In a first ever China’s presence in the the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference hosted by its “Iron brother” Pakistan, the Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi thanked “Bhai Jan,” Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for facilitating his face-to- face interaction with the members of the largest organistation of Muslim countries.
In his speech, as a special guest, Wang underlined that his presence at the OIC event reflects the strong desire of China and the Islamic world to further deepen their cooperation.
“The cooperation between China and Islamic countries enjoys huge potential, complementary advantages and broad space,” Wang said.
While raising the issue of Palestine and Kashmir in his speech, he did not mention the issue of Uyghur Muslims in China.
But it was Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu brought up the plight of the Uyghurs at the OIC session leaving the guest and host uncomfortable.
“In China, Uyghurs and other Muslims, have difficulties protecting their religious rights and cultural identity,” the Turkish foreign minister Cavusoglu asked the members of the OIC if it was right to ignore the situation of the Uyghurs.
“We do not want Muslim countries to have problems with these countries, on the contrary, we want our good relations with those countries to improve the situation of Muslims,” Cavusoglu said. “We know that we are here on one mission with the OIC, the OIC only exists because we have the same mission, its duty is to be the collective voice for the Muslim World.”
Hidayet Oghuzkhan, a Turkey based activist wrote in his post that, “At the Islamic Cooperation Organization Islamabad summit, only our foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu , expressed the troubles of Uyghur Turks in East Turkestan. Despite China's genocidal policies against Muslims in East Turkestan, we strongly condemn the participation and the speech of the Chinese FM in OIC İslamabad summit. İt is a great scandal and misfortune”.
Despite China's genocidal policies against Muslims in East Turkestan, we strongly condemn the participation and the speech of the chinese fm in @OIC_OCI İslamabad summit.İt is a great scandal and misfortune. @oicarabic @PakPMO @SMQureshiPTI @MevlutCavusoglu pic.twitter.com/MlO9F8eseD
— Hidayet Oghuzkhan (@HOghuzkhan) March 22, 2022
World Uyghur Congress (WUC),a Uyghur rights advocacy group, urged the OIC, an intergovernmental organization of 57 member states that serve as the “collective voice of the Muslim world,” to condemn the genocide of Uyghurs and others in Xinjiang.
“The presence of a Chinese government representative at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers reflects China’s coercive influence amongst Muslim-majority governments”, WUC President, Dolkun Isa said. “If the OIC strives to be a trustworthy voice of the Muslim world, it cannot continue to close its eyes to the suffering of millions of Uyghur and other Turkic muslims in East Turkistan” Dolkun said in his statement.
Though China has not participated in the OIC events before, it has maintained friendly relations with the OIC member states. At the conference, Wang pushed Beijing’s narrative on how well the Communist Party of China (CPC) treats its Muslim minorities.
“This just further shows that the vast majority of Muslim countries do not fall into the trap set by Washington, and know that it was the US who brought chaos and disaster to their lands,” says The Global Times, a China state affiliate media.
Also Read : Will Wang Yi’s likely visit lead to a thaw in India-China relations?
At the conference, Wang pushed Beijing’s narrative on how well the Communist Party of China (CPC) treats its Muslim minorities.
“This just further shows that the vast majority of Muslim countries do not fall into the trap set by Washington, and know that it was the US who brought chaos and disaster to their lands,” says The Global Times, a China state affiliate media.
After attending the OIC meeting and bilateral talks with Pakistani leadership, Wang will be reaching New Delhi on March 24 for a two day visit. This will be the first visit by any minister from Beijing here since the pandemic and the Galwan killings with an eye to end the two-year old standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. The request was made by Wang himself which was accepted by India. According to analysts, Wang's visit is to gauge the mood of the Indian leadership towards China and the Ukraine crisis. At the OIC Wang had said that, "on the Kashmir issue, we have once again heard the call of many Islamic friends. China shares the same aspiration."
And this will certainly not go down well in New Delhi.
