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BURMA

Rohingya minorities continue to be targets of systematic violence, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the Burmese Military. Due to this brutal campaign of violence and repression, over 727,000 Rohingya have fled from their native Rakhine state in Burma to Bangladesh. The United States has an obligation to ensure the rights, safety and dignity of the Rohingya population are protected. We call on members of the Senate to support S. 1186, which imposes targeted sanctions against military leaders responsible for the unspeakable acts of violence against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in Burma. It is vital that the United States Act act now to end the Burmese army’s repression and violence of the ethnic Rohingya. We thank you for your time on this issue and urge you to support all efforts to pass this legislation as quickly as possible.

KASHMIR

On August 5, 2019, in a highly controversial move, the Indian government issued an order to revoke Article 370 that guarantees Kashmir autonomy over most of its administrative affairs. This move is forcing Kashmir under direct Indian rule in an attempt to erase their political identity. Under the false pretext of national security, the Indian government deployed 40,000-armed soldiers to join the already 700,000 military personnel stationed in Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir is already one of the most militarized regions on the planet. The Modi government’s unilateral and provocative actions could set the stage for heightened conflict – with Kashmiri political leaders and activists detained or placed under house arrest, public meetings banned, communications cut off, and reports of abuse and torture mounting. These actions undermine the fundamental rights of Kashmiris to live in peace and dignity. India cannot claim to be both the world’s largest democracy and a country that violently strips people of their right to self-determination. A true democracy does not arbitrarily change a constitution, block all forms of communication, deploy thousands of troops, and falsely claims that the population is content with these actions.

Uyghurs

The Uyghurs are an ethnic Turkic Muslim minority living in the northwest region of Xinjiang, China. Roughly 11 million Uyghurs live in Western China and although Xinjiang has some degree of self-governance, the Uyghur people have been subjected to an intense surveillance campaign orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party. The crackdown on Muslims in China has also reintroduced political education camps to “re-educate” Uyghurs who follow Islam. Nearly three million Uyghurs have gone through these camps, with one million currently being held. Islam is essentially being treated as a mental illness that needs to be eradicated, as a sort of conversion therapy. Thus, it is not limited to only convicted individuals, but to all Uyghurs and ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Those accused have “politically incorrect ideas” and “strong religious views” that are not compatible with the ideals of the Communist Party. The government has forcibly cut off Uyghur men’s beard, banned the hijab, forced Muslims to drink alcohol and consume pork, and banned certain Muslim names for babies. Often times, Muslims are told to criticize themselves and their faith. Currently, over two million Uyghurs have been sent to the camps and still more are subjected to pervasive ethnic discrimination. Uyghurs living outside of China fare no better; almost all are missing family members and there are reports of countries deporting Uyghur students.

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Image of hijabi poster from American Hijabi Poster.