Two federal members of Parliament have compared China’s treatment of Uyghurs to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany before the Holocaust, with politicians across the spectrum lining up to condemn human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Key points:
Labor MP Mike Freelander said hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs were potentially facing forced labour
Uyghur groups in Australia say there is systematic torture and abuse within camps
Liberal National Party MP George Christensen directly accused China’s government of “systematic genocide”
A dozen MPs from the Coalition, Labor, and the Greens have spoken in favour of a motion put forward by veteran Liberal MP Kevin Andrews which expresses “abhorrence” at “systematic” breaches of human rights in China, particularly against ethnic minorities.
The motion does not directly accuse China’s government of genocide, but some MPs told the lower house that the persecution of Uyghurs met that threshold.
Labor MP Mike Freelander said it was clear hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs were potentially facing forced labour or abuse in “re-education camps” dotted throughout the region.
“As someone who is Jewish, I really do understand the terrible difficulties placed in front of the Uyghur people,” he said.
