China slams embassy bombing
Other countries should share ETIM lists: expert
By Published: Sep 08, 2016 12:38 AM
China on Wednesday strongly condemned the alleged organizers and perpetrators of last week's terrorist attack on the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan, one of whom proved to be a member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
The ETIM has staged multiple terrorist attacks in and out of China, said Hua Chunying, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a press conference on Wednesday, adding that China will fully support Kyrgyzstan in tracking down the culprits.
Hua said China is willing to enhance international cooperation against terrorism and protect the safety of Chinese citizens and institutes.
The attack on the embassy was allegedly organized by Uyghur terrorist groups active in Syria, and carried out by an ETIM member, a press service from the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security said in an announcement published on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
On August 30, a suicide car bomber attacked the Chinese embassy in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, killing himself and injuring three embassy employees.
International arrest warrants were issued for four other Kyrgyzs who currently live in Turkey, Xinhua reported.
"Turkey shares an 800-kilometer border with Syria, and the country allows terrorists to pass through and go to Syria in hopes of overthrowing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad," Zhu Weilie, a Middle East expert at the Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
Zhu said Turkey is home to all kinds of terrorists and only suppresses Kurdish militants, which is the only group Turkey considers terrorists because they threaten Turkey's authority, adding that the ETIM has been gathering in the country for a long time.
In July, the British Home Office listed the ETIM as an Islamic terrorist and separatist organization.
"This is an Islamic terrorist and separatist organization founded in 1989 by Uygur militants in western China," the Home Office said in the official document.
Ling Shengli, secretary-general of the International Security Study Center at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that since Turkey and China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region share deep cultural and religious ties, Turkey's influence on this region has affected China-Turkey relations.
During his visit to China in 2015, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that the Turkish government sticks to the one-China policy and opposes ETIM terrorist activities aimed at China.
"Turkey's opposition to the ETIM makes it easier for China to track down the group's members abroad," said Zhu.
Zhu said if other governments are willing to share their list of ETIM members, it will help China combat terrorists.
The ETIM has staged multiple terrorist attacks in and out of China, said Hua Chunying, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a press conference on Wednesday, adding that China will fully support Kyrgyzstan in tracking down the culprits.
Hua said China is willing to enhance international cooperation against terrorism and protect the safety of Chinese citizens and institutes.
The attack on the embassy was allegedly organized by Uyghur terrorist groups active in Syria, and carried out by an ETIM member, a press service from the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security said in an announcement published on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
On August 30, a suicide car bomber attacked the Chinese embassy in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, killing himself and injuring three embassy employees.
International arrest warrants were issued for four other Kyrgyzs who currently live in Turkey, Xinhua reported.
"Turkey shares an 800-kilometer border with Syria, and the country allows terrorists to pass through and go to Syria in hopes of overthrowing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad," Zhu Weilie, a Middle East expert at the Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
Zhu said Turkey is home to all kinds of terrorists and only suppresses Kurdish militants, which is the only group Turkey considers terrorists because they threaten Turkey's authority, adding that the ETIM has been gathering in the country for a long time.
In July, the British Home Office listed the ETIM as an Islamic terrorist and separatist organization.
"This is an Islamic terrorist and separatist organization founded in 1989 by Uygur militants in western China," the Home Office said in the official document.
Ling Shengli, secretary-general of the International Security Study Center at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that since Turkey and China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region share deep cultural and religious ties, Turkey's influence on this region has affected China-Turkey relations.
During his visit to China in 2015, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that the Turkish government sticks to the one-China policy and opposes ETIM terrorist activities aimed at China.
"Turkey's opposition to the ETIM makes it easier for China to track down the group's members abroad," said Zhu.
Zhu said if other governments are willing to share their list of ETIM members, it will help China combat terrorists.
