In Istanbul, Turkish protesters burned the Chinese flag at a rally |
Turkey's prime minister has described ethnic violence in China's Xinjiang region as "a kind of genocide".
"There is no other way of commenting on this event," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
He spoke after a night-time curfew was reimposed in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, where Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese clashed last Sunday.
The death toll from the violence there has now risen from 156 to 184, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reports. More than 1,000 people were injured.
Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, shares linguistic and religious links with the Uighurs in China's western-most region.
"The event taking place in China is a kind of genocide," Mr Erdogan told reporters in Turkey's capital, Ankara.
"There are atrocities there, hundreds of people have been killed and 1,000 hurt. We have difficulty understanding how China's leadership can remain a spectator in the face of these events."
The Turkish premier also urged Beijing to "address the question of human rights and do what is necessary to prosecute the guilty".
Mr Erdogan's comments came a day after Turkish Trade and Industry Minister Nihat Ergun urged Turks to boycott Chinese goods.
Beijing has so far not publicly commented on Mr Erdogan's criticism.
But it said that of the 184 people who died, 137 were Han Chinese.
Earlier on Friday, the Chinese authorities reimposed a night-time curfew in Urumqi.
The curfew had been suspended for two days after officials said they had the city under control.
Mosques in the city were ordered to remain closed on Friday and notices were posted instructing people to stay at home to worship.
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But at least two opened after crowds of Uighurs gathered outside and demanded to be allowed in to pray on the holiest day of the week in Islam.
"We decided to open the mosque because so many people had gathered. We did not want an incident," a policeman outside the White Mosque in a Uighur neighbourhood told the AP news agency.
After the prayers, riot police punched and kicked a small group of Uighurs protesters, who demanded the release of men detained after last Sunday's violence, the BBC's Quentin Sommerville says.
Meanwhile, the city's main bus station was reported to be crowded with people trying to escape the unrest.
Extra bus services had been laid on and touts were charging up to five times the normal face price for tickets, AFP news agency said.
"It is just too risky to stay here. We are scared of the violence," a 23-year-old construction worker from central China said.
The violence began on Sunday when a Uighur rally to protest against a deadly brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks ago in a toy factory in southern Guangdong province turned violent.
Tensions have been growing in Xinjiang for many years, as Han migrants have poured into the region, where the Uighur minority is concentrated.
Many Uighurs feel economic growth has bypassed them and complain of discrimination and diminished opportunities.
Source: BBC
















1 comments:
Now Tarek Fatah is happy. And summing all the Flags burned by Muslims, we should think that: America, Israel and Chine are all in a same Pan. They are "all the same". Now: what about Armenian Genocide and Black Darfurians Genocide? What about Non-muslims' Persecution in Egypt and Pakistan? What kind of Flags and how many Flags should "Non-muslims" - eventually - Minorities burn in order to show - so to say - Disappointement for their Persecution (and Death) by Fellow Muslims (maybe somehow remaining unpunished by thier own Governments)? Let's do so: everytime there is a Murder, we burn a Flag - the Killer's one -, Honorcides included (if I right remember, Turkey self has Honorcides' Cases). Since there is somewhere a Trick, while a precise Flag isn't officially related to a phisical Nation, even if this Flag is responsible for a lot of Murders, we should just have to establish that "every kind of Flag" is taken into consideration for this - so to say - statistical Burning. Eventually, we will count how many national (of a phisical or virtual Nation, of a territorial or ideological Nation, ...) Flags have been burned for each "Group", and then ... we (Humankind) will reward the Group whose Flag has been less burned. The Award will be a huge Size Flag of that Group. Good Luck! [Gang Rapes and Gang Violence - see i. E. what does happen in Sweden and in Germany - are subjected to "Burning". I would suggest: if there is a Doubt about what kind of "Soul" drove the Criminal to commit the Crime, then we will burn a Flag for every Soul of the Criminal. For Instance, if one is - in the Article's Case - Chinese and Communist, then we will burn a Chinese Flag and a Communist Flag. Eventually we should be able to count how many Times China - physical Nation - committed Crimes and how many Times Communism - virtual Nation - committed them. Curious to see if China is worst than Communism or what. And I wait for Suggestions about the Flag/Flags of Uighurs found "travelling" to Afghanistan. To be burned or what?].
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