So why has Turkey Abandoned the Uyghurs?

It could be big investments from China

Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.

The Chinese Communist Party  is waging a brutal genocide  

against the Uyghur ethnic minoirity in Xinjiang.

Uyghurs are shaved bald, chained,  and sent to concentration camps.

Rape is a common form of  torture, for men and women.

Now the strange thing is,  

even though the Uyghurs are Muslim, most Muslim  countries have been silent about this genocide.

That includes Turkey. The Uyghurs  are an ethnically turkic people,  

but the Turkish government has said  very little about the genocide. In fact,  

they've cracked down on Uyghur protesters  inside Turkey because China asked them to.

I wonder why?

Joining me today is Cem Toker. He's  the former president of the Liberal  

Democratic Party in Turkey.  Thanks for joining me today.

Thank you.

So the Turkish government is eager  to support Muslims in Palestine,  

but has seldom raised the issue of Muslims  in China? Why do you think that is?

I think economic interests these days outweigh  the political issues. So they've been kind of  

quiet about the alleged violations  in China, human rights violations.  

I think they want to maintain great  economic relations with China.  

So that's why they keeping quiet,  then they're not making it an issue.

Even though the opposition is trying to bring  it to the political agenda. The suppression  

in the press in Turkey is preventing  this. So the government has its own way.

How do the people feel?

Well, people aren't fully aware of the issue  because like I said, you can't speak of a  

free press in Turkey. So there are some  efforts from the opposition. For example,  

they brought the issue to the parliament for  investigative resolution as to what's going on in  

to the Uyghurs, but it was rejected by  the so-called Nationalist Coalition. But  

the public opinion paid very little attention  to it because they're not aware of this,  

and it doesn't stay on the agenda too long.

Well, in 2017, Turkey's foreign minister said,  

"We see China's security equivalent  to our own country's security,"  

and prompts to crack down on activities in Turkey  that could harm China. What kind of action has  

the Turkish government taken domestically  to crush anti-China descent in Turkey?

I think symbolic, they have been extraditing some  dissidents to third countries, as far as I know,  

rather than directly extradite them to China.  Also they have prevented some opposition  

demonstrations when the Chinese officials visit  Turkey. So it's been just lip service locally,  

but to maintain good relations and they  just received about $400 million of credit  

from a Chinese bank. That is more important  than keeping the human rights issue  

on the agenda of the people. As you  know, 39 nations signed the declaration  

condemning Chinese actions in Xinjiang,  but Turkey wasn't one of them.  

Even though it was many Muslim nations  signed the declaration in the United Nations.

Yeah, that seemed strange to me because  of the Uyghurs are a Turkic people.

True. If Turkey was at least a halfway democratic  country, the opposition would make this an issue,  

but opposition's power is limited also to bring  issues to the agenda. So it's open field for the  

government, what to bring to the agenda, what to  avoid, and what to bring to people's attention. So  

they dictate what's going to be  on the agenda, not the opposition.

So the Chinese Communist Party is  obviously putting a lot of money  

into Turkey's economy. What kind of  political influence does that buy?

So far, I don't see any, but the political  influence of China will depend on the relations  

with Turkey and NATO, Turkey and  the United States. The upcoming  

rulings on the sanctions on Turkey due  to S400 missiles or the banking scandal,  

the trial that's still going on in New York.  So the outcome of those issues would kind of  

determine the political relations, which  way they will go between China and Turkey.

Is that why Turkey seems to be shifting  alliances from the US to China?

I don't know if Turkey is shifting alliances or  just seems to be shifting alliances of just a  

bluff. Like I said, they're  waiting for the outcome  

of those issues. Also, the President Erdoğan  will meet with Biden, if they do meet at all,  

in Brussels next month. And Erdoğan was making  statements, very positive statements regarding  

the relations with Turkey and the United States.  In the next few months, we will know which way the  

Turkish US relations are headed, and we can take  a more clear look on Turkish Chinese relations. 

Well, how have Turkey China  relations changed since COVID-19?

Well, regarding COVID-19, the issue was all  around the vaccines, and there are rumors in  

the public and in the press that China did not  keep its promise to deliver as many vaccines as  

they would have due to the extradition of  some proponents and an extradition agreement,  

and that hasn't been ratified  by the Turkish Parliament yet.  

So I think it has to become a political  game rather than a public health issue.  

So then Turkey shifted to the west  to other alternative vaccination  

sources. So, Turkish government is between a  rock and a hard place regarding how to handle  

human rights violations in China, against  the Turkic minority, Muslim minority.

And so China withholding access  to vaccines or protective gear  

for COVID-19 could be part of how they're  manipulating [inaudible 00:07:28] politics.

That is what we've been told here in Turkey,  and that's what the press coverage says. Yes.

So where do you see the future of  Turkey's relationship with China going?

Like I said, it will all depend on the  relations with Turkey and the United States,  

and Turkey and NATO. It is a historic alliance.  It has decades of history. So it's not going to  

be an overnight shift, but if there's a shift  that all, political, military, economic shift,  

that's going to take some time, but it will  all depend on Turkish American relations, and  

Turkish NATO, and Turkish EU relations. Turkish  is one of the five countries in the world that is  

subject to possible sanctions by  the EU and by the United States.  

So of course, Turkish government is looking at  different alternatives, but it's going to take  

some time if there's going to be a real  shift in policy or international ties. Maybe  

cooperation in Africa, there's a  lot of Chinese investment in Africa,  

and there's also a relatively large Turkish  investment in Africa. Maybe they will begin  

by cooperating with the Chinese in Africa,  and then that will lead to a more political  

and economic tie between china and Turkey, but  it will all depend on relations with the west.

Very interesting. I could also see the  Chinese Communist Party in Turkey coming to  

butt heads over competing interests in Africa.

Yes, that is a possibility too,  but I think China would rather  

become adversaries economically  adversaries in Africa, they would try to  

cooperate with Turkey so that they can make  some headway in Africa, economic investments.

Well, thanks so much for joining us  today and sharing the information.

All right, you're welcome. Have a great day.

You too.

And thank you for watching.

And I also want to announce, we have a  new China Uncensored channel in Turkish.  

So if you or people you know speak Turkish,  subscribe to that channel. The link is below.

Once again I'm Chris Chappell, see you next time.