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u.s. news Diaranson 20 Januari 2021

Pompeo says China's policies on Muslims amount to 'genocide'

(AP) — On his way out the door, “In addition, after careful examina- imposed sanctions on Communist
Secretary of State Mike Pom- tion of the available facts, I have de- Party officials with prominent roles
peo lashed out anew at China on termined that the PRC, under the in the campaign.
Tuesday by declaring that its pol- direction and control of the CCP,
icies on Muslims and ethnic mi- has committed genocide against the China has imprisoned more than 1
norities in the western Xinjiang predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and million people, including Uighurs
region constitute “crimes against other ethnic and religious minor- and other mostly Muslim ethnic
humanity” and a “genocide.” The ity groups in Xinjiang. I believe this groups, in a vast network of con- mandate action by the U.S. govern-
rarely used designation is sure to genocide is ongoing, and that we are centration camps, according to U.S. ment.
provoke an angry response from witnessing the systematic attempt to officials and human rights groups.
Beijing. destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese par- People have been subjected to tor- Human rights groups, which have
ty-state." ture, sterilization and political indoc- been generally critical of Trump ad-
Pompeo made the determination just trination in addition to forced labor ministration policies, welcomed the
24 hours before President-elect Joe Tuesday's move is the latest in a series as part of an assimilation campaign in move, which Pompeo said was taken
Biden takes office. There was no im- of steps the outgoing Trump admin- a region whose inhabitants are ethni- with an eye toward the U.S. role in
mediate response from the incoming istration has taken against China. cally and culturally distinct from the prosecuting Nazi war crimes during
Biden team, although he and mem- Han Chinese majority. WWII at the Nuremberg trials.
bers of his national security team Since last year, the administration has
have expressed support for such a steadily ramped up pressure on Bei- The Associated Press wrote about “We hope to see the U.S. follow these
designation in the past. jing, imposing sanctions on numer- widespread forced birth control strong words with decisive action,”
ous officials and companies for their among the Uighurs last year, includ- said Grant Shubin of the Global Jus-
Pompeo’s determination does not activities in Taiwan, Tibet, Hong ing mass sterilization. tice Center. “Where there is a risk of
come with any immediate repercus- Kong and the South China Sea. genocide, there is a duty to act. Mov-
sions although the legal implications China has denied all the charges, but ing forward, this designation should
mean the U.S. must take it into ac- Those penalties have gotten harsher Uighur forced labor has been linked inform the entirety of U.S. foreign
count in formulating policy toward since the beginning of last year when by reporting from the AP to various policy and we hope to hear more from
China. The U.S. has spoken out and President Donald Trump and Pom- products imported to the U.S., in- the incoming Biden administration
taken action, implementing a range peo began to accuse China of trying cluding clothing and electronic goods on how it plans to follow through on
of sanctions against senior Chinese to cover up the coronavirus pandem- such as cameras and computer moni- this historic announcement.”
Communist Party leaders and state- ic. Just on Saturday, Pompeo lifted re- tors. China says its policies in Xinji-
run enterprises that fund the archi- strictions on U.S. diplomatic contacts ang aim only to promote economic And, some questioned the decision
tecture of repression across Xinjiang. with Taiwanese officials, prompting a and social development in the region to apply it to China and Xinjiang
stern rebuke from China, which re- and stamp out radicalism. It also re- and not to the situation in Myanmar,
Many of those accused of having tak- gards the island as a renegade prov- jects criticism of what it considers its where Rphingya Muslims have been
en part in the repression are already ince. internal affairs. subjected to significant attacks and
under U.S. sanctions. The “geno- atrocities.
cide” designation means new mea- Five days ago, the administration an- The “genocide” designation is a rare
sures will be easier to impose. nounced it would halt imports of cot- step for the U.S. government, which “The Secretary’s statement under-
ton and tomatoes from Xinjiang with did not apply it to the 1994 mass kill- scores the importance of appropri-
“After careful examination of the Customs and Border Protection of- ings in Rwanda until much later. ate international investigations and
available facts, I have determined ficials saying they would block prod- prosecutions of officials for the crime
that since at least March 2017, the ucts from there suspected of being Former Secretary of State Colin Pow- of genocide in Xinjiang,” said Eric
People’s Republic of China, under produced with forced labor. ell designated the situation in Sudan’s Schwartz, the president of Refugees
the direction and control of the Chi- western Darfur region a genocide in International. “At the same time, I’m
nese Communist Party, has commit- Xinjiang is a major global supplier of 2004. Former Secretary of State John baffled and deeply concerned that
ted crimes against humanity against cotton, so the order could have sig- Kerry applied the term to the Islamic Secretary Pompeo has declined to
the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs nificant effects on international com- State’s repression and massacres of make a similar finding of genocide
and other members of ethnic and re- merce. The Trump administration Yazidis and other ethnic and religious against the state of Myanmar for its
ligious minority groups in Xinjiang,” has already blocked imports from in- minorities in Syria and Iraq in 2016, vicious mass attacks against the Ro-
Pompeo said in a statement. dividual companies linked to forced but he couched it by saying it was a hingya population beginning in Au-
labor in the region, and the U.S. has legal determination only that did not gust 2017.”

Georgia certifies Democrats Warnock and Ossoff's Senate wins

(AP) — Georgia's secretary of state has certi- will be a 50-50 partisan divide in the Senate, giv- as intense mobilization efforts by Democratic or-
fied the results of the two U.S. Senate runoff ing Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie- ganizers.
elections, paving the way for Raphael War- breaking vote.
nock and Jon Ossoff to be sworn in and for Perdue, who served one term after being elected
Democrats to take control of the chamber. Warnock will be the first African American sena- in 2014, and Loeffler, who took office last year af-
tor from Georgia, while Ossoff will be the state's ter being appointed to replace retiring Sen. John-
They'll take office just as the Senate considers first Jewish senator and the Senate's youngest sit- ny Isakson, were among Trump's closest allies in
whether to convict President Donald Trump in an ting member. Their wins bookend a divisive and the Senate.
impeachment trial for inciting the deadly storm- drawn-out election cycle that brought seismic
ing of the U.S. Capitol and as President-elect shifts to Georgia politics and made the once reli- The Democrats, who essentially ran as a team
Joe Biden seeks to jump-start his agenda after ably red state a key battleground. during the runoffs, head to Washington at a time
inauguration. They could be sworn in as early as of tumult but also opportunity for their party.
Wednesday, the same day as Biden's inauguration. Biden in November became the first Democratic
presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992, In addition to considering whether to convict
The certification by Secretary of State Brad while Warnock and Ossoff are the first Democrats Trump in the impeachment trial, the Senate will
Raffensperger officially seals Warnock and Os- to win a U.S. Senate election in Georgia since also begin considering confirmation of Biden ap-
soff's victories over their Republican opponents 2000. pointments and early legislative proposals from
in the Jan. 5 runoffs. Kelly Loeffler and David the new administration. Biden recently unveiled
Perdue, both incumbents, conceded days after the During their nationally watched overtime races, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan that aims to ad-
election. Warnock and Ossoff benefited from Trump's con- minister 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of
tinued false attacks on Georgia's election results, his administration and deliver another round of
Once Warnock and Ossoff are sworn in, there which contributed to lower GOP turnout, as well economic aid.