China facing increasing opposition against hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics

A Canada-based think tank has recently stated that China is facing mounting opposition to the 2022 Winter Olympics due to its poor human rights record, particularly in the Xinjiang area targeting Uyghur Muslims. According to the International Forum For Right And Security (IFFRAS), the Olympic torch for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing has been formally lit in Greece, and it will arrive in Beijing later in October to kick off the countdown for the games, which begin next February.

On October 18, human rights activists organised a protest near the ancient Olympia in Greece as the torch was kindled. They were barred from entering the area by security personnel, and some were even questioned. According to the think tank, two people were arrested the day before for raising flags in support of independence for Tibet and Hong Kong. Despite the fact that China has been criticised for their actions against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, Chinese authorities continue to refute such allegations.

China  justified its actions against Uighur Muslims claiming that it was fighting a war on terror

According to the Canadian think tank, China has previously justified its actions against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang by claiming that it was fighting a war on terror. However, a proclamation was signed by 43 countries in the UN, which expressed their concern regarding ongoing atrocities in Xinjiang against Muslim Uyghurs.

IFFRAS stated, "if China thought the games and the publicity surrounding them would bring a respite from the all-round global attack on China first over the South China Sea intrusions, the clampdown on anti-democracy protests in Hong Kong, the systematic erosion of Uighur minority rights in Xinjiang and then over the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, it thought wrong. Countries like the US and some European Union members are aggressively backing the call of human rights watch groups to boycott the games."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to release a UN report on human rights violations in Xinjiang

Both the Canadian and Dutch parliaments passed measures in February declaring the Uyghur situation to be genocide. China's escalating crackdown in Xinjiang was also labelled genocide by the United Kingdom in April. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, promised on September 13 to release a UN report on suspected human rights violations in Xinjiang.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP