NNA |
Updated: Jul 02, 2022 8:24 PM STI
Ottawa [Canada]Jul 2 (ANI): NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom has called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take strong action against the Chinese “genocide” of the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang region, adding that Canberra must report that it will not tolerate Beijing’s abuses.
Apparently, the NBA player and human rights activist, in a June 15 letter to Trudeau, called on the prime minister for real action against China’s atrocities against the Uyghur population. However, he called Trudeau’s response a “lackluster response”, local Canadian outlet CBC News reported.
The basketball player wrote to Trudeau last month urging the Liberal government to take a tougher line on China. This is at a time when China is allegedly committing genocide against a Turkish minority in Xinjiang province.
In an interview with CBC News, Kanter Freedom said he didn’t believe his letter actually got into Trudeau’s hands.
“The response I received didn’t actually address any of the specific points I raised. I know if he had read it himself I would have gotten a more thoughtful response,” he said. he said, adding: “He cares. I believe he cares about human rights, not only in Canada, but all over the world. If he carries a heart, there is no way he don’t answer me.
The NBA player also criticized the decision by Trudeau and his ministers to abstain on a House of Commons motion last year declaring the horrors in China a genocide. He said it was another disappointment from Canada.
Additionally, Kanter Freedom urged Canada to rethink its trade relationship with China. He said Canada and the United States are economic powerhouses and if they act in concert to ban goods from the troubled region, it could force big companies that once had part of their supply chain. sourcing in Xinjiang, to rethink their trade relations with China.
“It’s genocide. That’s how I would explain it. The situation is really bad and a diplomatic boycott – it won’t save lives,” Enes Kanter said, adding that it’s money that matters most to China.
He urged Trudeau to adopt Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos’ Senate bill as government policy, which goes a step further than what was passed by Congress south of the border.
If passed, S-204 would ban the importation of all goods manufactured or produced wholly or partly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Kanter Freedom said the bill would prevent Canada from “inadvertently funding Uyghur forced labor and Chinese Communist Party human rights abuses.”
“I love the game and I don’t plan on retiring but I won’t rest knowing that across the ocean millions of people are losing their loved ones. It’s bigger than me, bigger than the NBA or basketball and bigger than my next paycheck,” he said. (ANI)
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