Franco-Senegalese striker Demba Ba in an interview with the BBC called on the football world to condemn the situation of the Uyghur Muslim minority, against whom China is accused of human rights abuses. "When are we going to see the rest of the world stand up to defend the Muslims?" Asked the former Chelsea striker in the Premier League on Wednesday, accusing the clubs of putting "pressure on the players not to get involved not ”on this sensitive subject.
"I know there are footballers who want to fight for justice, whether they are Muslims, Buddhists, Christians or any other creed," said Ba, himself a Muslim, who has played more than 50 matches. for Shanghai Shenhua and now plays with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir. “I have to try to organize something so that the football players can come together and, in the meantime, talk about this issue because not many people are doing it,” he said. “As athletes, we have a power that we don't even know. If we get together and talk, things change. If we stand up, people stand up with us, ”said the 35-year-old Senegalese international (22 caps).
Before him, last December, the German Mesut Özil had shown his support on social networks for the Uyghur minority and pinned the "silence" of Muslim countries on their situation. Several Western countries and many international organizations accuse Beijing of having interned more than a million Uyghur Muslims and members of other minorities in camps in Xinjiang, a region in northwest China.
"When there are financial advantages, some people turn a blind eye"
China denies this figure and claims that these people are taken to vocational training centers, intended to help them find jobs in order to keep them away from the temptation of extremism. Ba also drew a parallel between initiatives linked to the Black Lives Matter movement - each Premier League game starting with a knee on the ground by all players - and the situation in Xinjiang.
“If there had been a financial risk to (support) Black Lives Matter, it wouldn't have happened,” Ba said. “When there are financial advantages, some people turn a blind eye,” he lamented, as China represents an important economic market for the Premier League. “Money has more value than real values,” he concluded.
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