Outrage in Turkey

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Well, well, well, less than three days after I highlight the plight of the people of occupied East Turkestan, my friend Anwar Yusuf Turani, Prime Minister of the Government-in-exile, is subjected to an outrage in Istanbul, Turkey.

The government in exile was set to take part in a conference sponsored by the Turkic Cultural and Folklore Association, starting next week. The mayor of Yalova (a suburb of Istanbul, I believe), had invited Prime Minister Turani to the conference. Prior to the start of the conference, Turani had planned to spend about a week in Istanbul, after a couple of days in Munich.

The Turkish government apparently had other ideas.

Turani touched down in Istanbul on July 9, picked up his visa, presented it to the immigration office at the airport – and was promptly surrounded by airport security. He was then detained by Turkish officials – “on orders from Ankara” – for nine hours, then given his passport, and put on a plane back to Munich. No explanation was given for his treatment – outside of “orders from Ankara.”

Now, most people may wonder why I am so agitated about this. I have several reasons.

First, I know Turani well; the idea that he and his people are a threat to anyone is absurd. He has been in the U.S. for nearly two decades after escaping occupied East Turkestan, and has been a model resident and citizen.

Secondly, I helped put together the government in exile over the course of about six months last year. The government’s goal is freedom and democracy for its people, and an end to Communist China’s occupation. Moreover, it is explicitly non-violent, has repeatedly condemned al Qaeda-sponsored acts of terrorism, and has offered support for the United States in the War on Terror (ETNFC).

Third, there is the fact that East Turkestan is occupied by Communist China: the largest supporter of terrorism on the planet. Whether it’s the Iranian mullahcracy’s lust for nuclear weapons, Saddam Hussein’s desire for weapons and defenses of any kind, or even al Qaeda’s need for a money launderer, Communist China has been there – ready and willing to help anyone who wants to kill Americans and weaken America. Yet the Communists have taken advantage of East Turkestan’s overwhelmingly Muslim population to smear them as al Qaeda supporters and anti-American terrorists, when nothing could be further from the truth (third, third, second, second, and second items).

The proof of that comes from al Qaeda itself, which has not mentioned East Turkestan so much as once in any of its diatribes against the civilized world. Osama bin Laden has demanded the U.S. leave Iraq (and before that, Saudi Arabia), the Israelis leave Palestine, and even that the Spaniards leave Spain. However, he has never criticized his Communist cronies – who, according to at least one expert on Islam, have turned their Communist-controlled “official” Islam into a Wahabbist knock-off – for their horrific occupation of East Turkestan.

In other words, as Communist China continues to give aid and comfort to our enemies in the War on Terror, the Muslim country they have brutally occupied for over half a century has been struggling to make its pro-American voice heard. Instead, its leader, democratically elected from among the diaspora, gets this outrageous treatment.

The blood boils again.