The Foreign Ministry of China has said that Mesut Ozil has been “completely “misled by fake news” and welcomed the Arsenal midfielder to visit Xinjiang.
A supporter of China's Muslim Uighur minority holds a placard of Arsenal's Turkish origin German midfielder Mesut Ozil during a demonstration at Beyazid square in Istanbul on December 14, 2019. - Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, a German footballer of Turkish origin, expressed support for Uighurs in Xinjiang and criticised Muslim countries for their failure to speak up for them. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP)
After Arsenal Mesut Ozil spoke about China’s treatment of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, the Foreign Ministry of China has said the footballer has been “completely “misled by fake news”.
“I don’t know if Mr Mesut Ozil has ever visited Xinjiang. It seems that he was blinded and misled by some false news reports and unfounded and false statement,” Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
“I’d like to tell him that Xinjiang now enjoys political stability, economic development, and social harmony where people all live and work in peace,” the official added.
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Also welcoming Ozil to visit the northwestern region of the country, he said, “We also welcome Mr. Ozil to come to Xinjiang if he has the chance, to take a walk and look around, as long as he has a conscience, is able to distinguish right from wrong and uphold the principles of objectivity and fairness, he will see a different Xinjiang.”
Last week, the Turkish-born footballer had condemned the Chinese government’s action of detaining the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and criticised Muslim countries for not speaking up about the issue.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Ozil wrote in Turkish, “Korans are being burnt… Mosques are being shut down … Muslim schools are being banned … Religious scholars are being killed one by one … Brothers are forcefully being sent to camps.”
#HayırlıCumalarDoğuTürkistan 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/dJgeK4KSIk
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) December 13, 2019
he 31-year-old footballer wrote the words on a blue background with a white crescent moon which the Uighur separatists consider the flag of what they call East Turkestan.
The World Cup-winner with Germany further added, “The Muslims are silent. Their voice is not heard.”
China has set up a vast network of camps in Xinjiang to detain the Uighur population to reflect the majority Han culture. Right groups predict more than one million Uighurs and population of other Muslim ethnic minorities have been put up in the camps.
Meanwhile, Arsenal also distanced themselves from Ozil’s comments in a bid to, what many believe, have their vast commercial interest in China intact.
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