By Abliz Iminniyaz
The Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement Saturday evening regarding the Urumchi fire incident that occurred on November 24 in the Uyghur homeland and resulted in the deaths of dozens of Uyghur residents.
“It has been learned with great sorrow that the fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, resulted in the loss of lives and injuries. We express our condolences for this tragic occurrence and wish the injured a speedy recovery. We are awaiting public notification regarding the cause of the fire.” reads the statement.
Turkey is the only nation to have issued a statement regarding the incident as of yet. The statement came out following condemnations from Turkish scholars including Prof. Dr. İlyas DOĞAN: “Shame on you! 44 Uyghur Turks, kept in their homes by China, lost their lives by burning. There was no sound from any ruling or opposition party! So-called civil organizations are also asleep. At least they’re human! Have you no conscience? OK, they don’t have TVs and radios!”