China condemns Turkish leaders over comments about human rights abuses in Xinjiang

Beijing [China], April 8 (ANI): China has condemned Turkish "individuals" over comments over the controversy surrounding the human rights abuses in Xinjiang amid growing criticism from the international community including those from the US and EU.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has said that "individuals" in Turkey blatantly endorsed "terrorists" (in an apparent reference to Uyghurs) on Twitter, challenged China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"After certain individuals in Turkey blatantly endorsed terrorists on Twitter, challenged China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and even made erroneous comments openly inciting splitting China, the Chinese Embassy in Turkey stated China's solemn position at the earliest time. Its response is completely justified, reasonable and beyond reproach," Lijian said on Wednesday.
The ministry spokesperson was responding to tweets posted by two Turkish opposition party politicians commemorating a deadly April 1990 conflict between Uygurs and the Chinese government, South China Morning Post reported.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also had summoned Chinese Ambassador Liu Shaobin over the diplomatic mission's social media posts about Xinjiang.
"China determinedly opposes any person of power that in any way challenges country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and strongly condemns this. The Chinese side reserves its legitimate right to respond," the embassy said, as quoted by Sputnik.
Last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had conveyed "sensitivity" regarding the treatment meted out to Uyghur Turks. Cavusoglu's statement came during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Ankara.
China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghurs. Beijing has been accused of sending its Muslim minority to mass detention camps to undergo forcible re-education or indoctrination.
Beijing, on the other hand, has denied that it is engaged in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang while reports from journalists, NGOs and former detainees have surfaced, highlighting the Chinese Communist Party's brutal crackdown on the ethnic community, according to a report. (ANI)