"We call on the Chinese authorities to put an end to arbitrary mass detentions in camps". These are the words used Wednesday, November 27, the spokesman of the Quai d'Orsay after the recent revelations of "China Cables" on the situation of Uyghurs in China.
"We invite China, in addition to the closure of the internment camps, to invite the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN, Michelle Bachelet) and the Special Procedures experts as soon as possible to report impartially, "added French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly.
A new leak of Chinese official documents cast a harsh light on "vocational training centers" where more than one million Muslims are being held.
These documents, obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and published Sunday by 17 media outlets around the world, detail the draconian regulations governing detention sites in Xinjiang, a vast region of northwestern China. China with a Muslim majority.
Beijing calls "inventions" information from "China Cables" on Uyghurs
"We follow with great attention all the testimonies and documents relayed by the press" about the "repressive system established in this region," said the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier this week, Beijing described the information as "inventions", Chinese foreign policy spokesman Geng Shuang accused "some media" of resorting to "despicable methods to escalate the situation in Xinjiang".
According to human rights organizations, more than one million Muslims are being held in Xinjiang in political re-education camps.
Beijing rejects this figure and refers to "vocational training centers" to fight against Islamist radicalization, in response to a series of bloody attacks attributed in recent years to Uyghur militants.
With AFP