Reports on Chinese practices in Xinjiang largely inaccurate, says Turkey's Erdo?an

Many news reports on China?s alleged restrictions on Muslim Uighurs during the holy month of Ramadan do not reflect reality, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said, amid anti-Chinese demonstrations by Turkish nationalists over the treatment of the Turkic-speaking, largely Muslim minority in China?s Xinjiang region.
 
Delivering a speech at a fast-breaking dinner where he hosted ambassadors in the Turkish capital Ankara late on July 9, Erdo?an recalled that he was due to visit China in the coming days, and described the timing of recent incidents related to Beijing?s treatment of Uighurs as ?meaningful.?

?We have kin in every corner in the world. From the Balkans to Central Asia, from Crimea to North Africa. All incidents, which take place in every single region, directly concern us. So claims about China?s pressure on our siblings in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region lead to sensitivity in our public,? he added.

?However, to a great extent the images and reports circulating in the media have made this sensibility prone to exploitation, deliberately or not,? Erdo?an said.

His words come amid a spike in attacks agains East Asian tourists in Turkey. Earlier on July 9, an Asian tourist was attacked by pro-Uighur protesters in Ankara as they assumed that she was Chinese.

Hours after Erdo?an delivered his speech, Thailand on July 10 closed its embassy and consulate in Turkey after a protest against its deportation of Uighur Muslims to China. The temporary closure of Thailand?s embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul comes after anti-Chinese demonstrators stormed the latter, damaging furnishings and bringing down the sign outside. It was the latest protest in Turkey over the treatment of Uighurs.

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