China is waging a genocide on Muslims
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.