Several Britons who attended the 2021 Uyghur Tribunal have signed a letter to the editor of The Guardian in response to its mid-October report “about David Lammy’s visit to China that highlighted how our Labour government—headed by a human rights lawyer—has decided to backtrack on plans for formal recognition of acts of genocide in order to facilitate trade deals with China” (Letters, October 30, 2024).
Testimony
The signatories, Dr. Gillian Hughes, Dr. Charlotte Burck, Dr. Julia Nelki, and Julia Granville report that they attended the Uyghur Tribunal in 2021 and heard “numerous shocking testimonies.”
We had been asked to provide psychological support to those giving evidence, in recognition of the emotional demands of participation. The courage of those who took part was breathtaking—many spoke of the risk to their lives and to their family members’ lives in participating. We heard accounts of forcible sterilisation, imprisonment and sadistic torture.
The tribunal ruled that the actions of the Chinese state amounted to genocide, crimes against humanity and torture in the Uyghur region….
We are in despair that Mr Lammy and the Labour party, who were clear about their intention to pursue legal routes in 2023, have changed position.
As Siobhain McDonagh put it in the Commons in January 2022: “If we look on, history will condemn our unforgivable cowardice and ask why those in power did not act, because this time, no one can say that they did not know.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy et al. may have been “clear about their intention,” but the question is whether they were honest in their statement of intention.
It doesn’t seem likely that the pre-election commitment of Lammy, Starmer, and other Labour leaders on this point was well considered and conscientiously principled but that now, suddenly, they have become unprincipled, unscrupulous, “pragmatic,” and indifferent to the history and hopes of the Uyghurs and others trampled by the Chinese Communist Party. Power does corrupt, but not instantaneously.
Diplomacy
In a post on Lammy’s recent visit to China, I noted his oleaginous declaration to reporters about how “what we need is more diplomacy, not less,” almost as if diplomacy were an end in itself, and how “of course I was able to have dialogue with the Chinese on areas where we disagree. Areas like Hong Kong, areas like Taiwan, areas like human rights in Xinjiang. We were able to have those conversations and raise difficult and challenging issues.”
These patronizing words were so carefully intoned that they had probably been practiced a hundred times in front of a mirror.
If Lammy did raise such issues with the Chinese during his very important, so necessary diplomacy, the meeting probably went something like this: “And now I’d like to discuss with you Hong Kong, Taiwan, human rights in Xinjiang, and so forth type of thing….” “China’s internal affairs are not UK business! Mind own business!” “Okay, got it. Moving on…”
Also see:
Uyghur Tribunal: Uyghur Tribunal Judgment
Sky News Australia: ‘Embarrassing figure’: David Lammy ‘diminishing’ Britain on the world stage
