Wow, just WOW. Hypocrites, those Turks! They deny their own genocide against the Armenians, yet are the first to claim that China has launched a genocide against the Uighur people! If this swift act of force by Chinese is genocide, yet 1915 slaughter of millions of Armenians was not, quite frankly, there's a problem here. To be honest, Turkey is one of the few countries around the world which I can't stand at all, and this only bolsters my sentiment.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8145451.stm

quote:

Turkey's prime minister has described ethnic violence in China's Xinjiang region as "a kind of genocide". "There is no other way of commenting on this event," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. He spoke after a night-time curfew was reimposed in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, where Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese clashed last Sunday. The death toll from the violence there has now risen from 156 to 184, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reports. More than 1,000 people were injured. Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, shares linguistic and religious links with the Uighurs in China's western-most region. "The event taking place in China is a kind of genocide," Mr Erdogan told reporters in Turkey's capital, Ankara. "There are atrocities there, hundreds of people have been killed and 1,000 hurt. We have difficulty understanding how China's leadership can remain a spectator in the face of these events." The Turkish premier also urged Beijing to "address the question of human rights and do what is necessary to prosecute the guilty". Mr Erdogan's comments came a day after Turkish Trade and Industry Minister Nihat Ergun urged Turks to boycott Chinese goods. Beijing has so far not publicly commented on Mr Erdogan's criticism. But it said that of the 184 people who died, 137 were Han Chinese. Uighurs defiant Earlier on Friday, the Chinese authorities reimposed a night-time curfew in Urumqi. The curfew had been suspended for two days after officials said they had the city under control. Mosques in the city were ordered to remain closed on Friday and notices were posted instructing people to stay at home to worship. XINJIANG: ETHNIC UNREST Main ethnic division: 45% Uighur, 40% Han Chinese 26 June: Mass factory brawl after dispute between Han Chinese and Uighurs in Guangdong, southern China, leaves two Uighurs dead 5 July: Uighur protest in Urumqi over the dispute turns violent, leaving 156 dead - most of them thought to be Han - and more than 1,000 hurt 7 July: Uighur women protest at arrests of menfolk. Han Chinese make armed counter-march 8 July: President Hu Jintao returns from G8 summit to tackle crisis Taboo of ethnic tensions Profile: Rebiya Kadeer Xinjiang: Views from China But at least two opened after crowds of Uighurs gathered outside and demanded to be allowed in to pray on the holiest day of the week in Islam. "We decided to open the mosque because so many people had gathered. We did not want an incident," a policeman outside the White Mosque in a Uighur neighbourhood told the AP news agency. After the prayers, riot police punched and kicked a small group of Uighurs protesters, who demanded the release of men detained after last Sunday's violence, the BBC's Quentin Sommerville says. Meanwhile, the city's main bus station was reported to be crowded with people trying to escape the unrest. Extra bus services had been laid on and touts were charging up to five times the normal face price for tickets, AFP news agency said. "It is just too risky to stay here. We are scared of the violence," a 23-year-old construction worker from central China said. The violence began on Sunday when a Uighur rally to protest against a deadly brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks ago in a toy factory in southern Guangdong province turned violent. Tensions have been growing in Xinjiang for many years, as Han migrants have poured into the region, where the Uighur minority is concentrated. Many Uighurs feel economic growth has bypassed them and complain of discrimination and diminished opportunities.

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is it any wonder? muslim solidarity almost requires hypocrisy.

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 is it any wonder? muslim solidarity almost requires hypocrisy.

You wanna know what even more hypocrite? Turkey has its own serious issue of secession movements, i.e. Kurds, yet they fund and politically support Uighurs living in Turkey as part of their nationalist movement, and also recently organized a business trip to Xingjiang (Uighur's province in China) to establish strong political and economic ties with the Uighur minority.

Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang province in China, where Uighurs are from.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8139516.stm

quote:

It was in Turkey, which is home to a significant number of Uighurs, that the angriest demonstrations took place. Many Turks with strong nationalist sentiments see the Uighurs as their ethnic kin. Uighur groups receive financial and political support from nationalists and pro-Islamist groups. The recent events in Xinjiang seem to have increased public support in Turkey for the Uighur cause. It was only 10 days ago that the Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Urumqi with a big delegation of Turkish businessmen looking for closer trade links.

Now you know why I am such a big fan of Turkey.

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Whenever you go and buy something, you are affecting someone somewhere, be it environment, a person, or a community - you're making a statement with what you buy. So make it a smart choice ... Its a big picture