Amina Sadaf
Translated from Uyghur Times Uyghur Edition
On November 30, hundreds of Uyghurs protested in front of the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, commemorating those killed in the Urumqi fire on November 24. The police mistreated and insulted the protestors. In the live video, a Turkish security officer said: “Go back, or we will sweep you out of here, arrest and deport you!” It annoyed the Uyghur diaspora and Turkish people as well.
Many Turks took to Twitter to condemn the Turkish state’s treatment of Uyghurs and the rudeness of its civil servants. The Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who was informed of the situation, issued an apology on his Twitter account for the extremely rude behavior of the security guards. He said that Turkey is establishing a long-term residence and citizenship framework for Uyghurs and will continue to do so.
“We are saddened by the exchange of words after our Uyghur brothers had gone to the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul to protest. We express our regret and apology, and we would like to express that the investigation has begun”, Soylu tweeted.