In vying for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council next year, Indonesia may face pressure to more directly address allegations of abuse against the Uighur Muslim minority in China after much silence on the government’s part, a research note suggests.

Xinjiang and its resident Uighur population have been in the spotlight over the past year following reports by rights groups detailing China’s abuse of at least 1 million people from the ethnic minority. They have reportedly been forced to undergo psychological indoctrination programs in so-called re-education centers, but Beijing has dismissed the allegations as baseless.

As the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia’s support for oppressed Muslim minorities carries significant weight. But for the Uighurs in China, Indonesia’s silence speaks louder than words, albeit not for the reasons that most critics hold against it.

The Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) released a report on Friday suggesting Indonesia’s silence was motivated by issues “much more complicated” than an economic dependence on China, a common perception that many Western analysts and activists hold against Muslim countries that fail to act on the issue.

The report details the political dimensions of the Xinjiang issue in Indonesia, from the minor role of some Uighurs in Indonesian extremist networks, to 2019 electoral politics and the unproductive discussion of separatist movements.

“For the Foreign Ministry, reluctance to speak out is partly because there are perceived to be more important issues at stake with China [...] and partly because it is seen more as a domestic separatist question than a human rights concern,” IPAC said in its report.

Observers have meanwhile expressed concern about Indonesia’s apparent struggle to address the Xinjiang crisis, with one scholar, Yeremia Lalisang from the University of Indonesia, urging the government to clearly state its official position so as to prevent the issue from being further politicized in the country.

The Foreign Ministry’s director for East Asia and the Pacific, Santo Darmosumarto, challenged the claims, insisting that Jakarta had been privately voicing Indonesian concerns about the Xinjiang issue to China. “Indonesia has conveyed that we respect [China’s] territorial integrity, but that we need to express the concerns of Indonesians on the human rights situation in China,” Santo told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

China has doubled down on engagement with the Indonesian grassroots community by holding discussions on the Xinjiang issue, although allegations of one-sidedness have emerged.

The Chinese Embassy in Jakarta was not available for comment, but scholars fielded by Beijing to speak on its behalf insist the Chinese government has been fairly open about its policies on religious freedom.

Li Lin, deputy director for Islamic Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said his government has for the past year engaged in efforts to spread information on its Xinjiang policy, which includes hosting student exchange programs and media visits to the region. He conceded there was still room for more cooperation and engagement in the future in order to build up mutual trust and understanding on the issue.

The World Uighur Congress (WUC) expressed its disappointment on Monday about Indonesia’s “shameful double-standard attitude”.

“The Indonesian government has a moral duty to speak publicly and take action on this crisis, as does the rest of the world,” WUC president Dolkun Isa told the Post in an emailed response. (tjs)

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