SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 7 February 2025, Friday |

Chinese ambassador threatens, opposition responds, and Ankara moves … a new crisis in Turkey

The past hours witnessed a “fierce” debate between the Chinese embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, and officials of the Turkish opposition parties over the issue of Uighur Muslims, and the violations they are exposed to by the authorities and the regime in Beijing, which prompted the Turkish government, hours after the outbreak of the crisis, to summon the ambassador.

Turkish opposition officials, led by Miral Akshenar, leader of the “good” party, and Mansour Yawas, mayor of Ankara, affiliated with the “Republican People’s Party”, criticized the Chinese violations.

Amidst the escalation of the crisis, the Anatolia News Agency said, “The Chinese ambassador in Ankara, Liu, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, due to annoyance at the embassy posts on social media.”

Akshnar had published a tweet on Twitter on the fifth of April, expressing solidarity with the cause of the Uyghur Muslims, and said: “I salute the memory of the people of East Turkistan, who were not subject to the Chinese families in Turkey.”

“We will not forget our relatives in captivity, nor will we remain silent about their persecution. Certainly, East Turkestan will become independent one day,” she added.

In turn, the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yawas, posted a tweet on Twitter, in which he said: “Although 31 years have passed, we still feel the pain of the massacre in East Turkestan as on the first day.”