CHP MP: Uighurs Shouldn't be Sacrificed for Relations with China

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Turkey should send a delegation to China to examine allegations regarding violations of Uighurs' rights, according to main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Eskişehir MP Utku Çakırözer.

Speaking at the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Çakırözer recalled Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced six months ago that a delegation would be sent to China.

Saying that Ankara is not "sensitive" enough about violations of the rights of Uighurs, Çakırözer said Uighurs should not be "sacrificed" for relations with China.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yavuz Selim Kıran told the committee that the ministry is preparing to send a delegation and that they are negotiating with Beijing on the specific places they want the delegation to visit.

In response, Çakırözer said, "If the delegation cannot go, if the Chinese side does not allow it, then it would be more appropriate to disclose the report of the rights violations we have."

Violations in China

In recent years, China has been under international scrutiny for its policies on Uighurs, a Turkic minority in the country, and other ethnic minorities. Over a million people are thought to be held in internment camps, officially known as Vocational Education and Training Centers.

Twenty-two members of the United Nations Human Rights Council on July 11 called on China in a letter to stop mass arrests, denouncing Beijing's policies against Uighurs and other minorities.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses China of "mass arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment of Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang and increasingly pervasive controls on daily life." (DB/VK)