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China rejected Tuesday, April 30, what it describes as interference in its internal affairs. This reaction of Chinese diplomacy follows the latest statements of the UN Secretary General on the situation of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
With our correspondent in Beijing, Stéphane Lagarde
The standoff between Beijing and the UN continues. For the spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, human rights are only a " pretext " for interference in China's internal affairs.
The argument returns regularly to Chinese officials when it comes to the situation of nearly a million Uighurs Muslim detainees, according to the UN, in re-education camps, and qualified by the authorities of the region Uygur Autonomous Community, vocational training centers to combat radicalization and terrorism.
Present in Beijing late last week on the occasion of the Forum of the " Silk Roads ", UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was careful not to raise the issue publicly.
According to his spokesperson, it is in private that he would have discussed the subject with the Chinese leaders. " Human rights must be fully respected in the fight against terrorism and in the prevention of violent extremism, " said Stéphane Dujarric during the debriefing of the visit. And to add: " Every community must feel that its identity is respected. "
Words that obviously displeased Beijing. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, is still waiting to be able to visit the Great West of China. Visits with diplomats from Muslim countries and diplomats from the Balkans have already taken place in Xinjiang.
European Union ambassadors have been approached but are still waiting for an invitation, the European chancelleries having asked to go to Xinjiang to 28, including Sweden which has proposed to facilitate the obtaining of the residence permit to the Chinese Uyghurs.