By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, April 22: Leaders from the World Uyghur Congress, which is accused by Chinese government for supporting terrorism activities in Xinjiang region, are set to meet the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama after the Indian government sanctioned the meeting. India earlier denied the president of World Uyghur Congress Rebiya Kadeer visa in 2009, reportedly to avoid angering China.
Experts point the move from India being a reaction to that of China’s vetoed stand to block India’s bid to list Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of terror outfit of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) on the United Nations list of illicit terrorists.
A delegation from the Washington based World Uyghur Congress including Vice President Omer Kanat and President of Uyghur American Association IIshat Hassan is set to visit Dharamsala from April 28 to May 2. Isa Dolkun, General Secretary of WUC, is accused by China of being a terrorist. “What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries,” Chinese Foreign Minister Spokesperson Hua Chunying told PTI today (April 22).
WUC is an international organization representing exiled Uyghurs leading a nonviolent and peaceful movement that opposes what it considers to be the Chinese occupation of East Turkestan. Like the Tibetan Youth Congress, China considers WUC and its affiliated groups as terrorist organizations with motives to separate China.
The move is described as India playing the “Uyghur card” against the backdrop of the hardened stand by China on the issue of Maulana Masood Azhar, mastermind of the January attack on the AIF base in Pathankot.
On April 1, the Chinese Permanent Mission at the UN intervened just hours before the deadline to put a “technical hold” on the bid citing the move was necessitated on the grounds of being “just and objective”.
Both the External Affairs Minister of India Sushma Swaraj in Russia and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in China prodded the Masood Azar case with their counterparts recently. However, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying indicated the renewal of China’s stand on Azar is unlikely. “As for the listing matter China has already expressed its position. We support the UN central coordinating role in the world campaign against terrorism and China has taken active part in the world cooperation against terrorism,” Hua said.
Parrikar relayed China is engaging in double standards when it comes to tackling issues related to terrorism. “What happened in the UN is not in the right direction and they have to take a common line on terrorism which is in the interest of both India and China,” said the Indian Defense Minister.
China has earlier blocked India’s bid to list Azhar in 2008 after the Mumbai terror attacks, as was the request to take action against Pakistan for releasing Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi last July. The moves by China, many say, came after consulting Pakistan which on many occasions has been accused by India of harboring and even sanctioning state sponsored militants across Indian borders.
Maulana Masood Azhar was one of the three terrorists released in exchange for passengers on the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC814) that had taken off from Kathmandu and landed in Taliban controlled Kandahar, Afghanistan, in December 1999.
