Governor Phil Murphy

Statement by Governor Murphy on Oppressive Policies Toward Muslims in China, Myanmar, and India

01/3/2020

The new year is supposed to be a time full of promise and hope, but for millions of Muslims in China, Myanmar, and India living under authoritarian policies, promise and hope are in short supply. 

“In China, millions of ethnic Uyghur Muslims have been unfairly imprisoned in re-education and forced labor camps -- an egregious violation of their human rights that potentially constitute crimes against humanity.

“Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have sought to flee one of the world's most abhorrent state-sanctioned policies of repression and annihilation, creating a refugee crisis the scale of which we are only beginning to truly understand.

“India's new citizenship law threatens its long and proud history as a secular and diverse democratic nation by establishing a religious test for migrants. As the largest democracy in the world, India could set an example for us all by abandoning this restrictive and intolerant policy. 

“As one of the most diverse states in the nation, New Jersey, with its strong and vibrant Muslim community, is particularly affected by these global crises. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ It is time for all nations, including ours, to take firm and unequivocal stances against the narrow thinking that is fueling these divisions and embrace the world as it should be -- tolerant, pluralistic, and interconnected.”