In an interview with the BBC, the Franco-Senegalese striker called on the football world to mobilize.
Demba Ba (here at the Europa League press conference at the beginning of August): “Money is more valuable than real values.”
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In an interview with the BBC, Franco-Senegalese striker Demba Ba (35) called on the football world to condemn the situation of the Uyghur Muslim minority, against whom China is accused of human rights abuses.
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“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.
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“I know that there are footballers who want to fight for justice, whether they are Muslims, Buddhists, Christians or any other creed,” continued Ba, himself a Muslim, who has played more than 50 matches. for Shanghai Shenhua and now playing with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir.
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“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 Senegalese international (22 caps).
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“When there are financial advantages, some people turn a blind eye”
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Several Western countries and numerous international organizations accuse Beijing of having interned more than a million Uyghur Muslims and members of other minorities in camps in Xinjiang, a region of northwest China. China denies this figure and asserts that these people are taken to vocational training centers, intended to help them find employment in order to keep them away from the temptation of extremism.
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Ba also drew a parallel between initiatives linked to the “Black Lives Matter” movement – each Premier League game starting with one knee on the ground by all players – and the situation in Xinjiang.
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“If there had been a financial risk for (support) Black Lives Matter, that wouldn’t have happened, ”Ba said. “When there are financial advantages, some people turn a blind eye,” he lamented, China being an important economic market for the Premier League. “Money has more value than real values,” he concluded.
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(AFP)
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