Little chance of UN focusing on Uighurs
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Barçın Yinanç
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 10, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The likelihood of bringing the ethnic and civil unrest in China’s Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region before the U.N. Security Council's is very dim, Turkey’s permanent representation in New York has warned.
Then, on Thursday, China rejected the call from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss the issue among the council.
Turkey started to serve on the Security Council as a non-permanent member at the beginning of this year.
The Turkish mission to the United Nations has told the Foreign Ministry that there seems to be no willingness among the members of the council to discuss the issue, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has learned from sources that asked to remain anonymous.
The mission’s views came after Prime Minister Erdoğan’s call Wednesday that Turkey will bring the tragedy unfolding in China’s
northwest region onto the agenda of the council. The government’s course of action following the ethnic tension that has left more than 150 dead has shown once again how the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, poorly conducts diplomacy, experts said. "The prime minister went ahead with his statement without consulting the Foreign Ministry," said one source familiar with the issue.
After its initial silence, the government decided to act only after it came under fire for its stance on the violence that has seen Muslim Uighurs, an ethnic Turkic minority who have long chafed under Chinese rule, take to the streets in Xinjiang region’s capital Urumqi over the weekend. The violence, reportedly the worst ethnic trouble in China in decades, left 1,000 injured and more than 1,400 detained.
"It is not possible for Turkey to accept the pictures that have appeared in Turkish and world papers," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters, adding that Turkey’s diplomatic contacts are continuing to seek an end to the tension. His statement was followed by the prime minister, who said Turkey will bring the issue before the U.N. Security Council.
But there is an unwritten rule among the permanent members of the Security Council, known as the P5. The U.S., China, Russia, France and UKdo not discuss what is considered their "internal affairs" with the Security Council. In fact, China rejected the prime minister’s suggestion saying the incident was an internal affair, according to an Agence France-Presse report. "The Chinese government has taken decisive measures according to law," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters. "This is completely China's internal affair, there is no reason to seek a Security Council discussion."
Turkey started to serve on the Security Council as a non-permanent member at the beginning of this year.
The Turkish mission to the United Nations has told the Foreign Ministry that there seems to be no willingness among the members of the council to discuss the issue, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has learned from sources that asked to remain anonymous.
The mission’s views came after Prime Minister Erdoğan’s call Wednesday that Turkey will bring the tragedy unfolding in China’s
northwest region onto the agenda of the council. The government’s course of action following the ethnic tension that has left more than 150 dead has shown once again how the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, poorly conducts diplomacy, experts said. "The prime minister went ahead with his statement without consulting the Foreign Ministry," said one source familiar with the issue.
After its initial silence, the government decided to act only after it came under fire for its stance on the violence that has seen Muslim Uighurs, an ethnic Turkic minority who have long chafed under Chinese rule, take to the streets in Xinjiang region’s capital Urumqi over the weekend. The violence, reportedly the worst ethnic trouble in China in decades, left 1,000 injured and more than 1,400 detained.
"It is not possible for Turkey to accept the pictures that have appeared in Turkish and world papers," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters, adding that Turkey’s diplomatic contacts are continuing to seek an end to the tension. His statement was followed by the prime minister, who said Turkey will bring the issue before the U.N. Security Council.
But there is an unwritten rule among the permanent members of the Security Council, known as the P5. The U.S., China, Russia, France and UKdo not discuss what is considered their "internal affairs" with the Security Council. In fact, China rejected the prime minister’s suggestion saying the incident was an internal affair, according to an Agence France-Presse report. "The Chinese government has taken decisive measures according to law," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters. "This is completely China's internal affair, there is no reason to seek a Security Council discussion."