Standing with Sonny Bill for Uyghur freedom

The NZ Foundation Against Islamophobia and Racism (FAIR) stands with Rugby League / Union great, Sonny Bill Williams in condemning the treatment of Uyghurs by the Chinese Government.

“We applaud Sonny Bill’s willingness to speak up for peace and justice in the world. He is a person of great integrity,” said Azad Khan, spokesperson for FAIR.

“It is telling that Sonny Bill’s character is now being attacked by people who are trying to justify and minimise the human rights abuses by the Chinese Government. It shows that the Chinese Government will try to silence people whenever and wherever they can. Imagine what this is like for the Uyghur people.”

“The Chinese Government propaganda machine can try as much to deny and hide the fact of what is happening in East Turkistan but the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination cited estimates that upwards of a million Uyghurs may be detained in the far western Xinjiang province.”

“We cannot sit silent while mass human rights abuses happen with New Zealand’s largest trading partner. As Sonny Bill said, it is a sad day when we priorities economic benefits over humanity.”

“Free trade has nothing to do with freedom. With each passing day, the Chinese Government becomes more repressive, not less. It is urgently necessary for the New Zealand government to review its relationship with the Chinese State with the knowledge of its mass ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs and concentration camps with millions inside.”

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