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50 Years After Test 596: Impact of Nuclear Testing in East Turkestan in the Spotlight as Policymakers Pledge to Take Issue to Beijing’s Door
World Uyghur Congress | 02 March 2012
When an official delegation of MEPs will visit China in 2012, they will “insist on finding facts and new information about…East Turkestan and Tibet.” This was the pledge made by László Tökés MEP during the conference, “50 Years After Test 596: China’s Nuclear Programme In East Turkestan And Its Impacts Today” where he emphasised “the moral dimension of this meeting – because on behalf of the united Europe it is a total immorality if it ignores the destiny of East Turkestan, of peoples…which have to suffer such an oppression as the Uyghurs have to suffer”.
Co-sponsor of the conference, Kristiina Ojuland MEP, noted her experience of Communist mismanagement of nuclear facilities and reflected that unlike Estonia, China had allowed “no independent risk assessment of Lop Nor…no steps taken to address possible health problems, and that a culture of state secrecy prevents any constructive steps being taken to mitigate the effects of successive nuclear tests.”
It was important that the European Union “speak on behalf of the victims…to give voice to those silenced by a repressive government” Dolkun Isa (WUC Secretary General) noted, because despite “the sad heritage of devastating health and environmental effects” Beijing made it impossible for victims to seek redress. Marino Busdachin (UNPO General Secretary), believed it crucial “to lift a veil of secrecy, and…by raising such issues of concern, we will not only be giving voice to those in East Turkestan – we will be supporting their nonviolent campaign for the rights supposedly guaranteed by the Chinese constitution.’
Enver Tohti (Independent Uyghur Medical Researcher), depicted Beijing’s unwillingness to address the issue and urged for “compensation to civilians, and money invested in medical facilities”. In this vein, Hanno Schedler (Society for Threatened Peoples) pressed Europe to “advocate for Human Rights in East Turkestan.” Attendees also learned of the background and possible effects of Beijing’s nuclear testing programme from Vincent Metten (International Campaign for Tibet) and Antoinette de Jong (Journalist). Jean-Marie Rogue (FIDH) and Dominique Lalanne (Armes Nucléaires STOP) discussed what could be done to correct the situation through existing mechanisms and the ways in which Beijing could act to compensate the civilian victims of the tests.
Note to Editors:
Convened by László Tökés MEP, Kristiina Ojuland MEP and Vytautas Landsbergis MEP, ‘50 Years After Test 596: China’s Nuclear Programme In East Turkestan And Its Impacts Today’ is the first in Europe to bring together experts, leading NGOs, and personal testimony to raise awareness of the high rates of cancer, birth defects, and radiation-related illnesses in East Turkestan.
More information on the conference is available from http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?p=13832 and http://www.unpo.org/article/13835
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The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international umbrella organization that represents the collective interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turkestan and abroad and promotes Uyghur human rights and a peaceful and non-violent solution based on rule of law for the conflict in East Turkestan.
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