Uighur leader hails Turkey for support

The exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer said on Sunday that she appreciated the stance of Turkish people in supporting Turkish-speaking Uighurs in China’s far west Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region.

The leader of the World Uighur Congress also expressed her gratitude for remarks from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has described the carnage in Urumqi as genocide.

In an interview with an Anatolia news agency correspondent, 62-year-old Kadeer, the "mother" of the Uighurs, said lives of all Uighurs were full of sorrows and tragedies.

"Our struggle is now brought before the world media. This time, we are hopeful for our future. Turkish people embraced their brothers. I believe this time this tragedy will turn into victory," she said.

Stop assimilation, says PM:

Prime Minister Erdoğan urged China to stop the "assimilation" of its Uighur minority Saturday, a day after he said the unrest in Xinjiang was "like a genocide."

"We ask the government of China to abandon assimilation, because such assimilation can do you no good," he said. "No state, no society that attacks the lives and rights of innocent civilians can guarantee its security and prosperity," he warned.

"Whether they are Turkic Uighurs or Chinese, we cannot tolerate such atrocities," Erdoğan said. "The suffering of the Uighurs is ours."

Kadeer recalled that she served six years in Chinese prisons. "I was a member of the Chinese parliament. I tried to voice the problems of my own people. I did not do any wrong against Chinese government. I made a call to live together in peace." She also wanted Turkey to exert effort for the release of Uighurs who were arrested and help Uighurs to establish dialogue with China.

Turkey has been angered by the plight of Uighurs in Xinjiang following clashes with Han Chinese in the region. The unrest has killed at least 184 people. Anti-Chinese demonstrations have been held across Turkey in solidarity with the Uighurs, but the government has been cautious in its criticism of Beijing, a key trade partner.

On Friday, Erdoğan strongly criticized Beijing's inaction without specifically blaming the Chinese government for deaths in Xinjiang. "The event in China is a kind of genocide," he said. "We have difficulty understanding how China's leadership can remain a spectator in the face of these events."

Erdoğan earlier said Turkey would ask the U.N. Security Council to discuss ways of ending the violence. The call was rejected by China, one of five permanent members of the council who has the veto privilege.