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7/10/09

Protests in Turkey, Norway,Germany,the Netherlands and France in support of Uighur community in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang

EU-Digest

Protests in Turkey, Norway,Germany,the Netherlands and France in support of Uighur community in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang

Several hundred Uighur and Turkish demonstrators rallied outside the Chinese embassy in Ankara as a group of protesters tried to break through a line of Turkish police in riot gear to approach the embassy. This led to brief scuffles with police. No injuries were reported. Demonstrators also hurled eggs at the embassy building and held up banners calling for an end to Chinese aggression against Uighurs. In Istanbul some 100 protesters who gathered outside the Chinese Consulate set a Chinese flag on fire. In Norway 100 ethnic Uighurs waving their national flag gathered outside China's Embassy in Oslo, demanding that China end violence and ethnic discrimination in Xinjiang. Two people were injured in the protest — one while trying to jump over the embassy fence. A total of 11 demonstrators were detained, according to Oslo police spokesman Oystein Roraas. In the Netherlands about 150 Xinjiang separatists supporters launched protests at the Chinese embassy and hurled stones and eggs at the embassy complex. A number of the protesters were also seen carrying knives and burning China's national flag during the demonstration. Some protesters tried climbing over the embassy fence but this failed. The embassy said it had demanded that the Dutch Foreign Ministry and police tighten security around the area, but only a few police officers showed up when the violence broke out. In Germany, police said fire bombs were thrown at the Chinese consulate in the southern German city of Munich during the early hours of Monday, causing some damage to the facade and setting fire to the Chinese flag. In France, the Uighur community demonstrated in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Uighurs are originally Turkic people who share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia. Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that he will ask the UN Security Council to issue a resolution to end the violence in China's Xinjiang area.

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