Houston, Texas.
Trump Made Some Good Points in his pro-Gun Speech.
by Kaukab Siddique, PhD
Numerous protests against the NRA program in Houston could
not stop the gun lobby despite the massacre of school
children in Uvalde.
However President Trump made positive suggestions about the
safety of schools. He is a powrrful speaker and Newsmax
projected his entire speech. Democrats have no match.
The most positive point he made was that our children and
their schools are most important for America. We should
focus on the protection of our schools. We do have the money
to provide layers of security for the schools. Why are we
sending $40 billion to Ukraine and keeping our schools
undefended. Here is his advice:
There should be one or more armed guards at each school.
Retired military should be hired. Many of them might
volunteer.
Every visitor should be checked first by the armed guards
and then documented by school officials.
No one should be able to reach the children unless
cleared by three layers of security and documentation.
Mental health should be our primary concern.
Inner doors should de opened only after detailed
clearance and documentation of visitors.
Our children's security, not wars overseas, should be our
primary concern.
My advice to President Trump is to focus on the Zionists in
the Democratic Party and his own party. They are more
interested in the "security" of Israel than in the security
of our children.
Pakistan
[Please read the conclusion of this articlre which sums it
up.]
Analysis of Imran Khan's Drama in Pakistan
by Kaukab Siddique, PhD
All of Pakistan seems to have turned out to support Imran
Khan's march on Islamabad. [May 26]
It was as if the masses had swallowed Imran's claim that a
foreign power, America, was behind
his removal from the position of Prime Minister and that the
new government was an "imported government."
Let us look at how Imran brought about this drama.
He ignored the fact that during three plus years of his
rule [August 2018 to April 2022] he did not fulfil any of
the promises he had made to Pakistanis to get himself
elected.
The economy was a disaster and totally at the mercy of
the World Bank and IMF
.
Pakistan is built on Islam but Imran failed to do
anything Islamic for Pakistan. His relations with Jamaate
Islami and other Islamic groups were lukewarm or simply
missing.
Crime and gangsterism were rampant during his regime.
He was obeying America in his efforts to crush Islamic
groups in the frontier areas.
He crushed Baluchistan and several thousand people simply
disappeared.
He gave speeches about Kashmir but the border with Indian
occupied Kashmir and India remained peaceful. The incidents
on the Kashmir line of control came from India, not from his
regime. He had abandoned Kashmir.
In desperate attempts to get resources from China he
totally abandoned the Uighur Muslims of China, millions of
whom are in Communist concentration camps.
He was heavy handed in his attacks on political parties
opposing him. For the first time in Pakistan's history
female opponents were imprisoned, including Nawaz Sharif's
daughter, Maryam..
He made a mantra out of calling his opponents crooks,
thieves and thugs. Corruption has been part of Pakistani
politics but he skillfully used it to neutralize his
opposition..
Things became so bad in his own party that his followers
started defecting to the opposition.
When his opponents united, he simply had the National
Assembly dissolved to abort the no-trust vote he was
facing.
When Imran knew it was all over for his regime, he played a
masterpiece of his game. He claimed that America was behind
his ouster. He knew that Pakistan is sick of groveling
before America. Tens of thousands came out to support him
against America,
Imran simply ignored his failure as Prime Minister and
instead stoked the fires of anti-Americanism.
Actually the Pakistani military has worked with America
against mujaheddin groups and is involved in some way in the
assassination of Osama bin Laden, the global leader of
anti-American forces. Imran, sneaky politician that he is,
did not criticize the army.
In the final part of his drama, the media hostile to Islam,
like the Pakistan daily Dawn, gave maximum coverage to
rallies of innocent people supporting Imran. Dawn was giving
details of the gathering points of those supporting Imran
and exaggerated accounts of police action against them.
Once Imran Khan reached Islamabad, he proclaimed that he
would stay there until new elections were announced. Hours
later he announced that he was leaving and would come back
within six days if new elections were not announced. [He is
known as Mr. U-turn.]
{On May 28, another female opposition leader Marriyum
Aurangzeb, who is now the Information Minister, told a press
conference that there would be no talking to Imran until he
stops being abusive.]
[We should understand Pakistan's media support for
Imran.
On May 22, a huge opposition rally was held in Islamabad.
Thousands were holding and waving Pakistan's green banner.
Pakistani women were there in large numbers. Even
Christians, several thousand, joined the crowd to show
support for inter-religious harmony. A storm hit Islamabad,
with heavy rain which went on and on.. The organizers urged
the crowd not to waver and hold on to the scaffolding.
Social media videotaped the event live. No one left.
The mainstream media did not say a word about the huge
rally.
Guess why?
The rally was organized by Jamate Islami and was addressed
by Sirajul Huq and the top leadership of the Jamat.]
War News
Ukraine
Russian forces using tanks, missiles and long range
artillery are advancing in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Russia is capturing a couple of towns every week.
The Kiev regime seems to be facing defeat.
Syria
Turkey is getting ready for a large scale new move into
Syria.
Russia has withdrawn its air force and troops from across
Syria. It asked the Assad regime to fill the vacated
positions. The regime did not have enough troops to fill the
positions and has asked the Iranians to step in.
Syrians supporting Turkey are shelling SDF pro USA [Kurdish
Communists] positions in western Aleppo province, north
central Syria and northern Hasakeh province.
Assad troops and Jihad groups clashed in north east Latakia
and on the borders of Irbid province.
In Deraa province several Assad troops and officials have
been killed.
In Suwaida province [south of Damascus] tribal people and
Assad people are clashing, leading to chaos and crimes.
After the stoppage of Russian bombing, SOHR reports that
ISIS is coming out openly in Deir ez Zor province and
southern al-Raqqa as well as eastern Homs. In some places
ISIS is imposing Sharia.
Iraq
2022-05-29 03:36
Shafaq News/ Iraqi fighter jets pounded a cave used by a
group of ISIS militants as a hideout in the mountains of
Hamrin in Diyala, the Security Media Cell (SMC) said on
Sunday.
SMC said that the Iraqi F-16 fighter jets carried out two
airstrikes on the cave located in the Zorluk area, killing
three "terrorists" and injuring another.
Palestine
Palestinian teenager shot dead, dozens injured by Israeli
forces
Palestinian health ministry says killing 'part of a series'
of 'field executions carried out by the occupation
forces'.
Israeli forces shot a Palestinian teenager dead near
Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank and in a separate
incident Israeli forces injured around 90 people protesting
near Nablus against the confiscation of Palestinian flags by
Jewish settlers.
At least one Palestinian was shot in the leg and dozens of
other protesters sustained injuries from stun grenades,
rubber-coated bullets and tear gas inhalation during clashes
in the West Bank town of Huwara, near the city of Nablus,
the Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Friday.
Videos posted on social media earlier this week showed
Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers taking down Palestinian
flags in the town. On Friday, Palestinians organised a march
of people waving flags.
"What is happening in Huwara is a provocation by the
settlers," Mohammad Abdelhameed, a Huwara council member,
told Reuters.
"We hang the Palestinian flag, which is a symbol of our
identity and it will remain raised as long as we are on this
land," he said.
A Jewish settler holds a Palestinian flag that he removed,
as a member of the Israeli security forces tries to prevent
him from doing so in the occupied West Bank town of Huwara,
on May 27, 2022 [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP]
A Jewish settler holds a Palestinian flag that he removed as
a member of the Israeli security forces tries to prevent him
from doing so in the occupied West Bank town of Huwara on
May 27, 2022 [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP]
Israeli law does not ban the Palestinian flag, but police
and soldiers regularly remove Palestinian flags from public
areas.
Condemning the Israeli forces' violence as "repression", the
Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that locals
were protesting against expanding Jewish settlements and the
confiscation of Palestinian land.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
'Field executions'
Separately, Israeli forces shot a Palestinian teenager dead
in the town of al-Khader near Bethlehem, the Palestinian
health ministry said.
News Within the U.S.
The Workings of Israeli Propaganda & Provocation.
by Kaukab Siddique, PhD
Recently a senior Iranian officer was assassinated in the
streets of Tehran, Iran.
Now Israel is claiming that the Iranian officer was killed
by Israel. This report is being "leaked" to the American
public through the New York Times.
Israel is pretending that the Biden administration should
not have told the New York Times and Israel is
"furious."
Our readers should try to understand this story:
There is no evidence in this story that Israel did this
killing.
It conveys the idea that Israel is able to strike right
in the capital city of Iran.
Iran is helpless and cannot strike back.
The story is being projected through the New York Times
because the NYT has prestige and large circulation in
America. Most Americans [and most Muslims} do not know that
the NYT has been the consistent, though subtle, supporter of
Israel for decades.
A further purpose here is create the impression that the
US is turning against Israel under Biden's presidency.
Finally Iran itself might be provoked into carrying out a
counter attack against Israel.
Al-Jazeera had noted right after the attack that the Iranian
officer had been involved in the fighting in Syria in
support of Syrian dictator and this counterattack probably
came from there. He was not involved in Iran's nuclear
program.
Outreach
Kashmir: A case of world apathy panel held in Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey. May 26, 2022. A panel discussion took
place at ILKE Science, Culture, Education Foundation,
Istanbul, entitled, "Kashmir: A Case of World Apathy."
Panelists included, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General,
World Kashmir Awareness Forum & Dr. Waleed Rasool, Professor
at Riphah University, Islamabad. The emcee was Ahsan Shafiq
Butt, foreign relations coordinator at the Foundation. Ahsan
Shafiq, an energetic and scholarly personality, who said
that Kashmir has been victim of World's apathy rather
hypocrisy. Yet we Muslims need to take the lead even if it
means small steps and not leaps to make a difference.
ILKE Foundation, established in 1980's, produces
information, policies and strategies, conducts research that
will guide decision makers, and contribute to the formation
of the necessary knowledge for the future. ILKE Foundation
has contributed so far in the fields of education, business
ethics, civil society, law and management. It produces
charity-oriented work for the purpose of living within the
framework of Islamic and human values, conducive to living,
and pioneering the realization of a transformation in this
direction in society. While doing this, ILKE Foundation
cares about taking into account the spirit of the time and
the needs of the day, and consultation and cooperation with
institutions that carry out similar studies. ILKE Foundation
believes that a life should be aimed at serving humanity and
humanity alone.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai said that Indian perspective regarding
Kashmir has been full of deceit, deception and lies.
Responding to a question: (question hour lasted for two
hours) Is Kashmir an integral part of India? Fai explained
that under all international agreements, which were agreed
upon by both India and Pakistan, negotiated by the United
Nations and accepted by the Security Council, Kashmir does
not belong to any member state of the United Nations. If
Kashmir does not belong to any member state of the United
Nations, then the claim that Kashmir is an integral part of
India does not stand. So, if Kashmir is not integral part of
India, then to call Kashmiris separatist is an insult and an
absolute fallacy because Kashmir cannot separate from a
country, like India to which it has never acceded to in the
first place.
Answering a question, Dr. Fai said that the people of
Kashmir understand that India's obdurate stand has been
effective in creating the impression among policy makers of
the world powers, including the United States that the idea
of plebiscite is unworkable, although, the United States and
Britain have traditionally been committed supporters of the
plebiscite agreement as the only way to resolve this issue.
They sponsored all the Security Council resolutions which
called for a plebiscite. Plebiscite became a matter of
controversy only after India realized that she could not win
the people's vote. Fai also added that when the Kashmir
dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the United States championed
the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be
ascertained in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of
the people of the territory. The United States was the
principal sponsor of the resolution # 47 which was adopted
by the Security Council on 21 April 1948, and which was
based on that unchallenged principle.
Responding to a question of popular sentiments of the people
towards the freedom struggle, Fai explained that the scale
of popular backing for it can be judged from the established
fact that, on many occasions since 1990, virtually the
entire population of Srinagar came out on the streets in an
unparalleled demonstration of protest against the oppressive
status quo. The further fact that they presented petitions
at the office of the United Nations Military Observers Group
(UNMOGIP) shows the essentially peaceful nature of the aims
of the uprising and its trust in justice under international
law. India has tried to portray the uprising as the work of
terrorists or fanatics. Terrorists do not compose an entire
population, including women and children; fanatics do not
look to the United Nations to achieve pacific and rational
settlement, Fai said.
Fai referred to the report issued by the U.N. High
Commissioner of Human rights which underlines this fact by
stating; "While Indian-Administered Kashmir has experienced
waves of protests in the past—in the late 1980s to
early 1990s, 2008 and 2010—this current round of
protests appears to involve more people than the past, and
the profile of protesters has also shifted to include more
young, middle-class Kashmiris, including females who do not
appear to have been participating in the past."
Fai agreed with the questioner that Kashmir struggle has
been met with studied unconcern by the United Nations. This
studies unconcern has given a sense of total impunity to
India, responded Dr. Fai. It has also created the impression
that the United Nations is invidiously selective about the
application of the principles of human rights and democracy.
There is a glaring contrast between the outcry over the
massacre in Ukraine, on the one side, and the official
silence (barring some faint murmurs of disapproval) over the
killing and maiming of a vastly greater number of civilians
in Kashmir and the systematic violation of the 1949 Geneva
Convention. Fai added that it is the moral obligation of the
world powers to respond to the pain and suffering of
innocent civilians of Ukraine, however, they should not turn
the blind eye towards the pain and suffering of other
international conflicts, including Kashmir.
Fai told the wide audience which included faculties,
students, members of civil society that Yasin Malik, one of
the most elevated and prominent leaders of Kashmir political
resistance movement is a peace maker. Yasin Malik dedicated
his life to convince the leadership of both India and
Pakistan as well as important world capitals, including the
United States that the only way to resolve the Kashmir
conflict was through peaceful negotiations between all
parties concerned - India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri
leadership. The life sentence is share sickening and
extremely abhorrent. World community must intervene to let
justice prevail. We hope the time has come the world powers
will end its apathy and insensitivity towards Kashmir, Fai
hoped.
Dr. Waleed Rasool articulated the Kashmiri perspective in
these words, "Kashmir is neither part of India nor Part of
British India therefore, none of the Indian laws are
applicable in Kashmir.
Kashmir dispute is legitimate international dispute as per
UN resolutions and International law. India occupied Kashmir
in 1947 and reannexed it in 2019, therefore, India is
aggressor and occupier.
Dr. Rasool added: 'Since Kashmir was not a sovereign part of
India, therefore, the resistance movement is neither a
separatist movement nor successionist but movement of right
to self-determination which demands implementation of the UN
resolutions - that sanctifies the Kashmiri freedom
struggle.
The agenda setting and framing of disinformation campaign by
Indian intelligence agencies of legitimate Kashmiri struggle
needs the intellectual support of academics and scholars to
distinguish the falsehood from the truth and reality, Rasool
explained.
Dr. Rasool emphasized that Kashmir has no geographical,
historical or cultural relationship with India. We appeal
the world community not to see the Kashmir tragedy from the
lenses of either India or Pakistan but purely from
humanitarian and objective lenses.
Aslan Balci of Anadolu Agency said, "It was a very useful
panel about, Kashmir under Indian occupation. We listened
and heard very useful words from Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai and Dr.
Waleed Rasool.
Among others, who were present included, Dr. Mubeen Shah,
prominent global Kashmiri diaspora leader, Turgay Rvren,
Turkish author, poet, songwriter.
Protestants : Abuse and Cover up.
Not Much of Religion left in America
[BBC May 25]
Leaders of the world's largest Baptist denomination met on
Tuesday to "discuss and process" an investigative report
uncovered decades of abuse and cover-ups.
The Southern Baptist Convention - the US-based association
for the church - had covered up the abuse and vilified
survivors, it said.
Calls for help were often met with "outright hostility", the
report added.
With 13 million members, SBC is the largest Protestant body
in the US.
The investigation, carried out for the SBC by an outside
firm, was launched in the wake of 2019 report by the Houston
Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News that exposed hundreds
of alleged cases of sex abuse within the church.
On Tuesday, SBC officials said they would discuss the report
and begin what executive committee leaders have termed "the
beginning of a season of listening, lamenting and learning
how to address sexual abuse".
An attorney for the SBC's executive committee said that the
organisation plans to make a list of abusers publicly
available once it ensures that all the names included are
substantiated, and survivors' identities are not
disclosed.
During the meeting - which was broadcast on Zoom - the board
also put forward an apology statement which said it "seeks
to publicly repent" for previously dismissive responses and
"wholeheartedly listen to survivors".
Amid internal divisions over how to handle the scandal,
thousands of delegates at the SBC's annual gathering last
year voted in favour of a third-party review of the church's
actions.
The 288-page report issued on Sunday names a few senior
leaders on the church's executive committee as having
control over its response to the reports of abuse and of
being "singularly focused on avoiding liability for the
SBC".
These officials reportedly "protected or even supported
alleged abusers", the report says. [Excerpted]
Invitation to Think
[Science does not support racism.]
[With thanks to Dr. T.]
ASHG Statement Regarding the Warping of Genetic Knowledge to
Feed Racist Ideology
The following statement is attributable to Charles Rotimi,
PhD, ASHG President
"As the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) joins
others in deepest sorrow and outrage over the unfathomable
recent tragedies in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York, the
human genetics community is appalled at the news that the
shooter in the hate-fueled mass killing in Buffalo rooted
his racist beliefs by misusing and misrepresenting the
science we strive to advance each day. As we have in 2018
and again in 2020, the human genetics community rejects in
the strongest possible terms any attempt to twist and warp
genetics knowledge to advance bogus racist ideology or try
to legitimize through science the fundamental hatred that
forms white supremacy's evil core.
The fundamental fact from human genetics is this: the human
genome tells the profoundly powerful story of a single
humanity - one species able to thrive by adapting in subtle
but important ways to our environmental and evolutionary
forces over thousands of years in every corner of the
planet. That variation is an enormous and profound strength
and is central to efforts to understand and apply this
knowledge to serve humanity.
As scientists and citizens in this one humanity, it is our
duty to condemn falsehoods that enflame violence and to
champion scientific knowledge and fact. ASHG's hearts, minds
and long-term goals remain fully committed to advancing
equity, diversity and inclusion in science, health and
society."
* * *
About the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)
The American Society of Human Genetics is the largest
membership organization for human genetics and genomics
professionals worldwide. Founded in 1948, ASHG's nearly
8,000 members include researchers, academicians, clinicians,
laboratory practice professionals, genetic counselors,
nurses, and others with an interest in human genetics and
genomics. The Society provides forums to share research
results through the ASHG Annual Meeting , The American
Journal of Human Genetics, and Human Genetics and Genomics
Advances; provides professional education and career
development for genomics researchers; educates and engages
the public about the progress and potential of human
genetics research; and advances genetic research by
advocating for research support and responsible social and
scientific policies. For more information, visit:
http://www.ashg.org.
Guidance by Sis. Yasmin.
'Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barkatuh'.
~ Of Shields and Mothers ~
Every night the prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) would
read the ' Mu'awwidhatayn' (Surah Falaq and Surah Naas),
then blow on his hands and run his hands over his body
(this is also known as 'Hisaar') He once visited his
beloved daughter Sayyidina Fatima (Allah be pleased with
her) and Sayyidina Ali (ra) at night and urged them to do
likewise.
It took me a few decades to realize that this is precisely
what my grandfather was doing every night before going to
bed !
'Dhikr'~ the Ultimate Shield.
There is a reason why 'Dhikr' and 'Du'a'
are said to form a Muslim's fortress.
These 'Adhkaar' form an actual shield around us, protecting
us from all sorts of dangers. They form our daily
armour.
Countless 'Ahadith' about our morning du'a confirm that
these du'a will prevent harm from reaching us till the
evening or next day. The same applies to our evening du'a,
recitations, or adhkaar.
I would know; I have almost set the kitchen on fire many a
time. While preparing aftaar a few years ago I saw a
gorgeous orange light peering through our kitchen glass
doors as I returned to the kitchen from my room. It turned
out that the pretty light was a full-swing party of rather
massive flames dancing off my wok of oil. Stunned, all I
could do was recite---
Allah said, "O fire, be coolness and safety upon
Abraham—
" ya naaru kuni bardan wa salaman ala Ibrahim.
[Surah Al Anbiya; 21:69]
When the fight response pushed me into motion, I poured
water on an oil fire! Yet, defying physical laws, just as
Allah cooled Namrud's fire for Sayyidina Ibrahim (upon him
be peace),
He calmed these fiery flames too.
How vividly this protection is illustrated throughout the
Seerah
For instance when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him went to speak with the Jinn. Sayyidina Ibn Mas'ud (ra)
agreed to accompany him (saws) there. Just outside the abode
of the Jinn,
the Prophet's made hisaar, a protective ring, around
Sayyidina Ibn Mas'ud. By Allah's will, this ring protected
him from all types of jinn and shayateen who came in such
varied forms:
Jinn, scorpions, snakes and so on - an unimaginably scary
list.
Sayyidina Ibn Mas'ud narrates that they would just crash
against the ring the Prophet had simply drawn in the loose
earth with his blessed finger as though they'd hit a
wall.
And to this day I am certain that reciting from My Lord's
blessed word is the only thing that saved me from those
raging flames,
and at countless other moments when we perhaps
didn't even register.
Of Prophets and Mothers.
That, and my mother's du'a!
Remember how Allah cautioned Sayyidina Musa (as) to climb
the mountain carefully after his mother's death, for she
used to make du'a for him every day. And with her passing
away,
lowered forever were the hands that rose time and again in
prayer-most-earnest for her son.
Prayers that even Allah recognized as protection.
I can't imagine how direly in need we must be of our
mothers' blessings and du'a.
Today, right now, make special du'a
for your parents, and, make special effort to earn your
place in their precious prayers.
Be an even better son, an even better daughter.
~My 'Salaams' to all~
~ Y a s m i n ~
~*Never Despair Of The Mercy Of Allah*~
****************************************
~Say, 'Indeed, my Prayer, my Rites of Sacrifice,
my Living and my Dying are for ALLAH, Lord of the
Worlds'~
{'Qur`an'~Surat Al-`An`am -# 6-162.}
[Source ~ Article written by By K. Balkhi
Settlers attack Palestinians' homes in Burin
NABLUS, Saturday, May 28, 2022 (WAFA) - A group of Israeli
settlers attacked homes of Palestinian citizens this evening
in the village of Burin, south of Nablus, according to local
sources. No injuries were reported.
Witnesses told WAFA that a group of settlers from the
illegal Israeli settlement of Givat Ronin attacked homes of
Palestinians in the outskirts of the village, sparking
confrontations with local residents.
Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their
property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely
prosecuted by Israeli occupation authorities.
There are over 600,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial
settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation
of international law and consensus.
Photos and Official Documents Obtained thru Leaks
A photo of Yusup Ismayil, age 32 in 2018, who was sentenced
to a Xinjiang re-education camp for visiting a "sensitive
location" [Courtesy of the Xinjiang Police Files
project]
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 24 May 2022
A leak of thousands of photos and official documents from
Xinjiang has shed new light on the extent of alleged abuses
against the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in China's
far western region.
The files, obtained by US-based academic Adrian Zenz, were
published as UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet began a
long-awaited and controversial trip to Xinjiang where
Beijing is accused of "crimes against humanity" for its
treatment of the Uighurs.
What will the UN see as it finally visits China's
Xinjiang?
Activists have said Chinese authorities have detained at
least one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities
in a network of detention camps and prisons in the region,
which Beijing has defended as vocational skills training
centres necessary to tackle "extremism".
But the trove of police photographs and internal documents -
sent to Zenz by an anonymous source who hacked into official
databases in Xinjiang - adds to evidence that the mass
internments are far from voluntary, with leaked documents
showing top leaders in Beijing, including President Xi
Jinping, calling for a forceful crackdown.
"This is by far the most important leak of evidence from the
region and the largest and the most significant," Zenz told
Al Jazeera. "It's much more significant than anything we've
seen before because it contains evidence on so many
levels."
Until now, only a few officials associated with Xinjiang
have been subjected to US sanctions, but Zenz says the trove
of files directly implicates Xi and China's central
government in the crackdown in the region.
Camp instructions
The Xinjiang Police Files have been publicly shared online
as a special project of the Victims of Communism Memorial
Fund, where Zenz also works.
The documents include detailed instructions on how to run
internment camps, from what kinds of force can be used
against prisoners to details such as how to man watch towers
with sniper rifles and infantry-grade machine guns.
They also include a 2017 internal speech by Chen Quanguo, a
former Communist Party secretary in Xinjiang, in which he
allegedly ordered guards to shoot to kill anyone who tried
to escape, and called for officials in the region to
"exercise firm control over religious believers".
In a 2018 internal speech, Public Security Minister Zhao
Kezhi mentioned direct orders from Xi to increase the
capacity of detention facilities.
Internment camp police security drills at the Tekes County Detention Center from 2018, taken by the detention center
photographer. Photo courtesy of the Xinjiang Police Files
project.
Internment camp police security drills at the Tekes County
Detention Center from 2018, taken by the detention center
photographer [Courtesy of the Xinjiang Police Files
project]
Some of the most disturbing files are the nearly 5,000
photos taken at internment camps including 2,884 of detained
Uighurs taken by police officers.
After initially denying the existence of the camps, Beijing
said in 2018 they were vocational training schools, and
Uighurs and other minorities attended them voluntarily.
But the leaked documents provide an insight into how leaders
saw the minority population as a security threat, with Zhao
warning that more than two million people in southern
Xinjiang alone had been "severely influenced by the
infiltration of extremist religious thought".
UN pressure
The more than 2,800 police photos of Xinjiang detainees
include minors such as 17-year-old Zeytunigul Ablehet,
detained for listening to an illegal speech, and 16-year-old
Bilal Qasim, apparently held captive for being related to
other detainees.
Zenz said the photos were powerful because they showed the
"reality of looking these people in the face" rather than
resigning them to statistics.
The files, parts of which have been verified by multiple
news organisations including the BBC and Le Monde, also
provide a window into life in the detention facilities.
Photos appear to show officers restraining hooded and
shackled inmates with batons, while other guards wearing
camouflage stand by with firearms.
Zenz says the file leak was not intentionally timed with
Bachelet's trip to Xinjiang this week but will loom large
over it. The trip is expected to be highly orchestrated
although Bachelet has repeatedly asked for "unfettered"
access to the region.
"This certainly puts [Bachelet] under higher pressure not to
just to have a few polite smiles and photo ops with the
Chinese government," Zenz said.
Following her trip, Bachelet's office is expected to release
a long-awaited report on Xinjiang. While other UN agencies
have released findings, this will be the first report from
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Bachelet has asked to visit Xinjiang since 2018 when news of
the internment camps was verified by the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Her trip has been delayed by lengthy negotiations on access
with China, and events like the 2022 Beijing Winter
Olympics, which China reportedly did not want to risk being
overshadowed by a major scandal.
Rahile Memet, as an 18 year-old high-school student in 2018,
was sentenced to re-education. Photo Courtesy of the
Xinjiang Police Files project.
Rahile Memet, as an 18 year-old high-school student in 2018,
was sentenced to re-education [Courtesy of the Xinjiang
Police Files project]
'Appalled'
The Xinjiang Police Files are the second major data dump
related to Xinjiang. In 2019, more than 400 pages of
internal documents known as the "Xinjiang" were leaked
online and also verified by Zenz.
The United States voiced horror on Tuesday at the new files
and said they showed that abuse had probably been approved
at the highest levels in Beijing.
"We are appalled by the reports and the jarring images,"
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
"It would be very difficult to imagine that a systemic
effort to suppress, to detain, to conduct a campaign of
genocide and crimes against humanity would not have the
blessing - would not have the approval - of the highest
levels of the PRC government," he said, referring to the
People's Republic of China.
"We have and we continue to call on the PRC to immediately
release all those arbitrarily detained people, to abolish
the internment camps, to end mass detention, torture, forced
sterilisation, and the use of forced labour," Price
added.
Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called the details
of the newly leaked documents "shocking", and urged China to
grant Bachelet "full and unfettered access to the region so
that she can conduct a thorough assessment of the facts on
the ground".
Germany also called for a transparent investigation into the
"shocking" allegations. In a phone call with her Chinese
counterpart Wang Yi, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock
pointed to "the shocking reports and new evidence of very
serious human rights violations in Xinjiang", according to a
German foreign ministry statement.
Baerbock "called for a transparent investigation" into the
allegations, the statement added.
But China's foreign ministry dismissed the leaked documents
as "cobbled-together material" by "anti-China forces
smearing Xinjiang", with spokesman Wang Wenbin accusing the
media of "spreading lies and rumours".
Also, China's ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, tweeted,
"Such a shame for BBC to carry the fabricated story about
so-called 'detention camps'. Pathetic for the media, in
cahoots with the notorious rumour monger, to once again
spread disinformation about Xinjiang."
Background Study
Helpless Rohingya Muslims
The Tula Toli Massacre in Burma
by Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid
- Hasina with her husband, Shahidul Amin. Photo by Shafiur
Rahman
On the morning of 30 August 2017, Shahidul Amin was already
in the forest cutting wood when, around 8 am, his wife
Hasina Begum saw Burmese military helicopters landing. This
was the beginning of the massacre of Tula Toli, a peaceful
village set in a beautiful lush green hilly area and
surrounded on three sides by a rapidly flowing mountain
river.
Badiur Rahman, former chair of the village council, told me
that until that fateful day the village had been home to
more than 3,000 Rohingya Muslims, primarily subsistence rice
and chili pepper farmers. The village also housed about 300
Buddhist Rakhin.
Today only the Buddhists remain, for about 1,700 of their
fellow Muslim villagers were slaughtered and those who
survived spent the next four to five days making their way
to Bangladesh. All that remains of their homes, shops and
mosque are ashes, the signs of which can be seen in
satellite images.
Bodiur Rahman, a 91-year-old, was the chairman of the Tula
Toli village council, which suffered one of the worst
massacres in the area. Zaman says his grandson was brutally
killed. He says that it is all fiction that there was any
terrorist in our village. He told me there were about 4,000
Rohingyas in his village but the current chairman is a
Buddhist whereas there are only 300 Buddhists. Since
Rohingyas were no longer citizens they lost political
power.
Along with most of her fellow villagers, Hasina Begum, the
20-year-old wife of Shahidul Amin, a 25-year-old
agricultural worker, fled south toward the river to escape
the Burmese soldiers, who were attacking from the north.
This was their only escape route.
Unfortunately, the rapidly flowing river is not easy to
cross and many of those who jumped in drowned. Some of the
soldiers, who separated the captured men and women, began
killing the men while others told the women to stand in a
stream with only their heads showing. I asked one survivor,
Mohammad Suleiman, why he did not try to defend himself. He
responded that "they had guns and we had nothing."
Hasina was one of the women standing in the river. Around 3
or 4 pm, the soldiers were through burning everything in the
village that belonged to the Muslims. After killing most of
the men and throwing their corpses into a fire pit —
even those who were still alive — the soldiers came
for the women.
Five soldiers at a time dragged five of them, including
Hasina, to a hut. One snatched away her 16-month-old child
and threw it into the fire. As they began ripping her
clothes off to rape her, she resisted them and was hit and
thrown into a hut, which was then set ablaze.
But she remembers only one blow, saying that she did not
feel the ones that damaged her jaw. Finding a small opening
in the burning hut, she managed to escape and hide in a
vegetable patch for the rest of the evening. Late at night
and without any clothing, she made her way to a nearby
forest where other survivors gave her some clothes.
Hasina's mother-in-law, father-in-law and one sister-in-law
were killed. At that time, she did not know that her husband
Shahid had survived, for he had not been in the village with
the soldiers had attacked. He came to know about the loss of
his child, parents and sister only after he managed to find
Hasina via the Internet.
The Rohingya are familiar with technology. Many have cell
phones, and some carry two SIM cards: one to talk with
relatives in Burma and another one to communicate with those
in the Bangladeshi camp.
As a matter of fact, I saw more solar panels in the refugee
camps than in my Chicago neighborhood. A small solar panel
serves almost every 200 huts, allowing refugees to charge
their cell phones.
Someone uploaded a video of Hasina's tragedy to an Internet
group. Her husband, at that time still in Burma, saw it and
began looking for her in various clusters of people
traveling through Burma's jungles and mountains. After
finding her, a generous Rohingya lent him enough money to
reach Bangladesh and seek treatment for his wife.
Based on the 30 testimonies that our team received and that
I recorded from Tula Toli survivors, the timeline of events
suggests a planned military operation. The military had been
attacking people weeks before the alleged 25 August
attacks.
Ten days before the 30 August massacre, the soldiers had
searched the villagers' homes and confiscated their
valuables. The village council had held meetings beforehand
to ensure the presence of the households' male members,
purportedly for national verification card registration
purposes. But no such registration took place.
The current village chair had actually assured the villagers
that although the soldiers might burn their houses, they
would not kill anyone. The villagers, however, believed that
they had been marked for extermination.
One survivor of Tula Toli massacre is Noor Muhammad with the
author. The whole family of the 15-year-old Noor Muhammad
was killed. He lost his parents, all siblings (4 sisters,
and 3 brothers). I did not know what to say, so I hugged
him. That is the only time I saw him sobbing. His heart beat
with my heart. I asked him if he has any memory of his
family left. He showed me an image on his cell phone. It was
a photo of three children. I asked him where they are. He
told me that they were killed as well along with their
mother who was married to his brother. Noor is illiterate
since he was never allowed to attend a school. Rohingyas
used to be educated people. But since their citizenship was
taken away in 1982 they are not allowed to enter school.
Whereas there is 80% literacy in that area, Rohingyas are
almost all illiterate unless they went to a Madrasah. In
Madrasah they learn Islam through Arabic and Urdu.
As I went up and down the hills where these latest refugees
now live in plastic and bamboo huts, I kept meeting
survivors of one massacre or another. Whenever I started
talking to a person, others would gather and eventually turn
a one-on-one conversation into a meeting. And so I started
asking one standard question: How many of them had seen
someone being killed? Almost always, 40 percent of the crowd
raised their hands.
No one knows the actual number of people killed so far in
this genocide. The Burmese government, not known for its
truthfulness, maintains that only 400 Rohingya have been
killed. The people of Tula Toli, however, insist that at
least 1,700 — more than half — of their fellow
villagers have died.
Zahir Ahmed.
An approximate estimate could be based on a recent UN
survey, which states that 14 percent of the refugees are
single mothers who are holding their families together with
little support. That would put single mothers among the
recent arrivals to 84,000.
One cannot say with certainty that at least 84,000 men have
been murdered, since some of them may have been detained by
the military or be either alive (in hiding) or lost, as was
Hasina's husband.
Only a thorough survey of the population casualties can
determine the actual number of casualties. The Burma Task
Force (https://www.burmamuslims.org), which will have three
teams documenting personal and property losses through the
survivors' recorded testimonies, has asked the Bangladesh
Human Right Commission to take up this project.
This documentation project will be guided by legal scholars
of genocide and will be helpful when the lawsuits and claims
are filed.
A 13-year-old victim of rape, Anwara. She cannot read and
write since Rohingyas are not allowed in the school. I did
not talk to her about her ordeal. But I asked her about
other things. Her favorite color is sky blue and favorite
flower is rose. She responded to my question about what she
misses the most by saying her mother and brother who were
killed.
She has learned from another Rohingya who was born in this
camp how to sew on a machine donated to her by a Burma Task
Force staff. The United Nations survey says 52% of all women
they interviewed were raped.
I saw women everywhere. Almost all were hijabis dressed in
Burmese-style clothing as opposed to Bangladeshi-style
clothing. Many were niqabis. As I neared the area where the
Rohingya camps are, I began noticing cluster of families,
mostly women and children, standing silently on each side of
the road; some were literally sitting in mud. As I moved
nearer, I saw crowds of people on both sides of the road. I
asked one family why they were standing there. They told me
that they had just arrived and didn't know where to go.
I developed a very high degree of respect for both the
Rohingya and the Bangladeshis. The former seem to be the
embodiment of patience and endurance, for despite being
subject to genocide they almost never raise their voices or
fight among themselves in the crowded camps. They are gentle
souls. There are Buddhist temples all around their camps.
Some of these areas actually have a Buddhist majority, and
yet there is not one single case of the Rohingya ever
attacking even one of them.
I saw Bangladeshis driving vehicles of all sizes, shapes and
ages — all full of aid for the refugees. And yet many
times the traffic came to a standstill, because only a
single, narrow one-lane road serves this area of Cox's
Bazar, a tiny strip of land in the remotest part of
Bangladesh that ends in the Bay of Bengal.
Rashida Begum is just released from MSF clinic. She was one
of those made to stand in water after surviving the "kill
run". She was then selected and taken with others to a hut
where she was raped. As she tried to run away with her baby,
a soldier yanked at her 28 day old baby. As she resisted the
soldier stabbed her in the throat, behind her ear, near one
armpit and slashed her stomach. They took the baby and
smashed the baby's head on the ground. She was left for
dead. But some villagers found her alive and brought here
walking four days to Bangladesh. She still unable to speak
properly but in whispers.
Well-meaning Bangladeshi Muslims are bringing supplies from
all corners of the country. The government, the army,
various UN agencies, and all legal and not-so-legal
foreigners trying to help must use this sole road.
Logistics, not the absence of love, care and resources, is
causing hunger and malnutrition in the camps.
Just as helicopters became lifesavers in the aftermath of
Haiti's earthquake, Bangladesh needs helicopters to speed up
the distribution of supplies. One million poor but
nevertheless self-reliant people have now been forced to
depend upon others.
Forbidden to work or leave the camp, all they can do is wait
for someone to give them food, medicine and shelter. This is
where Washington can help, as it has done in so many
disaster zones around the world.
One of the Burma Task Force's major requests is that
Washington send helicopters to Bangladesh. That is coming,
but it might be too late if the helicopters cannot improve
distribution quickly enough to save lives, including those
of 85,000 pregnant women who do not have enough to eat.
Abdul Malik Mujahid, president of Sound Vision and chair of
Burma Task Force, visited Bangladesh in September and late
November 2017..
