Hyderabad: Barely a fortnight ago, President Recep Tayyip Erodgan transformed historic Hagia Sophia into a mosque indicating that he intends to turn Turkey into an Islamic state, yet on the other hand, he is facilitating Beijing in throwing thousands of Uighurs back to China via third-countries.
Turkey has sent Uighurs to countries like Tajikistan, where it's easier for the communist regime to secure their extradition, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
An estimated 50,000 Uighurs have sought refuge in Turkey from repression in China, Ahval a Turkish news portal reported.
According to an Associated Press investigation, Beijing has detained thousands of Uighurs at detention camps in Xinjiang. The communist regime claims that these camps as re-education centres.
Read also: 1,400-yr Hagia Sophia opens as mosque for prayers
Recently Erdogan has taken aggressive steps to assert his hardcore Islamic presence but in reality, his actions on Uighur speak just the opposite. In fact, he is selling Islamism at the behest of massive Chinese investment. Needless to mention the Turkish president's action has undermined his larger Islamic vision.
As Europe has lowered its financial investment in Turkey, China's penetration in the country's economy has correspondingly intensified and has forced Ankara to reshape its policies on Beijing's insistence.
Chinese corporations have pumped in billions of dollars in developing Turkish infrastructure as part of Beijing's Belt & Road investment strategy, and aims to double investments to more than $6 billion in Turkey by the end of 2021, Ahval said.
In the meantime hundreds of thousands Uighurs lives have been stuck between the Turkish deportation centres and Chinese detention centres as Ankara is obligated by bilateral agreements with China to investigate Beijing's complaints against individuals, Ahval added.
