Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter on Friday posted a new video denouncing China’s human rights record regarding Uighurs and other Muslim minorities.
The video came two days after Kanter, who has a history of speaking out against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of his native Turkey, condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s treatment of Tibet in a similar video, prompting a backlash in China.
“Heartless Dictator of China, XI JINPING and the Communist Party of China. I am calling you out in front of the whole world. Close down the SLAVE labor camps and free the UYGHUR people!” Kanter wrote on Twitter. “Stop the GENOCIDE, now!”
Photo: AFP
Chinese authorities have been accused of facilitating forced labor by detaining about 1 million Uighurs and other primarily Muslim minorities in camps since 2016.
China denies wrongdoing, saying it has set up vocational training centers to “combat extremism.”
“It’s so disappointing that the governments and leaders of Muslim majority countries are staying silent while my Muslim brothers and sisters are getting killed, raped and tortured,” Kanter said in a video accompanying the tweet, posted hours before the Celtics’ home opener against the Toronto Raptors, which they lost 83-115.
Photo: AFP
Kanter, 29, was pilloried on Chinese social media and his name appeared to be blocked on the Sina Weibo messaging platform.
Celtics highlights were absent from China’s Tencent Holdings sports platform on Thursday.
The US on Friday voiced concern at China’s actions against the NBA following Kanter’s criticism of China’s treatment of Tibet.
A US Department of State spokesperson said in an e-mail, referring to the People’s Republic of China: “The United States is deeply concerned by the PRC’s actions against the National Basketball Association for statements one player made regarding Tibet.”
The Celtics and the NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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