https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinese-uighurs-face-grim-return-as-authorities-raise-terrorist-claims/2015/07/10/7ac10ed2-f319-4130-868d-a082d9f9b564_story.html
By Simon Denyer
Women pray after riot police used pepper spray to push back a group of Uighur protesters who tried to break through a barricade outside the Chinese Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday. (Burhan Ozbilici/AP)
Thailand’s military government has drawn vehement international criticism for forcing the 109 refugees, known as Uighurs, back to China, arguing that they had only Chinese documentation. Activists and others accuse Beijing of waging a campaign of repression against the Turkic-speaking minority in western China, in contravention of their religious, cultural and political rights.
The United States condemned Thailand’s move as incompatible with an international convention against torture, and the U.N. refugee agency called it a “flagrant violation of international law.”
In Turkey, where Uighur issues are followed increasingly closely, protests were staged outside Thai and Chinese diplomatic missions.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Uighurs have fled China in recent years. Officials claim that some have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideologies and the idea of a global jihad, and accuse them of carrying out violent attacks against authorities.
The Thai government said it had received assurances from Beijing about the safety of the Uighurs it sent back. It also noted that it had rejected a request for the repatriation of all the Uighurs held in Thai detention camps.
“It is not like all of a sudden China asks for Uighurs and we just give them back,” said a deputy government spokesman, Col. Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, Reuters reported. “China asked for all Uighur Muslims in Thailand to be sent back, but we said we could not do it.”
But Thai officials also appeared eager to wash their hands of the entire affair.
“If we send them back and there is a problem, it is not our fault,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thursday, according to news agencies. Prayuth, a general, led a coup against Thailand’s elected government in May 2014.
China’s Foreign Ministry said those Uighurs suspected of “committing serious crimes” would be brought to justice, while others would be dealt with in “proper ways,” according to spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
But it appeared that China had already made up its mind about the group, invoking the specter of terrorism, which effectively ensures that some of their number, at least, will face severe punishment.
Some of the Uighurs had fled because they had committed crimes in China, while “some were involved in terrorism activities,” the Ministry of Public Security told the state-run Global Times newspaper Friday.
Seemingly unwilling to accept that the Uighurs might have left China voluntarily, the ministry said some appeared to have been coerced and many had been “bewitched” by propaganda from Uighur groups abroad.
Many, it said, planned to go through Thailand to Turkey, “and then to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist organizations and so-called ‘jihad.’ ”
The Global Times quoted unidentified Public Security Ministry officials as saying that a certain country has been issuing passports and proof of citizenship to Uighurs, thus encouraging them to illegally leave China. Although the country was not named, it was clear that the reference was to Turkey.
The Uighurs sent back this week, who the United Nations said included about 20 women, are now likely to disappear into China’s jails. Judging by the fate of 20 Uighurs deported from Cambodia in 2009, their whereabouts will be extremely hard to establish.
Sophie Richardson, China director at the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, said Friday that Thailand had “cravenly caved” to pressure from China, and she described the outlook for the group as “grim.”
“In effect, China has simply hunted these people down, and Thailand has blithely robbed them of any protection they should have been afforded under international law,” she said.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. government condemned the forced deportation of the group to China, “where they could face harsh treatment and lack of due process.”
China’s treatment of its Muslim Uighur minority has strained ties with Turkey ahead of a visit to Beijing this month by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. There is a significant Uighur diaspora in Turkey, and many people see the Turkic-speaking Uighurs as sharing a common heritage with Turks.
Police used tear gas Thursday to disperse protesters at the Chinese Embassy in Ankara, while protesters smashed windows and broke into the Thai Consulate in Istanbul late Wednesday.
The Thai government said that it had earlier sent a group of 170 Uighur refugees to Turkey after establishing that they were of Turkish ancestry and that it was still trying to verify the citizenship status of an additional 50.
But the forced repatriation of the group to China appeared to catch many people off guard. The U.N. refugee agency said it was “shocked” after having been assured by Thailand that the group would be protected, the Associated Press reported.
Two witnesses who saw the Uighurs being led into trucks to be driven to Bangkok’s military airport told the AP that the men were handcuffed and that some of the women were crying and shouting: “Help us! Don’t allow them to send us back to China.”
Gu Jinglu contributed to this report.
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Turkish fury with China grows over the plight of the Muslim Uighurs
China sees jihadist inspiration coming from abroad by way of the Web
China’s war on terror becomes all-out attack on Islam in Xinjiang
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/beijing-warns-citizens-turkey-anti-china-protests-150705172423183.html
Foreign ministry says Chinese tourists recently "attacked and disturbed" in Istanbul protests over treatment of Uighurs.
05 Jul 2015
Relations between Turkey and China have been strained over the treatment of Muslim Uighur people in China's Xinjiang region [AFP]
Foreign ministry says Chinese tourists recently "attacked and disturbed" in Istanbul protests over treatment of Uighurs.
05 Jul 2015
Relations between Turkey and China have been strained over the treatment of Muslim Uighur people in China's Xinjiang region [AFP]
Beijing has warned its citizens travelling in Turkey to be careful of anti-China protests, saying some tourists have recently been "attacked and disturbed".
The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Sunday, said there had been "multiple" demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government.
Relations between Turkey and China have been strained recently over the treatment of Muslim Uighur people in China's far western region of Xinjiang, who have been banned from worship and fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Sunday, said there had been "multiple" demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government.
Relations between Turkey and China have been strained recently over the treatment of Muslim Uighur people in China's far western region of Xinjiang, who have been banned from worship and fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Uighur rights groups say China's restrictions on Islam in Xinjiang have added to violent ethnic tensions in the region [AP]
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China bans Ramadan fasting in mainly Muslim region
China's treatment of the Uighurs is an important issue for many Turks, who see themselves as sharing a common cultural and religious background.
Turkey vowed on Friday to keep its doors open to ethnic Uighurs fleeing persecution.
"Absolutely do not get close to or film the protests, and minimise to the greatest extent outside activities on one's own," the Chinese notice said.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that a small group of people last week attacked a Chinese restaurant in Istanbul's popular Tophane district, smashing windows.
On Sunday, several hundred protesters marched towards the Chinese consulate in Istanbul carrying flags and chanting anti-China slogans outside the building.
Earlier in the day, some of the protesters had burned a Chinese flag.
"They [Uighurs] are our brothers and are being persecuted for their faith," said 17-year-old Muhammet Gokce, who was wearing a blue headband with the words: "East Turkestan you are not alone."
"They did nothing wrong, their only fault is to be Muslim. Turkey should embrace its brothers, should save them from the brutal hands of communist China."
China's treatment of the Uighurs is an important issue for many Turks, who see themselves as sharing a common cultural and religious background.
Turkey vowed on Friday to keep its doors open to ethnic Uighurs fleeing persecution.
"Absolutely do not get close to or film the protests, and minimise to the greatest extent outside activities on one's own," the Chinese notice said.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that a small group of people last week attacked a Chinese restaurant in Istanbul's popular Tophane district, smashing windows.
On Sunday, several hundred protesters marched towards the Chinese consulate in Istanbul carrying flags and chanting anti-China slogans outside the building.
Earlier in the day, some of the protesters had burned a Chinese flag.
"They [Uighurs] are our brothers and are being persecuted for their faith," said 17-year-old Muhammet Gokce, who was wearing a blue headband with the words: "East Turkestan you are not alone."
"They did nothing wrong, their only fault is to be Muslim. Turkey should embrace its brothers, should save them from the brutal hands of communist China."
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/china-uighur-problem-turkey-protests-150706091424395.html
China responds to protests as relations worsen over Beijing's policies towards the Muslim Uighur minority.
06 Jul 2015
Several hundred protesters marched in Istanbul on Sunday chanting anti-China slogans outside the Chinese consulate [AFP]
Inside Story - Chinese Uighurs: separatism vs terrorism?
China responds to protests as relations worsen over Beijing's policies towards the Muslim Uighur minority.
06 Jul 2015
Several hundred protesters marched in Istanbul on Sunday chanting anti-China slogans outside the Chinese consulate [AFP]
China has no "ethnic problem" in its far west, and Muslim Uighur minorities there enjoy freedom of religion, the country's foreign ministry has said, following anti-China protests in Turkey over Beijing's treatment of the group.
"Uighurs live and work in peace and contentment and enjoy freedom of religion under the rules in the constitution," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular briefing on Monday.
"So the so-called 'Xinjiang ethnic problem' you mentioned that has been raised in some reports simply does not exist."
"Uighurs live and work in peace and contentment and enjoy freedom of religion under the rules in the constitution," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular briefing on Monday.
"So the so-called 'Xinjiang ethnic problem' you mentioned that has been raised in some reports simply does not exist."
Inside Story - Chinese Uighurs: separatism vs terrorism?
Relations between China and Turkey have worsened over Beijing's policies towards the Uighur people, whose traditional home is in the far western region of Xinjiang.
Many Turks see themselves as sharing religious and cultural ties with Uighurs, who have reportedly been banned from worship and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
Turkey vowed last week to keep its doors open to Uighur migrants fleeing persecution in China. Turkey has also irked China by expressing concern over the reports of restrictions on Uighurs during Ramadan.
Anti-China protests
Hundreds of protesters marched on the Chinese consulate in Istanbul on Sunday, bearing flags and chanting anti-China slogans outside the building.
Beijing warned on Sunday its citizens travelling in Turkey to be careful of anti-China protests, saying some tourists have recently been "attacked and disturbed".
The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Sunday, said there had been "multiple" demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government.
"Absolutely do not get close to or film the protests, and minimise to the greatest extent outside activities on one's own," the Chinese notice said.
Hundreds of people have been killed over the past three years in a series of attacks in Xinjiang. Beijing has blamed the attacks on fighters who seek to form an independent state called East Turkestan.
Many Turks see themselves as sharing religious and cultural ties with Uighurs, who have reportedly been banned from worship and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
Turkey vowed last week to keep its doors open to Uighur migrants fleeing persecution in China. Turkey has also irked China by expressing concern over the reports of restrictions on Uighurs during Ramadan.
Anti-China protests
Hundreds of protesters marched on the Chinese consulate in Istanbul on Sunday, bearing flags and chanting anti-China slogans outside the building.
Beijing warned on Sunday its citizens travelling in Turkey to be careful of anti-China protests, saying some tourists have recently been "attacked and disturbed".
The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Sunday, said there had been "multiple" demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government.
"Absolutely do not get close to or film the protests, and minimise to the greatest extent outside activities on one's own," the Chinese notice said.
Hundreds of people have been killed over the past three years in a series of attacks in Xinjiang. Beijing has blamed the attacks on fighters who seek to form an independent state called East Turkestan.
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