On bird rights themselves, relatives in Xinjiang - under pressure. The fate of those who fled from China to Kazakhstan

The ethnic Kazakhs Kaisha Akan, Kaster Musakhan, Murager Alimula several years ago illegally crossed the Kazakhstan border when they fled from China, fearing oppression in Xinjiang. For the third year, they live with refugee certificates - Astana does not give them either citizenship or travel documents for moving to a third country. Refugees say that Beijing puts pressure on their relatives remaining in Xinjiang and makes efforts to return to China.

Text: Radio Azattyk

Police visits to the 70-year-old mother Kayshi Acan

Kaisha Acan fled to Kazakhstan in May 2018. She illegally crossed the border, passing without documents and visas through the Horgos point. The reason for the flight was the oppression of the Kazakhs in the north-west of China-Kaisha was afraid to be in the "Camp of Political Re-Education", where hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and representatives of other Turkic-speaking indigenous peoples of Sinjiang concluded (official Beijing explains the creation of a network of closed institutions with the need to deradicated citizens, the desire to teach their Chinese language and culture. However, the former prisoners "Camps" talk about cruel torture, forced labor operation, medical experiments in the walls of establishments similar to prisons).

Now the 47-year-old Kaisha lives in the city of Talgar of the Almaty region. In Kazakhstan, she created a family with a local resident, but due to the lack of documents certifying her identity, the spouses cannot officially register a marriage.

The 70-year-old mother of Kayshi Akan, her adult son and two brothers live in the county of Togyztarau in Xinjiang. Kaisha says that she wanted to transport her mother to Kazakhstan and sent her mother’s invitation through other relatives, but the Chinese side did not allow her to leave the country.

- Representatives of the district police often put pressure on my mother, who is often put pressure. According to the mother, they demand that I return voluntarily. “Otherwise, we will return it at the end of the year ourselves,” they threaten. They said that "negotiations with Kazakhstan on return are now underway." Recently, several armed police officers threatened my older brother. They brought another brother to the village who worked in another area, and told him not to go anywhere. “Let Kaisha return of his own free will. If she returned, then we will return her money from a bank account and a house,” they say to relatives. In fact, they will immediately put me in jail, ”Kaisha Akan fears.

Kaisha, who has no documents, except for the refugee certificate, is now unemployed.

Kaisha Acan and two other Kazakhs, Kaster Musakhan and Murager Alimula, who fled from Xinjiang, applied for Kazakhstani citizenship. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, referring to the article of the Law "On the Migration of the Population", said that they would not be given citizenship. "In accordance with Article 49 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan" On Migration of the Population "dated 07.22.2011, No. 477-IV, foreigners and stateless persons who entered [the country] illegally convicted of illegal crossing of the border, as well as to persons pursued for violation of the laws of the country of origin, were denied permission to permanently reside in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Based on the above, currently, currently It is impossible to accept the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, ”the Ministry of Internal Affairs said .

Caster and Murager also fled from Sinjiang, fearing persecution. In October 2019, they illegally crossed the border in the Zaysansky district of the East Kazakhstan region.

In October 2020, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan granted the status of refugees Kaishe Akan, Caster Musakhan, Murager Alimula and Bagashar Malikulas and gave them a certificate for one year. The authorities of Kazakhstan have been extending the validity of certificates for the third year for the third year.

On bird rights

35-year-old caster Musakhan is currently grazing cattle in the Almaty region. After leaving the prison, in which he was imprisoned for illegally crossing the border, he earns a living, grazing alien cattle. In Xinjiang, Caster was preparing horses for races. About a month ago, Caster arrived in Almaty and trains the horse of a wealthy person for jumps, he says.

- Of all relatives in China, I only call up with my mother now. The health of my 60-year-old mother worsened due to experiences. She does not have the opportunity to undergo treatment. I still have a younger brother. He also gets sick and cannot work. In 2016, he was imprisoned in the " Political Re -Education Camp " . I went out only in March this year. They said that his stomach was perforated. He did not even have time to marry. It was supposed to be released in 2019. But after I ran, they didn’t let him out, ”says Caster.

According to him, representatives of the authorities often come to relatives in China. Police officers ask the mother and younger brother about the caster, they are interested in where he lives and what he does.

- My mother cries every time I call, talks about her situation. I can't help them. Here I am also on bird rights. I don’t know for whom and why I live. I have no documents. If the authorities of Kazakhstan do not want to give citizenship, even if at least travel documents will be provided. We would have moved abroad and would work there, ”Caster laments.

The 29-year-old Murager Alimula, who fled to Kazakhstan with Caster, had parents, wife and minor son in the Xinjiang. Murager now works as a cook in a cafe of a close relative in Almaty.

- Friends come and fellow villagers [from Xinjiang] for 14 days ( Kazakhstan allowed a visa -free entry for Chinese citizens for up to two weeks. - Ed .). Sometimes I meet them. According to them, [the police] says: "We’ll bring Murager anyway, he will not go anywhere." I think that it is China that affects the fact that our Kazakhstani authorities cannot provide us with at least travel documents. Maybe they put pressure, ”says Murager.

In April 2021, after the Kazakhs who fled from China were not able to obtain the citizenship of Kazakhstan, Kaisha Akan, Murager Alimula and Caster Musakhanules asked the authorities to provide travel documents to leave for the third country . However, Kazakhstan does not issue such documents.

Why is the exit to the third country closed?

Article 9 of the Law of Kazakhstan "On Refugees" states that refugees have the right to freedom of labor or entrepreneurial activity and the receipt of a travel document. " However, Kaisha, Caster and Murager say that they cannot use these rights, since they do not have IIN and identity documents.

Refugees from China note that "with a refugee certificate it is impossible to get either social, nor medical care, nor get a job." They complain that they cannot even register a phone number in their name.

One of the ways to solve the problem, they see a move to the third country.

In 2021, at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, three applicants for travel documents replied that the law "On migration" would make amendments: "These changes will allow refugees to make international trips and simplify the registration of visas. Thus, this helps to exercise refugees to leave any country, including the adopting. However, given that the amendments will come into force on January 1, 2022, We inform you that it is now impossible to draw up a travel document. ”

However, two years later the law was never adopted.

The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Azattyk reported that the bill, which will allow persons with refugee certificates to issue travel documents, is under consideration in parliament.

The bill "On Amendments and Additions to some Legislative Acts on Improving the Migration of the Population", which provides for amendments to Article 9 of the Law "On National Register of Identification Nomers" and Article 29 of the Law "On Documents certifying the identity", is under the consideration of the Mazhilis, the official letter of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azattyka said.

When the law is considered, it is unknown, and even if it is adopted, it is still unclear how the new rules will work.

“After the adoption of the law, it is necessary to bring a number of by -laws, orders, examinations, and the budget commission in accordance with the law,” Azattyka answered in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The head of the Public Fund "International Legal Initiative" Aina Sormanbaeva, who is engaged in the protection of refugee rights from Sinjiang, says that according to the law, refugees are entitled to receive a travel document. The failure to provide documents, in her opinion, "indicates the indifference of the Kazakhstan authorities to refugees."

Auyt Mukibek activist, who is involved in the problems of Kazakhs in China, himself from China, does not exclude that the refusal to issue travel documents may have political background.

- Talk that two countries conclude an agreement on the return of refugees from Sinjiang may be a lie. Police in Xinjiang could lie to intimidate or deceive the relatives of refugees. But the fact that the issuance of a document is spelled out in the law, but in reality it is not issued, raises the question of whether the neighboring state has an impact on the problem with refugees departure to a third country, ”he says.

Messages about the mass imprisonment of the Chinese authorities of the Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslims of Sinjiang in the "Political Revolution camp" appeared in 2017. According to the UN, about a million people could pass through the network of closed institutions of Xinjiang. Beijing justifies his policy by the "struggle against extremism", and calls the camps "centers of professional training." Against the backdrop of the oppression of the indigenous peoples of Sinjiang, some Uyghurams and Kazakhs lived in this region managed to flee from China.

Four of the six ethnic Kazakhs, who fled to Kazakhstan from China from 2017 to 2019 - Kaisha Akan, Caster Musakhanuly, Murager Alimula and Bagashar Malikuly , received the status of refugees. Another Kazakh Kazakhstan, Tulek Tabaricules living in the village of Panfilovo, Almaty region, could not get refugee status. Cossack Sauragul Sauytbai, who had previously fled from Xinjiang, moved with her family to Sweden on June 3, 2019, after Kazakhstan refused to provide her with refugee status.

Attempts by the Azattyk reporter to get through to Tulek Tabariculas were unsuccessful. Bagashar Malikuly, living in the Enbekshikaki district of the Almaty region, says that he has "all unchanged." Bagashar, who was living in Kazakhstan with a refugee certificate, said that some time ago, parents living in Xinjiang came to him, they did not encounter any pressure.

The authorities of Kazakhstan avoid criticism of China, one of their key investors and creditors. They delay, fined the Kazakhs who conduct pickets to the Chinese consulate in Almaty with a demand to free their relatives in Sinjiang from the guard and allow the family to reunite. Experts say that Astana is afraid to cause the dissatisfaction of her neighbor, who builds infrastructure and invests funds in the country, promoting his ambitious geopolitical initiative "One belt - one path."