East Tukistan's government in exile condemns statements by Turkish Foreign Minister during China visit
Jun 05, 2024
Washington, DC [US], June 5 : The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) condemned on Wednesday the actions and statements given by Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye during his visit to China-occupied East Turkistan.
The statement by the ETGE stated that "Fidan's explicit support for China's so-called "territorial integrity and sovereignty," coupled with his emphasis on deepening economic and security ties with the Chinese regime, represents a profound betrayal of the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples who are enduring a brutal genocide under Chinese occupation".
Responding to the matter, individuals belonging to the ETGE and the East Turkistan National Movement organised a protest outside the Turkiye embassy in Washington, DC, representing the outrage in the Turkic and Uyghur communities living in Washington, DC.
According to the ETGE "By showing 'full support' for China's so-called 'territorial integrity and political sovereignty' and 'supporting China against terrorist activities'--a grotesque euphemism used by China to describe and legitimize its Uyghur genocide--Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has betrayed the core values and honour of the Turkish nation and the cause of East Turkistan," said Salih Hudayar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security of the East Turkistan Government in Exile.
The statement also mentioned that Wast Turkistan was initially an independent country, and was invaded by China in 1949. The country declared its independence twice, in 1933 and again in 1944, years before the Chinese invasion of the land. However, the country still shares deep ties of Culture, ethnicity, religion and linguistics with Turkish people.
Since 1996, Turkiye has actively worked with China to suppress the East Turkistan independence movement. The Chinese Communist Party's top-secret Document No. 7 from 1996 outlines a strategic blueprint for working with Turkiye to suppress East Turkistan's struggle for independence. Through a combination of diplomacy and coercion, China has enlisted Turkiye as an accomplice in its campaign of repression, as the ETGE claimed.
The involvement of Turkiye includes the facilitation of the transfer of thousands of Uyghurs to Syria, where they were used as cannon fodder by Turkiye and used to manufacture justification for China's ongoing genocide. Other atrocities of genocide against the Uyghur community include mass internment, torture, forced sterilisation, and slavery in concentration camps and forced labour camps. However, despite receiving international condemnation and pressure, China has been continuously inflicting genocide and atrocities on the Uyghur community of East Turkistan disguised as counter terrorism.
During his visit, Fidan also met with Chen Wenqing, the Chinese Communist Party's top security and intelligence chief, who recently visited East Turkistan and called for the continuation of the genocide through the "normalisation of counter-terrorism." This meeting underscores the alarming extent of Turkiye's alignment with China's genocidal policies.
Moreover "Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan's commitment to deepen security cooperation with China, a regime responsible for the largest genocide since the Holocaust, poses a grave threat to East Turkistan and the Uyghurs. The international community must hold both nations accountable for their actions," added ETGE Foreign Minister Salih Hudayar.