Harper in China: Prime Minister urged to speak forcefully and publicly against human rights abuses in China

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Stephen Harper should demand the release of 10 prisoners jailed in China and make human rights a “central focus” of his trip to Beijing, says a Canadian coalition of rights advocates.

“Canadian influence with China is growing and we no longer need to be meek,” said Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada.

China’s thirst for Canadian oil and natural resources gives Harper the clout to publicly and forcefully press human rights concerns when he travels to China amidst a crackdown on political dissent and Tibetan protests now taking place, the groups say.

“To soft-pedal or worse, ignore these concerns risks sending a message that Canada is not concerned,” Neve said. “It is time to be confident and recognize that human rights can be put on the table without damaging trade.”

The Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China — an umbrella for 13 groups including the Canada Tibet Committee, the Canadian Labor Congress, the Uyghur Canadian Association, PEN Canada, and advocates for Falun Gong practitioners — released an open letter to Harper.

It lists 10 “prisoners of conscience” and includes Nobel prize-winner Liu Xiaobo, but also Huseyin Celil, arrested in 2006 while visiting relatives in Uzbekistan. A Muslim Uyghur activist, Celil had come to Canada as a refugee in 2001, and became a Canadian citizen in 2005. He was handed to Chinese authorities, who accused him of being a terrorist and separatist or “splittist.” Celil, whose wife and four children live in Burlington, Ont., was sentenced to life in prison.

Celil’s case was in the spotlight when Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the now infamous comment in 2006 that he would not allow “the almighty dollar” to trump human rights as he headed to an international summit that Chinese President Hu Jintao was to attend.

The comments set Canada-China relations on a frosty track and it wasn’t until late 2009 that Harper made his first official visit to China and relations warmed.

Cheuk Kwan of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China said Canadian consular officials had access in the past six months to Celil.

Kwan and Neve suggest that now, with Hu Jintao stepping down later this year, the time is ripe for Harper to press Celil’s cause further and seek his immediate release. Further, the next rank of leaders in Beijing need to “know that we mean business,” Kwan added.

Original Article
Source: Star 
Author: Tonda MacCharles