Society for Threatened Peoples files complaint against Volkswagen

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) filed a complaint on Monday at the German Ministry for Commerce and Technology against the Volkswagen company (VW). The human rights organisation accuses the motor company of violating in its support of the Olympic torch-run the "OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises”, which the concern has committed itself to respecting. VW emphasised in its "Sustainability Report 2007/2008” its support for the OECD guidelines. In accordance with the "General principles” of Section 2 "Companies should respect the human rights of the persons affected by their activity in accordance with the international duties and agreements of the government of the host country.” The German Ministry of Commerce is responsible as national contact point for the supervision of the effectiveness of the principles.

The GfbV accuses VW of being indirectly responsible with the support of the Olympic torch-run for the violations of human rights which has taken place against Uigurs in Xinjiang and other violations of human rights in Tibet and Xinjiang / East Turkestan. 70 Uighurs were arrested at the end of March 2008 in the town of Kashgar in Xinjiang /East Turkestan to prevent public protest when the torch-run reaches the town, which is populated mainly by Uighurs on 26th June 2008. Further house searches, raids, politically motivated arrests, mishandling and torture in police custody are to be feared in the time before the torch-run throughTibet (19th-22nd June). For there too the authorities have announced the red alarm for the so-called "Run of Harmony” and emphasised that the "safety” of the big event will be guaranteed with all means available.

The torch-run will increase the ethnic tension between Han-Chinese and the persecuted Tibetans and Uighurs, warned the GfbV Asia correspondent, Ulrich Delius. For the members of both the Tibetan and the Uighur ethnic groups find it a provocation in the light of the already existing tension and suppression. So the GfbV sees the torch-run as increasing in several ways the violations of human rights. Volkswagen is throwing away the trust of its customers if it does not keep its promises.