US blacklists 28 Chinese organisations over Muslims crackdown

The US action of blacklisting entities will further deteriorate Washington and Beijing already tense relations. The decision was taken to blacklist 28 Chinese organisations over Muslim crackdown.

Washington: In a step that will further irk China, the United States on Monday blacklisted 28 Chinese entities involved in a crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang province.

"These twenty-eight entities have been determined by the US Government to be acting contrary to the foreign policy interests of the United States," the Commerce Department said in a notice published in the Federal Register.

"The U.S. government and Department of Commerce cannot and will not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities within China," media quoted Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as saying.

Uighur:

Uigurs, are a minority Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. They are China's 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities. They are recognized by China as a regional minority within a multicultural nation. They became the supporters of Islam in the 10th century and became largely Muslims by 16th century after which Islam played an important role in the Uighur culture and identity.

Reasons for Blacklisting:

• China has been condemned internationally for cracking down on the minorities living in their countries.
• China has been accused of oppressing the Uighur by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending the community to undergo some form of forceful re-education or indoctrination.

United Nations targets China and Pakistan:

At a United Nations meeting in August, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada raised the issue of suppression of religious freedom by China and Pakistan and slammed the two Asian nations for "persecuting and repressing" their religious minorities.

Pakistan defends Islam in front of the western nations and targeted Indian government and army on the global platform for locking up the Kashmiris through article 370 and also threatened to undergo nuclear war. But it never stood with the Muslims who were suffering in China.

The US action of blacklisting entities will further deteriorate Washington and Beijing already tense relations.