On April 7, 2021, the Municipality of Ankara dug a hole in front of the Chinese Communist Embassy in Turkey under the pretext of “checking the theft of water resources from nearby residents”. Ankara Municipality Administrator Öztürk’s Twitter picture
The Chinese Communist Party and Turkey are engaged in a diplomatic tug-of-war. The mayor of Ankara and another politician were criticized by the Chinese embassy in Turkey and the Chinese foreign ministry by name after they posted an article commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Uyghur “Barren uprising. The Turkish Foreign Ministry later summoned the local Chinese ambassador to protest. The Ankara municipality dug a large pit in front of the Chinese embassy to test whether water resources were being stolen. This was seen as a different kind of counter-attack by the Turkish state and won applause from the public.
Cuneyt Ozturk, an administrator of the Ankara municipality, tweeted two photos of the work in front of the Chinese embassy in Turkey on Wednesday (7), saying it was done to “check if the residents of the area are using the water resources”.
Öztürk also previously wrote in another tweet, in a mocking tone, that the Chinese embassy might not have to pay for water this month. He also alluded to the Chinese Communist Party’s “vaccine diplomacy” and economic pressure on Turkey.
Rifaat, a Turkish citizen of Uighur descent, told the station that the city government is responsible for smaller streets and municipal projects in Ankara according to the division of powers, and that the sudden construction in front of the CCP embassy is a different kind of statement in response to previous diplomatic incidents. The Chinese Communist Party’s “war wolf diplomacy”, Turkey is taking a different path from the West to fight back.
Rifaat said: “The name of the municipality is “we are investigating the problem of theft of drinking water resources”, so digging that piece is actually damaging the Chinese embassy, which should be done to the Chinese Communist Party, and Turks are very supportive of this move. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is fond of saying “we Chinese don’t eat this”, and we Turks don’t eat this either.
Omer Kul, a professor of East Turkestan issues at Istanbul University, said that China’s image in the world is already very bad, and this time the Chinese Communist Party’s “war wolf style speech” has caused a great deal of disgust among Turkish citizens and the media.
Kul also said that as an academic, he is very supportive of many countries around the world sanctioning China for the genocide of Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party.
Abdullah Germain, a Uighur exile in Turkey, revealed that they held protests, seminars and exhibitions in six cities on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Barren uprising, which should be an important reason for the Chinese embassy to be very angry and to spread fire on politicians who support the Uighurs and provoke a backlash among the people.
We held protests in front of the consulate in Istanbul, sent a black wreath to the front of the consulate, held a press conference in Ankara, and held exhibitions in six different cities in Turkey to explain the persecution of Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party during this 31-year period. They hope that the government will take a practical action to stop the genocide of Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party.
On the 31st anniversary of the Barren uprising, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and Meral Aksener, the leader of the nationalist Iyi Party, tweeted to mark the occasion. In the tweet, Yavas said, “Even though 31 years have passed, we still feel the pain of the East Turkestan massacre as we did on the first day.”
Ankara Mayor Yawas tweeted on Monday (5) to mark the 31st anniversary of the Uyghur “Barren uprising” (Yawas tweeted photo)
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also backed up the embassy’s comments in a press conference on Wednesday (7), while the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador to Turkey, Liu Shaobin, to express his displeasure.
In 1990, 200 Uighur and other Turkic Muslims in Barren Township, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, clashed with the local government over ethnic tensions. The Chinese Communist Party officially called it a “riot,” but the Uighurs insisted it was an “uprising. “On the 31st anniversary of the Baren Uprising, a group of overseas Uyghurs protested in front of the Communist Embassy in Istanbul.
On April 5, 2021, Uighurs in exile in Turkey commemorated the 31st anniversary of the Baringhang Uprising and protested against the genocide of Uighurs in front of the Chinese Communist Party’s embassy in Istanbul. (Courtesy of Abdullah Germain)
Turkey is one of the main countries of refuge for Uyghurs abroad, with an estimated 50,000 Uyghurs currently taking refuge there. The Chinese government’s “vaccine diplomacy” has been rumored to have pressured Turkey to sign an extradition agreement, causing concern for the Uyghurs’ situation.
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