Latest news with #Turkic
Memri
a day ago
- Business
- Memri
At Summit Of Organization Of Turkic States (OTS) In Budapest, Turkish President Erdoğan Urges Member-States: 'We Must Also Think Beyond Our Borders'; 'Stand Against Israel's Expansionism And Support T
Addressing an informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and held in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on May 20-21, 2025, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called upon member-states to think outside their borders on global issues such as Gaza, while the OTS leaders expressed support for "the de facto [Taliban] authorities" and called for an inclusive government in Kabul, which was promptly rejected by the Taliban spokesman as interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. Billed as "The Meeting Point Of East and West," the summit was attended by heads of OTS member-states: Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and the Secretary General of the Turkic World Organization, Kubanıçbek Omuraliyev.[1] According to the official website, the OTS includes Northern Cyprus, formally the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognized only by Turkey, as an observer state.[2] Turkmenistan and Hungary also have observer status in the OTS, which was founded by Turkey and others in 2009. The next summit of the OTS will be held in Azerbaijan. The leaders of OTS member-states at the Budapest summit, May 20-21, 2025. Addressing the summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged the member-states to "think beyond their borders," stating: "The tragedies that have taken place in the past in Cyprus, Karabakh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and today in Gaza remind us that we must also think beyond our borders."[3] He said: "We overcame challenges and prejudices. Looking back, we are now on an exemplary level. We have more to do, but I believe we will reach our goals with our brothers here."[4] Speaking about the dire situation in Gaza, Erdoğan also called for taking a stand against Israel. "As the Turkic world, our contributions to efforts for maintaining a cease-fire, uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid, and the reconstruction of Gaza are crucial. We have to stand against Israel's expansionism and support the territorial integrity of Lebanon and Syria."[5] The Turkish leader stated: "Every occasion where we raise our voices will be addressed to a fairer order, a just share (of resources), and a law-based system that humanity needs. We need to stand for each other as the principle of our fraternity and make our solidarity more visible."[6] Speaking on the occasion, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban thanked Erdoğan for admitting Hungary as an observer member of OTS and said: "[We] did not expect the OTS to gain such significance when Hungary became an observer state seven years ago. Back then, the Turkic world was on the rise. But at the same time, the development of Europe, where Hungary is, the European Union, dramatically slowed down."[7] Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade told a press conference held after the summit that Hungary has benefited from increasing cooperation with Turkic states through joint partnerships in sectors such as railways, pharmaceutical, air connectivity, and natural gas. "The region represented by the Organization of Turkic States has become the world's third-largest source of oil and natural gas; so Hungary's good cooperation with these countries is of enormous importance in terms of energy supply," he added.[8] Szijjártó also disclosed plans to build nuclear power plants in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. "Hungary's energy supply would not be as secure as it is today without the Turkic states… This is not a political question but a physical one, given that the majority of natural gas is already transported via the Turkish Stream pipeline," he said and noted that Hungarian companies have acquired stakes in oil and natural gas fields in Azerbaijan and "decisions have been made to build nuclear power plants in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, with Hungarian technology to be used in the process."[9] The meet was also notable for the fact that the OTS heads of state issued a joint statement on Afghanistan, which was adopted into the Budapest Declaration signed by the OTS leaders. According to the joint statement, the OTS leaders agreed to work "to assist the de facto [Taliban] authorities" and Afghan people and to encourage "establishment of a representative administration reflecting the diversity of the Afghan nation"; they called for "respecting human rights, including restoring and ensuring the fundamental rights of all citizens of Afghanistan without any distinction" and urged "taking stronger and more resolute measures in countering terrorism so that the territory of Afghanistan will not be used to threaten or attack any country by terrorist organizations." They also urged enhanced international cooperation through a "performance-based roadmap" for Afghanistan to be "at peace with its people, its neighbors."[10] The summit leaders also signed the Budapest Declaration. Despite the OTS leaders' support for the de facto Taliban rulers, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) was displeased and saw the statement as interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan Taliban spokesman perhaps angered by call for a "representative administration" and need for protecting human rights, said that the Islamic Emirate will handle its international affairs.[11]
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Resisting Chinese colonialism: East Turkistan's struggle to restore its independence
China's occupation of East Turkistan has been ongoing for seventy-five years, but the resistance of the East Turkistani people—deeply rooted in centuries of anti-colonial struggle—remains undeterred read more The People's Republic of China (PRC) has used disinformation, coercion, and brutal force to maintain its colonial occupation over East Turkistan. While Beijing falsely claims to combat terrorism, it has in fact waged a campaign of state terror and genocide, aiming to erase the East Turkistani nation. Since the late 1990s, the Chinese government has deliberately conflated East Turkistan's legitimate independence movement with extremism and terrorism. The so-called 'East Turkistan Islamic Movement' (ETIM), widely cited by China, doesn't exist—it is a fabricated label used to demonize and discredit the East Turkistan independence movement. Proxy groups like the 'Turkistan Islamic Party' (TIP), whose actions and rhetoric are unrelated to East Turkistan's independence struggle, have been instrumental in this disinformation strategy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD East Turkistan is not a 'restive region' or an 'ethnic minority area' of China; it is an occupied country. The Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other native Turkic peoples have never accepted Chinese rule and have continually resisted it. In 1759 the Manchu-led Qing Empire occupied East Turkistan and transformed it into a military colony. The people of East Turkistan responded with over 42 uprisings. In 1864, they restored East Turkistan's independence and established the State of Yette Sheher, which endured until another Manchu invasion in 1876. After subjugating the independent Turkic state, the Qing annexed East Turkistan in 1884 and renamed it ' Xinjiang,' meaning 'new territory'—a colonial designation. In the early 20th century, anti-colonial resistance in East Turkistan intensified, leading to the emergence of the modern East Turkistan independence movement. This movement declared the First East Turkistan Republic in 1933, and the Second East Turkistan Republic in 1944. However, in the late summer of 1949, over 30 senior political and military leaders of the East Turkistan Republic were assassinated by the Soviet Union. This political decapitation critically weakened East Turkistan's leadership at a critical moment. On October 12, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) invaded East Turkistan, and by December 22, 1949, with Soviet support, overthrew the independent East Turkistan Republic. Beijing calls this a 'peaceful liberation,' when in fact it was a military occupation met with armed resistance. From 1949 to 1954, more than 150,000 East Turkistanis were killed resisting the Chinese communist occupation. In 1955, East Turkistan was designated as the 'Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)'—a deceptive term meant to obscure Chinese colonial rule. For decades, China has carried out forced assimilation, executions, mass incarcerations, religious repression, cultural destruction, and demographic engineering via Chinese colonial settlement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD From the 1950s through the 1990s, East Turkistan witnessed continued uprisings and mass mobilizations. These were met with violent crackdowns and executions. Despite repression, the desire for independence persisted. In March 1996, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Politburo Standing Committee issued Document No. 7, a top-secret directive on crush East Turkistan's independence movement. It detailed instructions to infiltrate exile organizations, co-opt foreign governments, and shape international perception through propaganda. That same year, 'XUAR' Chairman Abdulahat Abdurishit made Beijing's position clear: 'All methods are acceptable to fight separatism—penetration, propaganda, killing.' The CCP didn't wait for a credible threat, it launched the ' Strike Hard Campaign' in April 1996. While tens of thousands of Uyghurs were arrested and imprisoned, Hasan Mahsum—long suspected by Uyghurs of being a CCP asset—was briefly detained and then released. He then traveled from Urumchi to Beijing, and later founded the so-called 'East Turkistan Islamic Party' (ETIP) in China's all-weather ally Pakistan in September 1997. ETIP's rhetoric emphasized jihad against 'global infidels' and demonized the national independence struggle as 'un-Islamic.' This undermined the East Turkistan independence movement—then led by the Kazakhstan-based United Revolutionary Front of East Turkistan—and created a proxy actor for Beijing to portray East Turkistani resistance as global jihadist terrorism. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In 1999, as the Shanghai Five Summit convened, East Turkistani leaders in Kazakhstan unequivocally declared: 'The struggle of the Uyghurs in Eastern Turkistan has nothing to do with Islamic fundamentalism or extremism, that struggle can be defined as one for national liberation.' By 2001, China was preparing to launch the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO ) . That same year, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and ETIP were folded into the so-called Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which emerged with slogans to target 'all global infidels' and establish an 'Islamic caliphate.' TIP's alliance with, and presence alongside, terrorist groups in Afghanistan and later Syria allowed Beijing to promote a manufactured terrorist threat to justify its ongoing campaign of genocide. To solidify this narrative, the CCP invented the term 'East Turkistan Islamic Movement' (ETIM) just months after 9/11. No Uyghur group used this name. It was created to conflate the broader East Turkistan independence movement with Islamic terrorism. While the U.S. initially designated ETIM to appease Beijing, the designation was lifted in 2020 after a review found no credible evidence such a group existed. The State Department clarified that TIP is a distinct entity and that Beijing's conflation of the two was factually inaccurate. In exile, the legitimate independence movement continued. In 2004, the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile (ETGE) was established in Washington, D.C., to counter Chinese repression and disinformation. Since its founding, the ETGE has spearheaded East Turkistan's independence movement, calling for international recognition of East Turkistan as an occupied country and support for its right to external self-determination and independence. Despite continued efforts by China to brand all East Turkistani activism as terrorism, the global community is beginning to acknowledge the reality. The ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples—recognized by the United States, several parliaments, and legal experts worldwide—is not a byproduct of state security policy. It is a deliberate campaign of ethnic and cultural eradication. Since 2014, China's so-called 'People's War' has led to the internment of millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz in concentration camps and prisons. Hundreds of thousands of East Turkistani women have been subjected to forced sterilizations and abortions. Over 20 million Uyghur children have been separated from families and placed in state-run boarding schools. East Turkistan has become a massive slave labour zone, producing goods from cotton to solar panels. Evidence presented to the U.S. Congress highlights that 25,000 to 50,000 Uyghurs are killed annually for organ harvesting. China's global influence—fuelled by the Belt and Road Initiative and strategic investments—has helped shield it from meaningful accountability. Many governments avoid criticizing Beijing due to economic dependence, while others actively cooperate with China to surveil and suppress East Turkistani diaspora activism. From the uprisings against the Manchu Empire to the founding of the East Turkistan Republics in 1933 and 1944, and to the modern-day political resistance of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile, the people of East Turkistan have never surrendered their demand for the recovery of their independence. This is not a movement of extremism, religious fanaticism, or terrorism. It is a lawful and just struggle for national liberation and decolonisation, fully grounded in international law. The international community must recognize that East Turkistan's struggle is not an internal matter of China, but a fundamental issue of illegal occupation, genocide, and the right to national self-determination. Just as the world has supported the sovereignty of Ukraine and the decolonisation of former colonies, it must stand with the people of East Turkistan in their pursuit of freedom and independence. Restoring East Turkistan's independence is not just a matter of justice—it is essential for the survival and dignity of the Uyghurs and all Turkic peoples. The global community must affirm East Turkistan's right to external self-determination under international law. The author is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security for the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile and the leader of the East Turkistan National Movement. His X handle is @SalihHudayar. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Firstpost.
India.com
28-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaijan…, this country deeply worried about Zangezur Corridor due to…, will India back its ally?
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and thanked him for supporting Pakistan against India. This meeting took place in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital. Sharif's visit was mainly to express gratitude because during India's anti-terror campaign called 'Operation Sindoor,' Azerbaijan had openly supported Pakistan right after Turkey and China did the same. While this was happening, something important but less noticed took place in India. Last week, the Secretary of Armenia's Security Council quietly visited Delhi and met India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Their talks included discussions about Operation Sindoor, but there was another key concern during the visit i.e. the Zangezur Corridor. Advertisement === The Zangezur Corridor is a strategic region that could impact several countries. Experts say that by backing Armenia here, India could make things difficult for all three, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan all at once. That's because Pakistan and Turkey openly support Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia, while India has always stood by Armenia. Also, during times of tension between India and Pakistan, Iran (after Saudi Arabia) has tried to play peacemaker. In fact, Iran's Foreign Minister visited Delhi during Operation Sindoor too. Advertisement === So now, analysts believe it's the right time for India, Iran, and Armenia to work more closely together. If India strongly backs Armenia over the Zangezur Corridor, it could block Azerbaijan's land access to Europe, dealing a major blow to the Turkey-Azerbaijan-Pakistan alliance. What is the Zangezur Corridor Dispute? The Zangezur Corridor is a proposed transport route that Azerbaijan strongly wants to build. Its goal is to connect mainland Azerbaijan to a small, separated region called Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic — which is also a part of Azerbaijan but not physically linked to the rest of the country. Why is it controversial? To make this corridor, the road and railway would need to pass through Armenia's Syunik Province, which is not just any region as it is the only land route that connects Armenia to Iran. So, building the corridor would have big strategic consequences. If completed, this route would also give Azerbaijan and Turkey direct land access to each other — something they don't currently have. That's why Turkey fully supports the project. In fact, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long dreamed of reconnecting Turkic and Islamic regions through land, and this corridor fits right into his vision. Many experts believe he sees this as part of a larger goal of restoring Turkish influence across Asia. The 2020 conflict and its aftermath Back in 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan, with strong support from Turkey, won that war. As part of a Russia-brokered peace deal, Armenia had to agree to provide some form of access to Nakhchivan but the exact nature of that access is still unclear. Since then, Azerbaijan has frequently pressured or threatened Armenia to allow the Zangezur Corridor, sometimes even suggesting they'll force it through military means. Why does this matter to the world? This isn't just a local issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Zangezur Corridor could shift regional power balances: It would weaken Armenia's control over its southern region. It could cut off Armenia's access to Iran, one of its key allies. It would strengthen the Turkey-Azerbaijan alliance — and their broader plans in the region. In short, the Zangezur Corridor is not just about transportation it's about geopolitical control, influence, and future alliances in a very sensitive part of the world.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
India and Turkey's crossed connections in food and history
At Misir Carsisi, Istanbul's spice market, Indians can be startled to see powdered spices labelled 'Bharat'. This isn't desi masala, but a Middle Eastern blend also spelled as 'Baharat'. It seems symbolic of Indo-Turkish relations which, even when not as bad as they are today, have always appeared and Turkey share a history through the Turkic tribes of Central Asia. One branch, the Ottomans, fought their way west towards Europe from the 11th century CE, ultimately conquering Byzantium, the Eastern Roman is described as where Europe and Asia meet, but a more accurate description, especially for food, would be that it is where Central Asian and Mediterranean worlds the 16th century, another branch, the Mughals, fought their way over the Himalayas to conquer north and central India. The Ottomans and Mughals were aware of each other, and might even have dreamed of conquest, but were realistically too far apart to achieve this. Both brought elements of Turkic culture to their domains, like a love of stews and flaky breads, including the stuffed one called sambusak or samosa . Both combined these with existing culinary cultures that were strongly vegetarian for religious reasons (Byzantium's Orthodox Christianity imposed many meatless fasting days), with added protein from pulses in India, and fish in traders traded commodities like sugar and spices from India, and nuts and dried fruit from Turkey. The Turks loved sweets, and in Turkish Cuisine in Historical Perspective , Deniz Gürsoy quotes a story where a pastry maker says, 'I have sweetened it with the sugar of the sugarcane rather than pure honey because it is more delicious.'India was the original source of cane sugar, until the Arabs took it to places like Egypt, where huge amounts were grown and refined for the Ottoman Ottomans used sweeter spices, like cinnamon, and regional Turkish food embraced chillies when they came from the Americas. But Turkish food, especially Istanbul's court cuisine, avoids pungent notable that 'Misir Carsisi' means 'Egyptian Bazaar' and Aleppo in Syria was the main terminus of the spice trading routes. Rather than lavishly using spices themselves, the Ottomans preferred to profit from overseeing their trade through their control of Mediterranean ports .This explains why the closest contact between Turks and Indians took place when a third party, the Portuguese, appeared in the Indian Ocean to threaten the spice trade. In the early 16th century, as the Portuguese established settlements like Goa and Diu, the Turks created a navy based in the Red Sea and sent emissaries to the sultans of Gujarat to try and defeat the European threat. A number of naval battles were fought between the Portuguese and Ottomans around the Arabian Sea coast, leading to sieges of Diu in 1538 and naval warfare was not an Ottoman strength and they were unable to repulse the Ali Reis, appointed admiral by Suleiman the Magnificent, suffered a particular disaster in 1554 when his fleet was hit by what he called an 'Elephant Typhoon'. He was blown to Gujarat, where his sailors encountered an unexpected enemy. In his memoir, Mir'at ul Memalik (Mirror of Countries) , Seydi writes that this took the form of palm trees that exuded a sweet liquid which 'by exposure to the heat of the sun, presently changes into a most wonderful wine'. This was toddy, and after getting drunk on it, many of his sailors refused to set sail again, preferring to take employment with local had to find his way to the court of Humayun, who received him well and helped him return overland to Istanbul. The Ottomans settled for controlling the overland trade, leaving the sea routes to the Portuguese. From then until now, India and Turkey seem destined to be two sides to an equation that never works out.
Budapest Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
FM: Hungary is prepared for extensive strategic cooperation with the Turkic states
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has stated that Hungary is prepared for extensive strategic cooperation with the Turkic states. 'We are ready for this in all areas,' the foreign minister said at an informal meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Budapest on Wednesday. 'We're increasing our trade turnover, welcoming more students and encouraging mutual investments.' In the current 'era of dangers', Eurasia and Central Asia's importance, he said, had grown significantly in terms of energy security, the economy and trade routes. Turkic states, he added, contributed greatly to Hungary's security as exporters of energy, noting last year the start of Azerbaijani and Turkish shipments of natural gas and Hungarian oil and gas company MOL embarking on natural gas production in Kazakhstan. Minister Szijjártó said it was 'an honour' that the TSO is holding its summit for the first time in Europe and in Hungary, which has observer status in the organisation. He noted that when Hungary's prime minister paid a visit to Azerbaijan, 'the West' slammed Hungary. 'Now the same people … are jostling others aside, trying to take selfies with your leaders,' he said. Minister Szijjártó underlined Hungary's role as an East-West hub in pursuing 'economic neutrality' and attracting Chinese, Japanese, South Korean and Turkish companies alongside German, American and Austrian investors. Turkic countries, he said, would play 'a key role in this strategy'. In recent years, 'Hungary has benefitted hugely from cooperation with the Turkic states, and we would have missed out on many opportunities for economic development had we not cooperated with you.' Since Hungary joined the Turkic organisation as an observer, trade turnover between Hungary and the Turkic states 'has doubled', hitting five billion dollars, he said. Students from Turkic states have the chance to win 1,436 Hungarian university scholarships, he noted. Turkic countries, the minister said, were 'members of the international peace camp' alongside Hungary, and he thanked Turkiye 'for its peace efforts and two successful mediation attempts'. He said 'Brussels and European political leaders' should not try to hold back peace negotiations coordinated by the US president. At a press conference after the meeting, Minister Szijjártó noted that OTS's European centre was in Budapest, with former Hungarian consul general to Istanbul Balazs Hendrich as its head. Minister Szijjártó highlighted OTS members as managing to reinforce their economies despite 'the current, turbulent times', adding that they increased their GDP by 20 percent in recent years, and expended their internal trade turnover by 50 percent. Meanwhile, Minister Szijjártó called OTS as a 'real peace organisation, a champion of peace', adding the organisation was in a good position to promote settlement in three serious conflicts in the world. He highlighted Turkiye for mediating between belligerent parties in the war in Ukraine, and welcomed an agreement concerning the drafting of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Participants of the meeting adopted a declaration which could offer Afghanistan 'a good chance for stabilisation' and eliminate a serious source of terrorism, Minister Szijjártó said. 'Turkic states have made serious efforts in the interest of peace and security in the world, while Hungary is ready to contribute its pro-peace policies to those efforts,' the minister said.
