Jun 16, 2010

East Turkestan: Head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to visit East Turkestan


Active ImageUpon Invitation from the Chinese Government, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Head of the OIC, will commence his one week visit to the Uyghur Regions of East Turkestan Wednesday June 16th.

 

 

Below is an article published by The Worldbulletin.net:

Ihsanoglu will have talks in China and visit regions where Uyghurs  live, according to a statement by OIC Press Center.

The press center said the visit would begin on June 16 and the first stop would be Beijing.
Ihsanoglu will later visit Urumchi and Kashgar regions.

It is stated that the visit coincided prior to the anniversary of Urumchi protests that occurred on July 5, 2009.

Over 150 people were killed and approximately 1,000 others were injured in the riots which followed demonstrations protesting a fight between Uyghur and Han Chinese workers at a toy factory late June 2009. Two Uyghur  workers had been killed in the strife.

Urumchi is in the Uyghur Autonomous Region that has a population of over 21 million. Nearly 11 million Uyghur, Mongols and Huis live in the region.

Chinese government accused overseas Uyghur groups of provoking the protests in Muslim regions Uyghur call "East Turkestan, but China named "Xinjiang".

However, Uyghur Turks living outside China often say Chinese government pursued an assimilation policy against Uyghurs.

Uyghur Turks living in Turkey staged protests in Istanbul and called on the international community to take action to stop Chinese government. Protestors also said death toll was more than announced by Chinese officials.