Tel Aviv, Feb 23 (NationPress) Despite Turkey's recent emergence as a prominent global advocate for Gaza, its conspicuous silence regarding the abuses against Uyghurs by the Chinese government is strikingly ironic, as highlighted in a report released on Monday.

The report notes that in Xinjiang, the Uyghurs—a Turkic-Muslim group that Turkish President Erdogan has previously labeled as victims of genocide—are subjected to severe oppression, including mass detentions, forced labor, extensive surveillance, restrictions on religious practices, family separations, and aggressive policies aimed at erasing their cultural and linguistic identities.

According to the Moshe Dayan Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies (MDC), Turkish officials refrain from publicly discussing the Uyghur plight in the same manner as they do with the Palestinian situation. NGOs in Turkey largely ignore the Uyghurs, and mainstream media outlets fail to cover their struggles, which has resulted in their voices being largely unheard.

“This paradox can be explained by the geopolitical benefits Turkey gains from its stance on Gaza, which the Uyghur issue does not provide. Gaza is a platform for Turkey to assert its regional influence and establish regime legitimacy,” the report elaborated. It noted that Turkey has developed political ties with Hamas since at least 2006, emerging as a primary supporter of the organization, especially as Hamas faced growing isolation after the 2023 Gaza war.

“By facilitating Hamas's operations during the war and negotiating on their behalf during hostage exchanges while hosting released members, Turkey has secured a significant role in shaping Gaza's future governance,” the report stated.

The analysis further revealed that since establishing strategic partnerships with China in 2010, Erdogan has largely omitted the Uyghurs from his public discourse, despite consistently portraying Turkey as the 'political and cultural leader' of the Turkic community.

Citing various international reports and human rights investigations, the document underscores that the eleven million Uyghurs in Xinjiang have endured decades of systematic oppression at the hands of Beijing.

The report concluded, “While President Erdogan positions himself as the 'defender of the oppressed' in relation to Gaza, he has garnered substantial geopolitical leverage and reinforced a compelling domestic narrative of Muslim leadership. However, this claim of guardianship falters at the borders of Xinjiang, where the costs of principle conflict with the necessity of Chinese capital. If Ankara chooses economic survival over moral integrity, its assertion of leadership within the Turkic and Muslim domains will remain incomplete and disingenuous.”