(ATLANTA, GA, 7/17/19) – The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) and the Save Uighur Campaign today called on the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company to suspend its business operations in China in response to the Communist Party’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing against Uighur Muslims.
In a letter sent to Coca-Cola on June 27th, CAIR-Georgia and the Save Uighur Campaign highlighted the role that Coke and other American corporations have allegedly played in enabling and benefiting from China’s oppression of Uighur Muslims, over one million of whom have been detained in concentration camps.
SEE: CAIR Georgia Letter To Coca-Cola Company
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Coke, Adidas, H&M, Kraft Heinz Co., Gap Inc. and other American businesses benefit from forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Province, where mosques have been demolished, entire cities have been subjected to mass surveillance, and Uighur Muslims prisoners have experienced everything from brainwashing and torture to forced labor and execution.
SEE: Western Companies Get Tangled in China’s Muslim Clampdown (WSJ)
China’s state-run Cofko Tunhe Company, which regularly visits and recruits from Uighur villages in Xinjiang Province, is reportedly a major sugar supplier to Coca-Cola. Cofko Tunhe Co.’s training program for new recruits includes “de- extremification” through the government’s Uighur Muslim programs, which reportedly force detainees to eat pork, drink alcohol, and otherwise abandon Islamic religious practices in the name of combatting extremism.
In a statement, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“If China had detained one million white Christians in concentration camps, no American corporation would do a dollar’s worth of business in China, much less benefit from the forced labor of the people imprisoned in those camps.
“We call upon the Coca-Cola Company to join other corporations in suspending its business relationships with suppliers in the Xinjiang region. We also call upon Coca-Cola to suspend all of its other operations in China until the Communist Party closes its concentration camps.
“By demolishing houses of worship, subjecting entire cities to mass surveillance, and forcing over one million people to abandon their religious practices under the threat of torture and execution, China has launched an unprecedented campaign of ethnic cleansing that the world has rarely seen since World War II.
“By taking their money and their products elsewhere, American corporations can help end this modern recurrence of an ancient evil, while also protecting their workers and consumers from complicity in China’s actions.”
In a statement, Chair of the SaveUighur Campaign Malik Mujahid said:
“American businesses need to understand that aiding and abetting genocide is unacceptable. By continuing to benefit from the forced labor of Uighurs and other populations who have been imprisoned by the Chinese government’s extreme policies, Coca-Cola and other American corporations would signal their willingness to completely ignore human rights and put profit over people.”
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
CONTACT: CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR-Georgia Communications Director Sawsan Selim, [email protected]