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Turkish PM ‘genocide’ comment triggers China ties concern
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s accusation of genocide in describing the rioting which killed 184 people in China’s northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang should come as no surprise to those familiar with his outspoken, populist style.
The incident recalls the furore that followed Erdogan’s haranguing of Israel’s president over Israel’s Gaza offensive at the Davos forum in January when he told Shimon Peres: “When it comes to killing you know very well how to kill”.
That outburst attracted strong approval among Turks and in the Arab world, but was also seen as potentially damaging for predominantly Muslim but secular Turkey’s role as a Middle East mediator.
His latest comments have drawn an indignant response in China, and Turkish commentators are now voicing concerns that his undiplomatic approach could harm the relations which Turkey
is trying to develop with the world’s third-biggest economy.
The timing was unfortunate. President Abdullah Gul last month became the first Turkish president to visit China in 15 years, signing $1.5 billion worth of trade deals, according to Turkish media. He also visited Xinjiang during his trip.
Veteran Turkish political commentator Sami Kohen said it was natural for the Turkish people to show their sensitivity and anger over developments concerning their Uighur ethnic kin.
“But state policy must be more cautious and moderate. Speeches and reactions since the start of the Xinjiang crisis have created serious doubts on whether a harmonious and consistent policy has been set out,” Kohen said in Milliyet newspaper.
“It was seen with different incidents in the past that over-the-top expressions have put Turkish diplomacy in a difficult position and did not have any practical results,” he said.
The genocide label is particularly sensitive in Turkey, which strongly refutes Armenian claims that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One constituted genocide.
The English-language China Daily has urged Erdogan to take back his remarks, describing them as interference in China’s internal affairs. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the accusation did not make sense.
On July 5, Uighurs attacked Han Chinese in the regional capital Urumqi after police tried to break up a protest against fatal attacks on Uighur workers at a factory in south China.
Han Chinese launched revenge attacks two days later in what was Xinjiang’s worst ethnic violence in decades. The death toll included 46 Uighurs, a Turkic people who are largely Muslim and share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told his Turkish counterpart by telephone on Sunday the Urumqi riots were a grave crime orchestrated by the “three evil forces”, Xinhua news agency said, referring to extremism, separatism and terrorism.
Commentator Cengiz Candar said the situation called for cool heads, given China’s permanent membership of the United Nation’s Security Council, which gives it veto powers in issues concerning Turkey such as the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus, neighbouring Iraq and Iran.
“Now is the time to overcome the ‘tension’ which has emerged between Turkey and China with a diplomacy which is cool, quiet and patient,” Candar said in the liberal daily Radikal.
That diplomacy could face a fresh test in the near future after Erdogan said last week Turkey would grant a visa to exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, who is based in the United States.
China has blamed the ethnic unrest on exiled Uighur separatists, especially Kadeer, who denies the charge.
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46 Uighur deaths, yet no mention of 137 Han Chinese deaths?
“Han Chinese launched revenge attacks two days later in what was Xinjiang’s worst ethnic violence in decades.”
This comment was irresponsible. Does not the Uighur riots on July 5th constitute as a part of this “worst ethnic violence in decades”? This article gives the impression that ordinary Han Chinese are principally responsible for the violence and killings, and tries to downplay the role of the Uighur rioters and their use of deadly force against Han civilians on July 5th. Irresponsible.
Yeah, it’s definitely a misunderstanding. What’s happening in Xinjiang is not about religion either. Calm down, folks!
The sequence of the events are not correct. It is actually 2– 1– 4 — 3.
And Besides 46 Uighurs died on July 5 , there were 180-46 = 134 Han died on July 5 .
1
On July 5, Uighurs attacked Han Chinese in the regional capital Urumqi
2 police tried to break up a protest against fatal attacks on Uighur workers at a factory in south China.
3 Han Chinese launched revenge attacks two days later in what was Xinjiang’s worst ethnic violence in decades.
4 The death toll included 46 Uighurs, a Turkic people who are largely Muslim and share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia.
You said;”…the rioting which killed 184 people…”
but you conveniently left out one very important detail: out of the 184 death, vast majority of them, 137 to be exact are Han Chinese. This piece of information is very relevant to the content of the article since Turkish PM was decrying “genocide” against Uighurs. Why such omission, sir???
Please don’t tell me you don’t have the specific ethnic breakdown. Else where, you pointed out 46 of them are Uighurs so you have the number in your hand. I have no doubt some of them were shot by security force while they were committing crimes of hacking innocent bystanders to death.
You disgust me.
Hadn’t the Han Chinese killed a few Uighurs before the first Uighur riot and the police ignored this? Apparently there had been some disturbances when the police either provoked or attacked a group of Uighurs who were trying to mourn those few killed. Then the Uighurs attacked the Han Chinese en masse and two days later the Han retaliated too. If I’m wrong, please correct me.
The comments are well said. Reuters and AP are the most biased in this media campaign against China (not Chinese government)…
Note that Times of UK and Wall Street Journal have reports from both perspectives with some understandable extent of bias against Chinese government carried over. However, Reuters and AP are quite blatant. This is neither professional nor ethical..
Yes, I find that the western media is somewhat distorted & bias at times about the Chinese.
It IS genocide, Uyghur genocide against innocent Han civilians.
“The genocide label is particularly sensitive in Turkey, which strongly refutes Armenian claims that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One constituted genocide”.
Only Armenian claims? Let’s get it straight Reuters:
1. All genocide historians including The International Association of Genocide Scholars call it the Armenian genocide.
2. 22 Countries today officially call it the Armenian Genocide.
3. 40,000 pages in THE UNITED STATES archives, include the French archives, Swiss archives, German archives that depict the “systematic Armenian race extermination” all written in real time,.
4. 42 States in the U.S.A recognize it and commemorate it as the Armenian genocide.
The Turks need to come to terms with their own genocidal past before accusing others of genocide!
Some western medias are always irresponsible for their reports on China!That’s gross and made me sick!
“Han Chinese launched revenge attacks two days later in what was Xinjiang’s worst ethnic violence in decades.The death toll included 46 Uighurs.”
For this report,readers may be misleaded that Han Chinese is the main reason for the riot.And this report only give the death toll of Uighurs.It seems that the whole riot is about Han Chinese killed Uighurs and the government supress Uighurs? So Sick!
In the riot in Jun 5th,Uighurs hit and killed innocent Han Chinese,who were just passing by the place Uighurs protest.Imaging how terrible it is!You just pass by the site and you have nothing to do with the protesters,but protesters kill you with no reason!!It is so inhumane and unacceptable!
By the way,Han Chinese “launched revenge attacks” two days later,BUT NOBODY WAS KILLED!For most Han Chinese,they just want to express their anger on the murderers who killed innocent people.
Uighurs’ attack the Han’s on July 5th and killed 193 people (lastest death toll). The Chinese police disburst the crowd try to revenge the attack two days later. How is this genocide? As a country’s leader, watch your mouse closely. Get the fact straight…..
This article is serious skewed towards fantasy. No where does it mention that the number of Han dead far out number those of Uighur ethnicity (3x more Hans died). The article also gave the impression that the Uighur dead came as a consequence of Han “revenge” attacks. Apparently, the author gets his information from a higher authority.
Come on people, this is a Western media. Its not lying, its just not mentioning certain things, and writing what sells.
Anyway, I think it will take some time before Chinese get used to this.
It is sad that people are being killed in Eastern Turkistan. But the queastion is that what are the Chinese people doing in Eastern Tukistan and Tibet. A totalitarian regime suppressing popular demands. There is no internal democracy in China, unlike India where cops are being punished for heineous crime in Kashmir.
Let’s face facts…if a Turkish official can consider the deaths of less than 100 Chinese Uighurs a genocide, then surely the murder of 1.5 million Turkish Armenians is as well, and perhaps just a bit worse and deserves to be condemed by the same official. Mr. Erdogan knows better and should be ashamed.
This is a real sad tragedy. Many Uighurs were killed by Uighur rioters themselves.
What is happening in China needs to be investigated by a panel of international experts on such matters (a UN team maybe?)
Everyone seem to jump the gun. It is no secret that China handles its minorities withan iron hand. many human rights violations go unreported, not that China treats its own indigenous populations any better. When some try to sweep China’s excesses under the carpet in order not to upset “the third largest economy”, then there is a moral problem.
But a bigger moral problem arises when the naggin and deceiving Armenian propaganda rears its ugly head, without missing a beat. Such disinformation, a speacialty of the Armenian lobby, needs to be dealt with effectively, on the spot, when and where it happens. So here it goes:
BIAS & BIGOTRY IN THE TERM “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”
If one cherishes values like fairness, objectivity, truth, and honesty, then one should really use the term “Turkish-Armenian conflict”. Asking one “Do you accept or deny Armenian Genocide” shows anti-Turkish bias. The question should be re-phrased “What is your stand on the Turkish-Armenian conflict?”
Turks believe it was an inter communal warfare mostly fought by Turkish and Armenian irregulars, a civil war which is engineered, provoked, and waged by the Armenian revolutionaries, with active support from Russia, England, France, and others, all eyeing the vast territories of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, against a backdrop of a raging world war. Armenians, on the other hand, ignoring Armenian agitation, raids, rebellions, treason, territorial demands, and Turkish victims killed by Armenians, claim that it was a one way genocide.
GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS IGNORE “THE SIX T’S OF THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN CONFLICT”
While some in unsuspecting public may be forgiven for taking the blatant and ceaseless Armenian propaganda at face value and believing Armenian falsifications merely because they are repeated so often, it is difficult and painful for someone like me, the son of Turkish survivors on both maternal and paternal sides.
Those seemingly endless “War years” of 1912-1922 brought wide-spread death and destruction on to all Ottoman citizens. No Turkish family was left touched, mine included. Those nameless, faceless Turkish victims are killed for a second time today with politically motivated and baseless charges of Armenian genocide.
ALLEGATIONS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ARE RACIST AND DISHONEST HISTORY
They are racist because they ignore the Turkish dead: about 3 million during WWI; more than half a million of them at the hands of Armenian nationalists.
And the allegations of Armenian genocide are dishonest because they simply dismiss the six t’s of the Turkish-Armenian conflict.
Now why is it that the author of the story clearly noted the exact number of Uyghurs who died, but only gave the total number of total fatalities, and the reader must do his/her own calculations as to the number of death of “others”? In fact, the author doesnt even make clear that the vast majority of the fatalities were HAN Chinese! This is such an obvious attempt at creating a subtle image in the minds of unsuspecting (and for the most part, lazy) readers…especially in the west and in the US.
I consider both Han and Uyghurs are both “Chinese”, but clearly the author has a separate agenda here…If he doesnt. maybe he can explain to me why he listed the exact number of Uygher dead, but neglect to state the casualty figure for Han and Hui?
As for Turkey, it’s laughable this PM is even trying to make a name for himself. If I were the FM spokesman for China, I would have been far less polite, and more to the point by repeating the same sentence that the Turk had previously stated to the Israeli, except I would substitute the word “Killing” with “genocide”….talk about a hypocrite! Does Armenia and the Kurds right a bell, Turkey?
Amen, John! The Turks have spent almost 100 years attempting to deny the genocide of over a million Armenian people. It’s time they take a look in the mirror.
funny how chinese are always complaining about the western media, yet ya’ll always reading it. you do know you are supporting the AP and reuters by just reading this? Seriously they are just going to be bias aginst china anyways so why does china let them in to the country? Kick them out like russia and iran.
You mention the 46 Uighur deaths, but no mention of the 137 deaths of the HAN chinese?
Only ARMENIAN claims that it was genocide? Really? 21 countries have officially recognized it as genocide, and most genocide scholars and historians accept this view.
This is completely unprofessional and distorted.
comments critical of muslim extremist are self censored by western media? so much of free speech….my ass
How many ppl were killed in Tian an men square in 1989? Chinese government said 4!!! and no student!!! That means a lot here..
I would like to make clear one thing. There are some in the west who wonder why the “Chinese” are “doing” in Xinjiang, or Xizhang (Tibet). I just want to remind them that these territories, like all other territories, provinces, autonomous regions etc, are all part of China. As such, there is no reason why any law abiding Chinese nationals, be they Han, Uyghers, or Hui etc cannot travel/migrate there to earn a living. I have travelled extensively in China, and I have been to Xinjiang (it is a beautiful place! and Urumqi is quite a nice city…clean, and modern) and Xizhang (Lhasa is not such a nice city…very backward), as well as most provinces in the heartland. I have met Hans in Xinjiang, Uyghers in the heart of Beijing and Shanghai, and Huis scattered all across China’s south. There is nothing strange about this, just as you can see people of different races and ethnicities scattered across the states of the USA. So why would you even question “why the Hans are there? Do you question why white Americans are found in Hawaii, or Alaska, or New Mexico? This has nothing to do with force migration, but good hard working people migrating to different part of the country to work and live….In fact, there are plenty of Uyghurs who live and work in southern Chinese cities like Guangzhou, and nobody is screaming that they are there to “drown” out the local people. The comment is at best terribly misinformed, or at worse a parroting of political propaganda from those who wish to destabilize China from within.
Just as an aside….The Uyghurs are not “native” to Xinjiang in any meaningful sense from a historical perspective. The region of Central Asia has always witnessed huge movements of people through the centuries due to wars and other factors. The Uyghurs were originally from Northeastern Iran, and they moved into Xinjiang because theyw ere driven out by the ancient Persians. In fact, when they first arrived in the region that would be modern day Xinjiang, there were already substantial Han Chinese settlements in the area. To imply that the Uyghurs have somehow a historical “right” to a region as volatile and in flux as Xinjiang, and to further assume that the Hans were “invaders” are distortions of history.
The fact is, both Xinjiang and Xizhang are part of China today, and that is the fact on the ground.
Ergun
Stick to the topic instead of your nonsensical genocidal denialist Turkish propaganda, just for a change!
China is sponsoring state terrorism and countries like Sudan, Iran, North Korea, Mianmar where there are genocides and people are brutally oppressed and killed. China is the sponsor and behind the most oppresive countries in the world and instigating violence in most of the Asian and African countries. They are doing the same thing to its ethnic minorities too. Wake up Americans,
the Chinese already steal all the manufacturing jobs from you and your technology and very few basic manufacturing jobs left in the States and responsible for the disappearance of middle class and the necessary jobs to support them. They are responsible for causing this depression worldwide! They took your money and use it to genocide Uyghurs, Tibetans, the Darfur genocide, and to sponsor all the state terrorism and intimidating all the neighboring countries and inciting violence in most African and Asian countries! Wake up America, boycott all the Chinese goods and anything from China and support the fight of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Sudanese, Mianmar and other being oppressed and genocided minorities!!!
The Chinese doesn’t belong to East Turkistan… China out of East Turkistan now!!! East Turkistan is the ancestral homeland of all Turks, including modern Turks and it is the land which binds the Turkic people from Mongolia all the way to Turkey and we are all have the same language, customs and closely related to each other!!! This is a Turkish land and illegal occupied by CCP for 50 years, but it will be go back to the Turkish people… China out of all the Turkish land now where you don’t belong!!! OUT NOW!!! You are not welcome anymore as we know you were just lying from 1949 with the false promise of an independent statehood and proved yourself a total liar and duface!!! We are independent in 1949 too and with the Chinese lies, went for a Soviet Union like federation and instead we are duped… No more!!! China get out of Turkish land on your own or you will be forced too…
East Turkistan(so called Xinjiang) is never a part of China and will never be… If you say so, then the entire Russia, Korea and Vietnam will be as they are ruled by the Mongol empire only during which for the first time, the Mongols ruled Turkistan as well as Russia, Korea, Vietnam etc from Beijing. Qing dynasty were involved with East Turkistan because one power hunfery traitor in Uyghur history(appak Hoja) in order to rule East Turkistan asked help from Qing Dynasty which tantamount to leading tiger backyard. Anyway, Qing dynasty also ruled Mongolia, Korea and Vietnam at some point and that doesn’t make those countries to be part of China as well. I will say up until 1949, the Chinese connection is very tenous at most and that explains why the Chinese population is less than 2% from official Chinese statistics. You also not forgot from Mongolia all the way to Turkey, they are all Turkic people with almost same language and customs and people do pay attention to what is happening to Uyghurs… China out of East Turkistan where you don’t belong now!!! Stop genociding Uyghurs!!! Release the thousands of innocent prisoners!!! Restore the communications to East Turkistan!!!
” I just want to remind them that these territories, like all other territories, provinces, autonomous regions etc, are all part of China. As such, there is no reason why any law abiding Chinese nationals, be they Han, Uyghers, or Hui etc cannot travel/migrate there to earn a living.”
Actually that is not the case. In China permits are often required to work in different cities, for example if you went from Xinjiang to Beijing you would need a special permit to legally work there.
Obviously, this article was carefully worded to be technically true, yet has effectively given the impression that this was just another oppression of the government against its people.
I don’t think this is just bias against China. This is the so called “civilized” way of telling lies. And unfortunately, this has become prevalent in the west.
A Chinese saying that the sequence for a peaceful world order is: 1)STAND TALL YOURSELF, 2)TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY, 3)MAKE SURE RAN YOUR OWN COUNTRY SMOOTHLY AND FINALLY and only then, 4) THE WORLD WILL BE PEACEFUL. I wish people mind their own business more and spend less time in pointing the finger at the others! Let China ran their own country. I think they are just doing fine. Don’t you think so???
China handles everything like Tibet now Uygurs with intemidation and exucutions,China is a brutal regime to her own population, and not far distance they are going to dictate the World the way they want ,next to be Tiawan,just watch and see how quicly thye will anex this country, and all the Wolrd keep buyin their defecrive productts to support this govrement, we should boycott the Cj=hinese good here in USA for sure.
This article didn’t talk about how many Hans died at the hands of rioters in the initial night. However it talked about how many Uighers died, AFTER it said about Han’s revenge mob the next day. But according to many sources, the 46 Uighers died are on the same day as the initial riot and there were not Uighers died during the Han’s counter mob in the second day.
Very interesting and subtle writing style.
China has the best minority policy among all countries. Those minority terrorists are extremists. They don’t care how well the minority policy is, but just want to create conflicts and hatreds.
“Actually that is not the case. In China permits are often required to work in different cities, for example if you went from Xinjiang to Beijing you would need a special permit to legally work there.”
Indeed, this is not completely true. Today, more and more people have their own business or work for private companies. They can move more freely. And such permit doesn’t exist.
Even in the old days before China started reform, some people could still move from one place to another. Only those that worked for government could not move without approval.
Just because these are facts, does not mean they are undisputable. One can easily draw parallels between ‘liberation’ of Tibet between ‘liberation’ of Baltic states, and so on. Cultural revolution is also a fact, which I doubt makes anyone chinese too proud. And just because the natural resourses are being ripped off for the benefit of mother state, it does not make for more sympathy towards the opportunist migration that follows, with all cultural indifference attached.
No nation or society can escape the judgment of history. All have committed atrocities at some time. Nations are better served to advise each other through the door of humility rather than in a condescending or accusatory fashion.
Reuters took out my comments posted on the 16th around noon. Why Reuters? There were zero inappropriate language in my comments. All I talked about was “Cherry Picking” and the agendas of the western media, perhaps that hit your soft spot too hard?
Also, if one wishes to defend the “oppressed” and seek justice, then it would be more convincing if one starts at home, with one’s own government, before pointing fingers elsewhere. Before you declare “free Xinjiang” or “Free Tibet”, think about returning real land to the Lakodas or the Sioux, or the Chicktaws, or restore the Hawaiian Monarchy. But of course, it’s a lot more difficult to do the surgery when the ugly wart is on one’s own face.
Also, also…
Correct me if I am wrong, but I dont ever recall there to ever be a nation called ‘East Turkistan’ at anytime in history. There may be little brief blips when China was weak and lost direct control (in the past 150 years or so), but generally the region has been a part of China for quite a while. Regardless, China has it now, and no amount of bad spins, lies, or support from foundations that advocate color revolutions around the world (there are several…)…. or using wrong or fake photos to show “Chinese brutalities” (like Ms kadeer did at a news conference when she put up a big photo of an incident elsewhere and claimed it to be in Urumqi) will change that fact. As China becomes even stronger, these conflicts will disappear because the whole country will become better developed. If you dont like it, you can always move to Turkey.
Xinjiang first came under control of the Han people in the Han dynasty some 2100 years ago. At the time, the Han fought the Xiongnu people, an ethnically indeterminate group of nomads that stretched from Xinjiang to Manchuria. Uighur Turkic peoples are not native to Xinjiang. In fact, the Uighur Khanate was only in power for about a century between the 8th and 9th centuries when the Tang Dynasty in China was at its weakest. If we are talking about ancestral homelands, Xinjiang is definitely not a Turkic homelands. I urge those with Turkic blood to regard the facts and not race-pride and nationalism distorted propaganda.
GENOCIDE IN BRAZIL: THE MISSING MASS GRAVE WITH 1000 VICTMS OF “SÍTIO CALDEIRÃO”
THE MASSACRE OFF THE BRAZILIAN HISTORY BOOKS
In CEARÁ, BRAZIL, there was a massacre committed by army forces and military police of Ceará state in 1937, against the peasant community of Catholics of “SÍTIO CALDEIRÃO”, which had as its religious leader Blessed JOSE LOURENÇO, follower of Father CICERO ROMÃO BATISTA.
THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
The criminal acts took place initially through aerial bombardment, and then, on the ground, the military using various weapons such as rifles, revolvers, pistols, knives and machetes, killed women, children, adolescents, elderly, sick and all living things that was within reach of their arms, acting as if at the same time, were judges and executioners.
A CIVIL ACTION BROUGHT BY THE ONG “SOS DIREITOS HUMANOS”
As the crime committed by the Army and the Military Police of Ceará State was against humanity / GENOCIDE / CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY is considered inalienable by Brazilian law and by international agreements and conventions, and so the “ SOS DIREITOS HUMANOS”, an NGO based in Fortaleza – Ceará, Brazil, filed in 2008 a Public Civil Action in Federal Court against the Federal Government and the State of Ceará, requiring that: a) they inform on the location of the mass grave, b) exhumed and identified through DNA and buried with dignity all victms in the mass grave, c) the documents about the massacre be released to the public and crime should be included in Brazil history books, d) the descendants of victims and survivors are compensated in the amount of R$ 500 thousand reais, e) other applications
EXTINCTION WITHOUT TRIAL OF MERIT OF ACTION
The Public Civil Action was extinguished without ruling on the merits on 16/09/2009 by the 16ª Federal Court in the city of Juazeiro do Norte , Ceará, Brazil.
“SOS DIREITOS HUMANOS” APPEAL BEFORE THE TRF5ª REGION
The “SOS DIREITOS HUMANOS” disagreement with the magistrate’s decision of the judge, appealed to the Regional Court of the 5th Region of Recife, with the following arguments: a) there is no limitation for the massacre of the “SÍTIO CALDEIRÃO”, because it’ s a crime against humanity, b) the remains of victims of the “SÍTIO CALDEIRÃO” not disappeared from the Araripe mountain (CHAPADA DO ARARIPE), and can be founded like the Czar of the Romanov family, who was killed in 1918 and found in 1991 and 2007;
“SOS DIREITOS HUMANOS” DENOUNCES RIGHTS TO BRAZIL TO THE OAS
THE “ SOS DIREITOS HUMANOS” , like the families of the victims of the Araguaia Guerrilla, reported in 2009, the Brazilian government in the Organization of American States – OAS, human rights violations perpetrated against the community of “SÍTIO CALDEIRÃO” na Chapada do Araripe, Crato, Ceará, Brazil.
THE “URCA” AND “UFC CAN FIND MASS GRAVE
The Regional University of Cariri – URCA, the Paleontological Research Laboratory – LPPU and the Federal University of Ceará can find the mass grave, as they have technology to do so.
Please help us to find the MASS GRAVE with technical suport or with people.
Peace and Solidarity,
Dr. OTONIEL AJALA DOURADO
OAB / CE 9288-55 85 8613.1197
President of SOS – DIREITOS HUMANOS
http://www.sosdireitoshumanos.org.br