Turkish PM compares violence in China to genocide

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July 10, 2009

Anonymous The Salem News Fri Jul 10, 2009, 02:30 PM EDT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's prime minister on Friday compared ethnic violence in China's Xinjiang province to genocide, escalating criticism of Beijing following this week's killing of at least 156 people — including Turkic-speaking, Muslim Uighurs.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's strong words came amid daily demonstrations in Turkey protesting the clashes in Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi between Han Chinese and minority Uighurs, who share ethnic and cultural bonds to Turks. Hundreds of Turks prayed for the victims and set Chinese flags on fire on Friday in protests in Ankara and Istanbul.

"These incidents in China are as if they are genocide," said Erdogan. "We ask the Chinese government not to remain a spectator to these incidents. There is clearly a savagery here."

The Chinese government has already imposed curfews and flooded the streets of Urumqi with security forces to avoid a repeat of the running street battles earlier in the week.

Turkey itself is extremely sensitive to the use of the term "genocide." Armenia says 1.5 million Armenians were slain by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I in what Armenians and several other nations recognize as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey vehemently rejects the allegation, saying that the death toll was inflated and that Armenians died in civil unrest as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Erdogan, the leader of the Islamic-rooted government, has been urged by some Uighurs and opposition parties to speak up for Uighurs as he did for Palestinians during Israel's offensive against Gaza militants earlier this year.

In late January, Erdogan stormed off a stage he shared with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after telling Peres, "You kill people."

Turkey says it is concerned about the Chinese treatment of Uighurs. Some Uighurs favor independence or greater autonomy for Xinjiang province, which takes up one-sixth of China's land mass and borders eight Central Asian countries. The Han — China's ethnic majority — have lately been flooding into Xinjiang as the region becomes more developed.

Erdogan, however, stressed that Turkey respects China's territorial integrity and has no intention of interfering with that country's internal affairs.

And despite the country's vocal criticism of Beijing, Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Friday reaffirmed Turkey's commitment to develop ties with China in every field.

"Turkey gives importance to the fact that all ethnic and national groups be living in peace and prosperity," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We expect China to provide the necessary environment of peace and security for Uighurs who constitute a bridge of friendship between China and Turkey."

The violence in Urumqi began Sunday when Uighurs clashed with police while protesting the deaths of Uighur factory workers in a brawl in another part of the country. The crowd then scattered throughout Urumqi, attacking Han Chinese, burning cars and smashing windows. Riot police tried to restore order, and officials said 156 people were killed and more than 1,100 were injured.

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