The demonstration marked the ninth anniversary of ‘heinous crimes against humanity’ in Tibet and East Turkistan by Chen Quanguo, currently the party secretary for Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The protest was held under the aegis of Tibetan Community UK, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) on Friday. They were holding banners saying “Long Live friendship of Tibet and East Turkistan”, “Say no to internment Camps” and save the “Uyghur people”, ANI reported.

A statement by Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities was quoted as saying by ANI, “Chen Quanguo, a member of the 19th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is being considered for the Number 2 position in the CCP so is most likely to take control of the Central Administration in future. He is the most ruthless Chinese leader ever to have ruled Tibet and East Turkistan.”

Chen is a Chinese politician and current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and a member of the 19th Politburo of the Communist Party of China.

Originally from Henan province, Chen was among the first batch of students to graduate university after the resumption of Gaokao examinations in 1978. 

Rahima Mahmut, UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) told ANI, “This is the time that everybody should come together and voice our outrage”.