Interview: U.S. spreads dangerous lies on Xinjiang out of fear -- expert

BELGRADE, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The false allegations about human rights in Xinjiang are an interference in China's internal affairs and are caused by fear of some Western countries about loss of their global dominance, Zivadin Jovanovic, a Serbian career diplomat and politician, told Xinhua.

Jovanovic, former minister of foreign affairs of Yugoslavia, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that the attempts of the United States and some Western countries to slow down China's progress with false allegations over the human rights situation in Xinjiang are the result of their "fear of the stability and fast efficient progress in China" -- and are unlawful.

"The world is aware that China is a unique country that succeeded in bringing millions of people out of poverty in a very short time -- before the schedule ... They are trying to find formal excuses to meddle in the internal affairs of China" to slow down its progress, he said.

Such meddling in China's internal affairs is not in accordance with the basic principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, said Jovanovic, who currently presides over two think-tanks in Serbia -- the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals and the Silk Road Connectivity Research Center.

Furthermore, Jovanovic reminded that such abuses of human rights have in the past served to promote the geopolitical interests of the United States, warning it is high time to end such a practice, and that all countries should cooperate as equals and respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We know from our own experience very well ... this method of abusing human rights" for promoting the geopolitical interests of the United States, he said, adding that Western human rights concerns are only about "their own greedy interests."

The United States is "not supportive of the progress of China or other countries that pursue the policy of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the policy of equality and equal rights for all states," he said.

Therefore, they are "centering their energy to construct excuses for meddling and for threatening and slowing down the progress of those countries," he said.

He said that the United States should end its practice of applying double standards, referring to its own domestic issues regarding race, and should stop "abusing human rights in order to spread separatism or trying to divide sovereign states."

Many countries, including Serbia, are disturbed at how some Western countries are ganging up in so-called "democratic coalitions" in order to attempt to economically slow down China, Jovanovic said.

Speaking about the real situation in Xinjiang, Jovanovic stressed the autonomous region "has been peacefully developing," saying the progress of Xinjiang represents "a way to peace and stability."

He noted that the "policy of the past" pursued by the United States is obsolete. "We need to convince everybody that the only approach to building a community with a shared future for mankind is dialogue based on equality and respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries," Jovanovic said.