Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 world news
Friday 4 august 2017
Turkey and China pledge security cooperation as ties warm

ties are also balanced by militants fighting in Syria
mutual suspicion. Relations and help avert their return
between Ankara and Bei- to strike at China.
jing have been strained by Hundreds of Uighurs, if not
Turkey’s support for groups far more, are believed to
fighting Syrian President have joined the al-Qaida-
Bashar al-Assad — a China affiliated Nusra Front while
ally — and its sheltering of others have pledged alle-
Uighur refugees. giance to the Islamic State
Human rights groups have group or sided with smaller
long accused China of militant factions in the Syr-
oppressing its roughly 10 ian conflict.
million Uighurs with severe Cavusoglu endorsed Chi-
restrictions on language, na’s efforts on Thursday,
culture and religion and adding that Turkey “fully
inflaming a cycle of resent- appreciated all the actions
ment and radicalization. China has taken” in com-
Hundreds have died in bating the Islamic State
Xinjiang in violent clashes group as well as reaching
in recent years and China a political settlement in the
now keeps the region, with Syrian War.
a land area comparable Turkey also agreed to des-
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at right shakes hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut to Iran, under a constant ignate as a terror group
Cavusoglu after a joint press conference held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, lockdown with massive po- the East Turkestan Islamic
Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017. licing and surveillance ef- Movement, a decades-old
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) forts that activists say are Uighur separatist move-
By GERRY SHIH Foreign Minister Mevlut Ca- handshakes with his Chi- rife with abuse. ment with links to al-Qaida.
Associated Press vusoglu told reporters dur- nese counterpart Wang Yi, Thousands of Uighurs have The Turkish government will
BEIJING (AP) — Turkey’s ing a visit to Beijing that his were seen as referring to fled China in recent years also seek to restrict nega-
top diplomat vowed Thurs- government would treat China’s Uighur ethnic mi- to seek asylum in Turkey, tive reporting about Chi-
day to root out militants threats to China’s secu- nority, a Turkic people who with many traveling on to na in its media, Cavuso-
plotting against China, rity as threats to itself and share cultural and linguistic Syria to join Islamic militant glu said. Wang hailed the
signaling closer coopera- would not allow any “anti- ties with Anatolian Turks. groups or simply to escape agreements and said that
tion against suspected Ui- China activity inside Turkey Turkey and China have in persecution and find a new “deepening our collabo-
ghur militants hailing from or territory controlled by recent years pledged to home. In response, China ration on anti-terror and
China’s far west who have Turkey.” Cavusoglu’s tough cooperate on security and has pressed allies including security is the most central
long been a sore point in comments, which came counter-terrorism efforts, Russia and Syria to share part” of the two countries’
bilateral relations. Turkish after a meeting and warm though experts say such intelligence about Uighur relationship.q

Four UK men get long prison

sentences for plotting attack

LONDON (AP) — Three Brit- bic — on the blade. Prose-
ish men convicted of plan- cutors say they intended to
ning a knife and bomb at- attack police or military tar-
tack on troops or police in- gets. Prosecutor Bill Emlyn
spired by Islamic extremism Jones said the defendants
were sentenced Thursday probably intended to use
to at least 20 years in prison. their cars as weapons in
An accomplice received a an attack, as well as knives
minimum 15-year-term. and the pipe bomb.
Naweed Ali, Khobaib Hus- Judge Henry Globe sen-
sain, Mohibur Rahman and tenced Ali, Hussain and
Tahir Aziz were convicted in Rahman to life with no
a London court on Wednes- chance of parole for 20
day of preparing terrorist years. He said Aziz, a late re-
acts after a trial that was cruit to the plot, must serve
partly held in secret for na- at least 15 years before be-
tional security reasons. ing considered for parole.
Ali, Hussain and Rahman The judge noted that Brit-
met while serving prison ain had experienced four
terms for terrorism offenses, deadly attacks during the
and later set up a group four-and-a-half month trial.
called the “Three Muske- He said that had the “mus-
teers” on a messaging app. keteers” gang not been
The men were arrested in caught, “there would have
August 2016 after weap- been not dissimilar terrorist
ons were found in Ali’s car, acts in this country using at
including a partial pipe the very least the explosives
bomb and a meat cleaver and or one or more bladed
with “kaffir” — infidel in Ara- weapons.”q