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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In a letter to the White House, over 100 organizations call on Biden to close Guantanamo Bay Military Prison. Speaking to VICE, Rohingya refugees react to the coup in Myanmar. In France, lawmakers debate a bill that would “root out radical Islam” from the country. Our recommended read today is on the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang, specifically focusing on allegations of systemic rape in the camps. This, and more, below:
China
CW: Rape | 'Their goal is to destroy everyone': Uighur camp detainees allege systematic rape | Recommended Read
First-hand accounts from inside the internment camps are rare, but several former detainees and a guard have told the BBC they experienced or saw evidence of an organised system of mass rape, sexual abuse and torture. Tursunay Ziawudun, who fled Xinjiang after her release and is now in the US, said women were removed from the cells "every night" and raped by one or more masked Chinese men. She said she was tortured and later gang-raped on three occasions, each time by two or three men. read the complete article
Myanmar
‘People Will Face More Violence’: Rohingya Refugees React to Myanmar Coup
Rohingya refugee Mozuna Khatu was initially happy when she heard that Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained. “Praise god, maybe we can go home now,” she told VICE World News from a sprawling camp in Bangladesh, where more than one million Rohingya live after being driven from their homes in Myanmar in waves of state-backed violence. But when she understood the military seized power, her opinion quickly changed. “We lost everything because of the military. If they are in power, we cannot go back to our country.” read the complete article
‘Don’t feel sorry for Suu Kyi’: Rohingya refugees on Myanmar coup
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have condemned the military coup in Myanmar but say they do not “feel sorry” for de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s removal from power. “She remained silent about it. She didn’t even utter the word ‘Rohingya’. Once we used to pray for her success and used to treat her like our queen. But after 2017, we realised her real character,” he said. read the complete article
Rohingya refugees fear returning to Myanmar after coup
Tuesday they are more afraid now that the military is in complete control. “The military killed us, raped our sisters and mothers, torched our villages. How is it possible for us to stay safe under their control?” said Khin Maung, head of the Rohingya Youth Association in the camps in Cox’s Bazar district. “Any peaceful repatriation will hugely be impacted," he told The Associated Press. "It will take a long time because the political situation in Myanmar is worse now.” read the complete article
United States
The War on Terror Created the Muslim Ban
The Democrats played a significant role in waging this war, often through the same means as the Republicans, promoting shoddy counter-extremism programs which cast all Muslims as potential terrorists. The mainstream, state-friendly media provided its viewers with a steady diet of anti-Muslim tropes, casting American Muslims as either un-American or not fully American. The courts, the police, and intelligence agencies were all implicated, treating Muslims not as citizens but rather as national security concerns to be addressed through surveillance, entrapment, racial profiling, and deportations. It was this pervasive culture of Islamophobia, one that continues to exist, that created the conditions for the Muslim Ban. read the complete article
I’m a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay and I have a message for President Biden
When I was kidnapped from Karachi in 2002 and sold to the CIA for a bounty with a false story that I was a terrorist called Hassan Ghul, my wife and I had just had the happy news that she was pregnant. She gave birth to my son Jawad a few months later. I have never been allowed to meet my own child. President Biden is a man who speaks of the importance of family. I wonder if he can imagine what it would be like to have never touched his own son. Mine will soon be 18 years old, and I have not been there to help him or to guide him. read the complete article
Over 100 Organizations Call On Biden To Close Guantanamo Bay
Biden had previously pledged to follow through on former President Barack Obama’s efforts to close the facility, which currently houses approximately 40 individuals. About 1,500 troops also serve in Cuba alongside 6,000 residents of the surrounding area. But the administration hasn’t offered any further details or timeline. And closing the camp is both politically and logistically tricky. read the complete article
France
Lawmakers debate bill to rout out radical Islam in France
French lawmakers debated a bill on Monday they hope will uproot radical Islam in the country, beliefs that authorities maintain are creeping into public services, associations, some schools and online with the goal of undermining national values. The bill is broad and controversial, with around 1,700 proposed amendments, and it guarantees heated debate for the next two weeks in the lower house. read the complete article