UCA Letter to Prime Minister of Canada

UCA Letter to Prime Minister of Canada



The Right Honorable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A2
July12, 2006


Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper

I am writing on behalf of Uyghur Canadian Association out of concern for the plight of Huseyincan Celil, a Canadian citizen of Uyghur origin from the East Turkistan (aka:Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) in northwest China.

Mr. Celil now faces the death penalty because he was previously sentenced to death in absentia for founding a political party to work on behalf of the Uyghur people in East Turkistan . Mr.Celil fled the China in the mid-1990s and came to Canada in 2001 as a refugee. He is now a proud Canadian citizen.

Mr. Celil is an upstanding Canadian who has an excellent reputation as a man of integrity. He is a respected member of our community. He has long supported the rights of Uyghurs to self-determination in peaceful way. The Chinese Government’s claims that Mr. Celil has engaged in illegal activities have no basis in truth whatsoever.

His experience is consistent with well-documented human rights concerns in China and in central Asia. In the midst of an ongoing crackdown in East Turkistan by the Chinese government, widespread human rights violations directed against the region’s Uyghur community continue. Many Uyghur have fled the country as a result. Those who have fled to neighboring central Asian countries continue to be at risk, as there is a well-established pattern of governments in the region forcibly returning Uyghur to China, often as a result of direct pressure from the Chinese government. In some recent cases, returnees have been subjected to serious human rights violations, including torture, unfair trials and even execution

Mr. Celil is clearly a Canadian citizen under both Chinese and Canadian law. The Beijing regime claims he is Chinese in spite of the fact that its own Nationality Law makes it abundantly clear that he is Canadian. The Chinese "courts" will make any "legal" finding they are instructed to make by the Communist Party.

Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, clearly states that:

Article 3. The People's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.

Article 9. Any Chinese national who has settled abroad and who has been naturalized as a foreign national or has acquired foreign nationality of his own free will shall automatically lose Chinese nationality.

(Promulgation date: 09-10-1980 and Effective date: 09-10-1980) .

Obviously there is no any possible room in China’s Nationality Law for other interpretation of any kind.

Legal experts believes that It would be a mistake, however, to accept Chinese trial for Mr. Celil; that action would achieve nothing except to confer legitimacy on the Chinese judicial system, which in reality is not a legitimate judicial system in any sense.

Therefore, the solution does not lie in the "courts" or with lawyers. The only possibility of getting him back or protecting him from execution/torture lies in the Canadian Government making the issue something that will meaningfully impact on China's relations with Canada.

Canada should make the strongest representation that Mr. Celil be immediately returned to Canada. It is time for government of Canadian to act strongly before this matter turns to tragedy.

Dear Prime Minister,

During your expected meeting with China’s President Hu Jintao in G-8 Summit in Moscow, please intervene personally and do all that you can to press the government of China for immediate and safe return of Mr. Celil to Canada.

We look forward to hearing of intensified Canadian efforts on Mr. Celil’s behalf.

Mohamed Tohti

Uyghur Canadian Association

President

www.uyghurcanadian.org

416 825 8641