dogu-turkistan-sempozyumu

Turkey and the Islamic World in the Solution of the East Turkistan Problem / Ahmet Emin DagWestern countries have raised severe criticism against many of the humanrights violations in China; however, they are more tolerant of the executions ofMuslim people. Indeed, the existence of many Uyghur students in madrasahsin Pakistan has been conceived as the reason for the fundamentalist trends inthe region, thus helping the West and China create an impression of a commonthreat.Furthermore, China has even managed to gain the sympathy of the Westafter September 11 by declaring that al-Qaida was responsible for certain eventsand was behind the independence movement in East Turkistan.In fact, the propaganda that claims that the Uyghurs have received trainingunder the supervision of the Taliban has been very influential. Therefore,thousands of Uyghur students fled from Pakistan during the madrasah operationsfor fear of being repatriated to China; they sought refuge in Turkey and in Arabiccountries, travelling through Iran.b) Realistic approachThe realist approach, forming the second group in Uyghur policy in the Islamicworld, refers to the attitude of countries who consider the East Turkistan issue tobe an internal problem of the Beijing government; these countries do not thinkthe increasing power of China allows for an alternative policy nor do they considerthemselves as being connected to such an agenda. Egypt pretends that they havenever heard of this problem, despite the fact that there are thousands of Uyghurstudents studying at schools in the country. Meanwhile, countries like Indonesiaand Malaysia approach the East Turkistan problem from the aspect of China’sabsolute power due to the fact that they are in the direct impact area of China.c) Idealist approachThe third approach consists of the politic arguments of the idealists. Thecountries where the Diaspora can carry out effective lobbying activities representa general approach in which the Uyghur case has been significantly supported.Embracing the Uyghur issue for Islamic or historical reasons, countries suchas Saudi Arabia and Turkey are open to solutions that go beyond internationalbalances (including independence). Here publications and social activities whichmake clear the violations of human rights can be easily carried out.511