Turkish PM twisting facts of Urumqi riots: newspaper

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who described the July 5 riots in Urumqi of west China's Xinjiang as "a kind of genocide", was slashed by Tuesday's China Daily as "twist facts".

A commentary of the English newspaper claimed that Erdogan's description of the riots is "an irresponsible and groundless accusation", which ignored the nature of the event as 137 of the 184 killed in the riots are Han Chinese.

"Turning a blind eye to what the Chinese government has done to restore order in Urumqi, Mr Erdogan said 'we have difficulty understanding how China's leadership can remain a spectator in the face of these events,'" says the commentary.

"Chinese leaders are the last people who want to see happenings like these in the largest ethnic autonomous region. The harmony of different ethnic groups has been the top priority of what both the central and local governments have been making unremitting efforts to consolidate for many years," it adds.

Taking the family planning policy as an example, the article says, the one-child policy is strictly carried out among Han Chinese families, but it is never applied to ethnic groups.

Students of ethnic minorities also get an extra 20 points for the national college entrance exam.

"Mr Erdogan's remarks, which constitute interference in China's internal affairs, are the last thing the Uygur and Han Chinese would find helpful when they are looking forward to lasting peace," says the commentary.