Pompeo lambasts China over curtailing religious freedom of Uyghurs
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Washington [US], December 15 (ANI): US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo criticised China over curtailing the religious freedom of Uyghurs.
In an interview with Rob Schmitt of 'Wake Up America', Pompeo lambasted China for treating a million Uyghur Muslims in ways that are just absolutely devastating and equated it with Nazi's Germany ethnic cleansing of the Jews in the 1930s.
"China, which is devastatingly bad, they're treating a million Uyghur Muslims in ways that are just absolutely devastating, things we haven't seen since Germany in the 1930s," said Pompeo.
Various testimonies surfacing from the non-Chinese world reveal that Beijing has in fact intensified its operations against Uyghurs by putting more people in internment camps during the pandemic times.
In fact, the Uyghur Muslims in Chinese "re-education" camps are forced to eat pork every Friday, confirmed Sayragul Sautbay, who was one of the victims of the atrocities being committed by the Chinese government.
Answering to a question of Schmitt regarding effects of coronavirus on churches, synagogues, worship places, which have been closed or shut down and how repressive regimes like China is using the situation to their benefit in suppressing Uyghurs, Pompeo upheld religious freedom as one of the fundamental rights.
"I am incredibly proud of the work we have done on religious freedom. It's this most fundamental right, this human right that - from which all others flow. If you get religious freedom rights and tolerance for people of faith, so many good things happen in your country. So we've worked on this - is so we've worked hard on religious freedom," remarked Pompeo.
He also rued the fact that leaders across the world are opening bars and casinos but places of worship were still not permitted to open.
"It's very discouraging to see leaders use an excuse of the coronavirus to allow bars and casinos to be open, but not permit places of worship, people to gather around their faith," he said. (ANI)