The below article was published by WDVM, Photo credit: ETNAM
WASHINGTON (WDVM) — Family members of some of the millions of Uyghurs imprisoned in Chinese concentration camps protested outside the Turkish embassy Wednesday afternoon, condemning a treaty that may endanger many more people.
Over the weekend, Beijing ratified an extradition treaty with Turkey. Chinese state media reportedly said it would be used for counter-terrorism purposes. The Turkish government has yet to ratify it, and members of the East Turkistan Government in Exile are strongly against the treaty.
The government in exile’s prime minister, Salih Hudayar, says the treaty targets its diaspora in Turkey of upwards of hundreds of thousands of people.
“There are rumors that China has now prevented the shipment of coronavirus vaccines to Turkey until they ratify this,” said Hudayar. “For us, that means Turkey would be deporting or extraditing Uyghurs for small political crimes, which in China means resisting China in terms of speaking out, protesting against China on behalf of their families, and stuff like that.”
The East Turkistan Government in Exile has reached out to members of the Turkish government and has not received a response.
“Turkey has close historical, cultural, and linguistic ties with East Turkistan and Turkey has much more responsibility than any other country in the world to speak out against China’s atrocities,” Hudayar said.
According to leaked documents, firsthand accounts from escapees, and prisoners’ family members, Uyghurs are being tortured and starved. They’re dying of the disease. Women are being sterilized. Organs are being harvested and purchased outside of the country. Children are being sent to orphanages and boarding schools. They’re also manufacturing parts of Apple’s iPhones and materials in Nike apparel.
