Beijing has used its economic and military ties with Turkey to limit the latter’s historic support for the Uygur cause.
In 1875, the Ottoman sultan sent three Turkish army officers, 30 cannon and 3,000 rifles to train the troops of Yaqub Beg, the Tajik who ruled much of Xinjiang from Kashgar. It was the closest the Chinese and Ottoman empires came to war.
In 1914, a delegation of teachers arrived and tried to set up schools in Xinjiang based on the Turkish curriculum. In the Korean war, more than 25,000 Turks fought on the US side, of whom 2,900 were killed or wounded, many in violent confrontations with the PLA. At the battle of Kunu-ri, Turkish troops bayoneted 900 Chinese.
The two countries did not establish diplomatic relations until 1971. From the 1950s, Turkey offered refuge to Uygur refugees; about 5,000 live there now. It gave them housing and citizenship, and required them to serve in the army. It allowed them freedom of action, offices and some financial support. The exiles published books and magazines, lobbied for East Turkestan independence and denounced China’s “oppression”. Beijing has never allowed Turkey to open a consulate in the Xinjiang autonomous region .
“The independent Turkic state should do their utmost to support the East Turkestani peoples’ struggle for democracy, human rights and self-determination,” Isa Yusuf Alptekin, the leader of the exiled Uygurs, told the World Turkic Conference in Antalya, southern Turkey, in March 1993. “Otherwise, they will be responsible for the total annihilation of the Turkic peoples of Eastern Turkestan at the hands of the Chinese communists.”
In July 1995, a new section of a park in Istanbul named after Alptekin opened, with a memorial to the East Turkestan “martyrs”, who had died “in the struggle for independence”. Turkey’s president and prime minister attended the opening.
In 1995, Alptekin died, aged 95. Ankara’s attitude to the Uygurs began to change, because of deepening economic and military ties with Beijing. It has since refused to allow any official memorial event for Alptekin, even though he enjoyed high prestige among Turkish people.
In February 1997, following violent riots in Yining in Xinjiang that reportedly left many dead and wounded, Uygurs demonstrated in front of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul and burned Chinese flags. Police forced the demonstrators to disperse and the foreign ministry apologised to Beijing for the flag-burning. The government forbade protests by Uygurs against Chinese diplomatic missions.
Under a bill passed by the Turkish parliament in February 1998, Uygur refugees were no longer to be given citizenship but permanent residence status. Uygur exile groups began to move their headquarters from Turkey to Western countries.
Trade between the two countries began to soar. By last year, Turkish exports to China reached US$1.437 billion, compared to US$37 million in 1999 and US$500 million in 2003. Chinese exports last year soared to US$15.7 billion, up from US$250 million in 1993 and US$9.657 billion in 2006.
Since 1997, military exchanges have begun, including the import of Chinese rockets and short-range missiles
Fundamental Turkish commitment to the Uygur cultural identity remains unaffected. Without intending to do so, the Chinese have helped expand Uygur nationalism by forcing East Turkestan groups to settle in countries that are not only relatively immune to China’s pressure but also much more influential in world affairs.
This summary of Sino-Turkish relations is taken from a paper by Professor Yitzhak Shichor, “Ethno-Diplomacy: the Uighur Hitch in Sino-Turkish Relations”, published by the East-West Centre in Honolulu earlier this year
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About-turn by Turkey sees Uygurs move
27 September 2009
Beijing has used its economic and military ties with Turkey to limit the latter’s historic support for the Uygur cause.
In 1875, the Ottoman sultan sent three Turkish army officers, 30 cannon and 3,000 rifles to train the troops of Yaqub Beg, the Tajik who ruled much of Xinjiang from Kashgar. It was the closest the Chinese and Ottoman empires came to war.
In 1914, a delegation of teachers arrived and tried to set up schools in Xinjiang based on the Turkish curriculum. In the Korean war, more than 25,000 Turks fought on the US side, of whom 2,900 were killed or wounded, many in violent confrontations with the PLA. At the battle of Kunu-ri, Turkish troops bayoneted 900 Chinese.
The two countries did not establish diplomatic relations until 1971. From the 1950s, Turkey offered refuge to Uygur refugees; about 5,000 live there now. It gave them housing and citizenship, and required them to serve in the army. It allowed them freedom of action, offices and some financial support. The exiles published books and magazines, lobbied for East Turkestan independence and denounced China’s “oppression”. Beijing has never allowed Turkey to open a consulate in the Xinjiang autonomous region .
“The independent Turkic state should do their utmost to support the East Turkestani peoples’ struggle for democracy, human rights and self-determination,” Isa Yusuf Alptekin, the leader of the exiled Uygurs, told the World Turkic Conference in Antalya, southern Turkey, in March 1993. “Otherwise, they will be responsible for the total annihilation of the Turkic peoples of Eastern Turkestan at the hands of the Chinese communists.”
In July 1995, a new section of a park in Istanbul named after Alptekin opened, with a memorial to the East Turkestan “martyrs”, who had died “in the struggle for independence”. Turkey’s president and prime minister attended the opening.
In 1995, Alptekin died, aged 95. Ankara’s attitude to the Uygurs began to change, because of deepening economic and military ties with Beijing. It has since refused to allow any official memorial event for Alptekin, even though he enjoyed high prestige among Turkish people.
In February 1997, following violent riots in Yining in Xinjiang that reportedly left many dead and wounded, Uygurs demonstrated in front of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul and burned Chinese flags. Police forced the demonstrators to disperse and the foreign ministry apologised to Beijing for the flag-burning. The government forbade protests by Uygurs against Chinese diplomatic missions.
Under a bill passed by the Turkish parliament in February 1998, Uygur refugees were no longer to be given citizenship but permanent residence status. Uygur exile groups began to move their headquarters from Turkey to Western countries.
Trade between the two countries began to soar. By last year, Turkish exports to China reached US$1.437 billion, compared to US$37 million in 1999 and US$500 million in 2003. Chinese exports last year soared to US$15.7 billion, up from US$250 million in 1993 and US$9.657 billion in 2006.
Since 1997, military exchanges have begun, including the import of Chinese rockets and short-range missiles
Fundamental Turkish commitment to the Uygur cultural identity remains unaffected. Without intending to do so, the Chinese have helped expand Uygur nationalism by forcing East Turkestan groups to settle in countries that are not only relatively immune to China’s pressure but also much more influential in world affairs.
This summary of Sino-Turkish relations is taken from a paper by Professor Yitzhak Shichor, “Ethno-Diplomacy: the Uighur Hitch in Sino-Turkish Relations”, published by the East-West Centre in Honolulu earlier this year
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