Uyghurs in Turkey protest Chinese FM's visit

Hundreds gathered in both Ankara and Istanbul in protest of what they say is a genocidal campaign against the ethnic group by Beijing.
A protester from the Uyghur community living in Turkey attends a protest against the visit of China's Foreign Minister to Turkey, in Istanbul on March 25, 2021. - Hundreds protested against the Chinese official visit and what they allege is oppression by the Chinese government to Muslim Uyghurs in the far-western Xinjiang province.
A protester from the Uyghur community living in Turkey attends a protest against the visit of China's foreign minister to Turkey, in Istanbul on March 25, 2021. Hundreds protested against the Chinese official visit for what they allege is oppression by the Chinese government against Muslim Uyghurs in the far-western Xinjiang province. - BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

Hundreds of Uyghurs took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul on Thursday to protest Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Turkey. They called for Turkey’s Islamist government to take a firmer stance in defense of its ethnic cousins, who are facing what rights groups say is a genocidal assimilation campaign by Beijing.

Crowds waving the blue Uyghur national flag and holding up posters of missing loved ones gathered in Istanbul’s Beyazit Square and chanted anti-Beijing slogans. “We are here to say ‘Stop’ to the genocide China is executing against people of East Turkestan and convey our concern regarding Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Turkey," pro-Uyghur activists said in a joint statement.

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