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Indonesia: Three Uyghur Get 6 Years for Terrorism

Turkish bias behind anti-China protests
By Zan Tao 2015-7-13 23:53:01

A series of protests against China in Turkey have captured the headlines of international media. They were partly triggered by false information that China has banned fasting for Ramadan in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Late last week, the Thai consulate in Istanbul was vandalized by pro-Uyghur protesters as the Thai government announced it would repatriate over 100 illegal Uyghur migrants who wanted to steal their way to Turkey. Amid a spike of condemnations by some so-called human rights organizations, Turkey's reaction to the repatriation could be among the most violent.

Although far from Xinjiang, the Turks are related to the Uyghurs in many ways. Many Turks believe that they share strong cultural and religious connections with the Uyghurs, who also speak a Turkic language. For the last century, Turkey has been the major destination of Uyghur immigrants, whose descendents have constituted a massive community with a population of more than 100,000 according to the Turkish Interior Ministry.

The deep roots of pan-Turkism create the major drive for some Turks to pay such keen attention to the Uyghurs. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, as a successor, has gradually become regarded as a home to various Turkic-speaking peoples across the world. This trend has greatly enhanced Turkish concerns about their "siblings" around the globe.

There was no chance in modern history for the Turkic-speaking peoples to found a pan-Turkic empire, but after imposing influence for decades, pan-Turkism has taken a deep root among the Turkish people culturally and psychologically.

Therefore, what is happening to the Uyghurs in Xinjiang is also treated as the Turks' business. In this way, the cultural concerns of pan-Turkism have been translated into political ones. After Turgut Özal came to power in Turkey in late 1980s, Turkey's politics started to transform from Kemalism, featuring meritocracy and statism, to post-Kemalism, including liberalism, pluralism and nationalism, by moderate Islamic political parties. This has given rise to both pan-Turkism and pan-Islamism.

Aside from pan-Turkism, the expansion of pan-Islamism has also contributed. The natural "brotherhood" among all Muslims has been developed into an ideology that is used by many pro-Muslim political entities to strengthen links among Muslim communities.

The AK Party formerly led by Recep Tayyp Erdogan in Turkey, which came to power in 2002 and had won three successive parliamentary elections since then, is deemed as a pro-Islamist party. The AK Party and its former charismatic leader Erdogan have frequently voiced their high-profile concerns over affairs in various Muslim areas of the globe.

Another major factor is that Turkey to some extent shares the same value system with the West. Turkey has been tirelessly embracing the Western Hemisphere in its process of modernization. However, Turkey faces a divided future.

On the one hand, it claims itself as a Western country by trying every means to find a way into the NATO and EU. On the other hand, it is not treated as "one of them" by European countries. For example, its application to accede to the EU has been in bad shape for decades. However, although not fully accepted as a Western country, Turkey is eager to share the same modern values and ideologies with the West in terms of freedom of religion, minority issues and human rights.

Pan-Turkism, pan-Islamism and West-oriented modernity are the three essential factors that have bred the recent protests in Turkey against China. Besides, the populist Erdogan, who has held power for more than a decade, has added fuel to the rise of nationalism.

The power of ideologies, reflected in public opinion, can easily run out of control. Once a prejudice is established among the public, governments will find it hard to be rectified. Likely, Uyghur issues may grow to be a big barrier in Sino-Turkish relations unless both sides take further measures as soon as possible.

The crux of Turkish bias is a lack of real knowledge about the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. People-to-people communication, a sphere to which we have not paid enough attention so far, must be given its due focus. A regular and constant communication mechanism on common concerns must be established between the two sides as an indispensable supplement to the official bilateral relationship between Turkey and China.

The author is a research fellow at Pangoal Institution, a Beijing-based public policy think tank and an associate professor at Peking University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
 
Whish them, the Indonasians, the indonasian Embassy in Turkey doesnt get vandalized and destroyed by turkish and uygur Terror-Supporter.

Also China should operate world wide like the CIA to prevent brutal and deadly attacks by neutralizing them before they come back.
 
3 Chinese Uighurs get 6 years over terrorism in Indonesia

An Indonesian court on Monday sentenced three members of China's ethnic Uighur minority community to six years in prison after finding them guilty of conspiring with Indonesian militants, including a fugitive who is on the nation's most-wanted list.

A panel of judges at the North Jakarta District Court ruled that Ahmet Mahmud, 20, Abdulbasit Tuzer, 24, and 28-year-old Abdullah — who also goes by Altinci Bayyram — guilty of violating the nation's anti-terrorism and immigration laws.

The men were arrested in September, along with another Uighur (WEE-gur) named Ahmet Bozoglan and three Indonesian men, while they allegedly were trying to meet Indonesia's most-wanted militant, Abu Wardah Santoso, in Central Sulawesi province.

Santoso, the leader of a group called the East Indonesia Mujahideen, is accused of killing several Indonesian policemen and has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Indonesia has outlawed membership in the group.

Presiding Judge Kun Marioso said the panel of three judges found the defendants had conspired with a Santoso-led terrorist group in Poso in Central Sulawesi and used fake Turkish passports. Poso was the site of violence between Christians and Muslims in 2001 and 2002 in which more than 1,000 people died.

The defendants were also ordered to pay US$7,535 each or spend six additional months in custody.

Bozoglan and the three Indonesian men are being tried separately, with verdicts expected later this month.

Indonesian authorities initially thought the four Uighurs were from Turkey, which has linguistic and ethnic ties with the Uighur homeland of Xinjiang, a region in northwestern China.

Starting in around 2009, groups of Uighurs have traveled across Southeast Asia from China hoping to reach Turkey to claim asylum from what they say persecution by Chinese authorities.

China has alleged that members of the Muslim Uighur minority have in the past joined the Islamic State group and returned home to engage in terrorist plots.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been hit by a series of deadly attacks by members of the Jemaah Islamiyah network, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. However, in recent years, smaller and less deadly strikes have targeted government authorities, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces.(+++)

- See more at: 3 Chinese Uighurs get 6 years over terrorism in Indonesia | The Jakarta Post

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This Is Old News from JakartaPost (2014)...
Malaysia urged not to deport 155 Uighurs to China
Human rights groups have urged Malaysia not to deport 155 ethnic Uighur migrants, including 76 children, back to China, fearing they could face persecution.

A senior Malaysian immigration official said Tuesday that authorities found 90 members of the Muslim minority group hiding in a three-bedroom apartment and 65 other Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurs) in another unit in an Oct. 1 raid on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur that followed a tip-off.

The group — comprising 42 men, 37 women, 43 boys and 33 girls — has been sent to a detention center pending an investigation, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the case's sensitivity.

Ethnic tensions in the Xinjiang region in western China, home of the Turkish-speaking Uighurs, have fueled rising violence, with more than 300 people killed in the past year and a half. China blames the violence on secession-seeking terrorists. Uighurs complain of restrictive and discriminatory policies and practices by the government and the Han Chinese, the country's ethnic majority.

Malaysian rights group Lawyers for Liberty said more information was needed to determine why the 155 Uighurs fled China.

"In order to assess whether the Uighurs are refugees fleeing persecution, our immigration authorities must grant them immediate access to UNHCR so that they may seek asylum and have refugee status determined," it said in a statement Tuesday, referring to the United Nations' refugee agency.

Another Malaysian rights group, Suaram, said there was concern that deporting the Uighurs could "put their life at risk," especially since 76 children are involved. Uighurs repatriated to China in the past have expressed fear of long jail terms or the death penalty.

"Since they ran away with their families, we believe they are not linked to any militant activities," the Malaysian official said.

Malaysia deported six Uighur men in 2012 and 11 Uighurs in 2011.

- See more at: Malaysia urged not to deport 155 Uighurs to China | The Jakarta Post

 
So, they are Muslim from China but cannot live as Muslim in China then leave China to Indonesia to spread terrorism? Confusing.
 
Good job Indonesian friend to annouce this news. It helps legitimize Thailand sending back Uighurs to China.
Not sure why China want them back. These extremists can go to Turkey and clean the toilets there. The more the merrier. Well you see, Turkish people are getting the heck out of Turkey for greener pasture... Germany, US, etc. So, the Turkish gov't is lacking of slaves; Uyghur is the best option. Turkey's neighbours are no vassal/buffer state of Turkey.
 
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