TURKEY’S PM LIKENS ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN CHINA TO GENOCIDE

Associated Press
07/10/09 9:00 PM EDT

ANKARA, TURKEY — 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=2 0civil 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 vi olence 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.