called for Beijing to be held responsible.
Blinken said that the United States “welcomes” the “important” report, released minutes before UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet — who was strongly criticized by Washington for a recent visit to China — left office.
“This report deepens and reaffirms our grave concern regarding the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity that PRC government authorities are perpetrating against Uyghurs,” he said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“We will continue to hold the PRC to account and call on the PRC to release those unjustly detained, account for those disappeared, and allow independent investigators full and unhindered access to Xinjiang, Tibet and across the PRC,” he said.
The landmark UN report detailed a string of rights violations including torture and forced labor against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities, infuriating Beijing.
The report said China may have committed “crimes against humanity” but stopped short of calling its treatment of the Uyghurs “genocide,” an accusation made since early 2021 by the United States and since embraced by legislatures in several other Western nations.
US says China must be held to ‘account’ on Uyghur ‘genocide’ after UN report
https://arab.news/bvj9b
US says China must be held to ‘account’ on Uyghur ‘genocide’ after UN report
- Report detailed a string of rights violations against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities
- It said China may have committed “crimes against humanity”
Man tackled to ground after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Minneapolis town hall
- The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back
MINNEAPOLIS: A man wearing a black jacket was tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on US Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Omar continued the town hall after the man was ushered out of the room.
Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.
Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking information on the incident and whether anyone was arrested.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”
The attack on Omar came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching US Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.
