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Be vigilant in Turkey, foreign ministry says

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-03 13:34

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has warned its citizens in Turkey to be careful and avoid going outside.

The warning was published on the ministry’s website on Saturday.

The tensions come in the aftermath of the deadly July 5 riot in Urumqi, capital city of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Rebiya Kadeer, chairwoman of the World Uygur Congress (WUC), described Turkey as "the only country which clearly protested against China" in the aftermath of the riots.

Earlier reports said Kadeer is likely to travel to Turkey, a country with ethnic and cultural ties to Chinese Uygurs.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan described last month's violence as China's "genocide" against its own Uygur residents.

Erdogan has also stated that Turkish officials would bring the issue to the UN Security Council, and that Kadeer, who he calls the "Mother of Uygurs," would be granted a visa to visit Turkey.

Some extremists have also threatened to attack Chinese people living overseas.

On Saturday, the leader of a group referring to itself as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) urged Muslims to attack Chinese people to punish Beijing for what he described as massacres against Uygur Muslims, Reuters reported.

"Their men (Chinese) should be killed and captured to seek the release of our brothers who are jailed in East Turkistan ... We in East Turkistan have a duty to continue to resist without desperation," Abdul-Haq, described by an al Qaeda-linked website as the leader of TIP, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Abdul-Haq, whose group has launched violent attacks in the past, accused China of committing "barbaric massacres" against Muslims in Xinjiang, which TIP calls "East Turkistan."

About the broadcaster:

Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.

He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.