Turkish protesters march in support of Uighurs after Ozil comments

Source:Yahoo News Date:21Dec2019

Social tensions in Turkey are rising. This march comes at a particularly difficult time for Erdogan government which hopes for more investment from China:

Last week, soccer star Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish origin, posted messages on social media calling minority Uighurs “warriors who resist persecution” and criticized both China’s crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response.

Members of Istanbul crowd held up banners reading “Stop the cruelty” and chanted “Murderer China, get out of East Turkestan” and “East Turkestan is not alone”, using the name that Uighur exiles use for Xinjiang.

The United Nations and human rights groups estimate that between 1 million and 2 million people, mostly ethnic Uighur Muslims, have been detained in harsh conditions in Xinjiang as part of what Beijing calls an anti-terrorism campaign.

China has repeatedly denied any mistreatment of Uighurs and its foreign ministry said Ozil had been deceived by “fake news”.