Rain Rannu / CC
Canada, alongside the United States, United Kingdom and European Union have levelled sanctions against Chinese officials due to the human rights violations being committed by the government against members of the Uyghur Muslim community.
The move comes nearly a month after Canada’s parliament declared the actions being taken against Uyghur Muslims as a genocide, and just as former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig had a behind closed doors trial. The Canadian government says that the move to impose sanctions is completely unrelated to the situation involving Kovrig. Him alongside fellow Canadian Michael Spavor, have been arbitrarily detained in China since December of 2018 when they were arrested in retaliation to Canadian RCMP officers arresting Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States.
The sanctions placed on four high-ranking Chinese officials marks the first time Canada has placed sanctions on China since 1989, following the Tiananmen Square Massacre. At an unrelated event in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec Prime Minister Trudeau commented on the sanctions with the following statement:
“These measures reflect our grave concern with the gross and systematic human rights abuses taking place in the region, we will continue to work closely with our international partners to pursue accountability and transparency.”
In February, despite massive amounts of evidence proving otherwise including from the Chinese Government’s own documents, satellite imagery and eyewitness testimony, Cong Peiwu, the Chinese ambassador to Canada denied any claims of wrongdoing by the Chinese government saying that:
“We firmly oppose that because it runs counter to the facts. And it’s like, you know, interfering in our domestic affairs. There’s nothing like genocide happening in Xinjiang at all.”
As of now, the Chinese government has not commented on Canada’s decision.
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