![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uyghurmovement.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/index57.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Biden government announced<\/a> that it will raise the issue of Uyghur repression in its upcoming talks with China in Alaska, and while this may seem like positive news, I am still worried, because at this stage, it is important not only that the issue is raised, but also how it is articulated.<\/p>\n For four years, more than three million people have been held in camps in East Turkestan( Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) , and how many have died, how many still live, and how many are on the verge of death is a mystery to any individual or institution other than China\u2019s state security forces. Survivors<\/a> of these camps have said they lost 20 kilograms (kg) of body weight in one year. According to a recent report<\/a>, after three years in a camp, detainee Kurbanjan Abdukerim had lost 53 kg of his original weight of 105 kg, and he died three days after his release earlier in March. The lives and safety of the people in these camps,\u00a0which are\u00a0\u00a0being called death camps by our people, depend on the help and sense of justice of the United States-led Western world. We, Uyghur people\u00a0 inside and outside of East Turkestan, are pinning our hopes on the United States, still the most powerful country in the world.<\/p>\n Although the Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it considers the characterization of the repression as a \u201cUyghur genocide\u201d to be accurate, it has also been referred to in some cases as a “human rights issue” or “persecution of a minority.” If this inconsistency is carried through to the Alaska talks, and the U.S. delegation does not explicitly refer to a “genocide,” then the Biden administration will have taken a wrong step, and the Uyghur people will suffer for it. This is because these “shy policies” and “diplomatic tactics” send China the wrong signal, which it interprets as meaning that it can continue to carry out the Uyghur genocide in the same way, or perhaps even more violently.<\/p>\n