Feedback ADC Memorial is expressing its extreme concern about reports of numerous posts on Kazakh social media that incite ethnic enmity and hatred of the country’s Dungan population and call for violence and about reports that defenders of ethnic minority rights are being subjected to harassment and pressure.
Readers are reminded that the bloody pogrom of dense Dungan settlements in southern Kazakhstan (February 2020) that killed at least 11 people and injured thousands was accompanied by and in many ways caused by mass calls for violence on social media. Unfortunately, the consequences of this conflict have yet to be overcome, primarily because the actions of the authorities and security units were never given a legal assessment and responsibility was assigned to the victims.
We call on the international community – bodies of the UN, the EU, the CoE, and the OSCE – to direct the Republic of Kazakhstan’s attention to the risks of provocative acts in relation to the Dungan population, not just in dense Dungan settlements in the south, but also in other cities where they live and work. Defenders of ethnic minority rights and civil rights activists must be freed from pressure and persecution for their human rights activities. Justice for the victims of the conflict must be restored: This includes reviewing the sentences of the convicted Dungans, which international human rights institutions have long been calling for Kazakhstan to do.