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WORLD NEWS Friday 15 March 2019

Kazakh activist decries official pressure in China spat

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA can help you," Bilash said Bilash and his group's vigor-
MOSCOW (AP) — A promi- in the recording. "I had to ous campaign to shed the
nent activist from Kazakh- sign several documents light on the plight of ethnic
stan who is campaigning they wanted me to, some minorities in China have
for the release of ethnic Ka- of them were blank." been "a thorn in the side of
zakhs in China says he was Bilash did not specify what Kazakhstan's government
forced to sign blank docu- exactly he was forced to since it began operating,"
ments while under house sign but said he signed an says Sean Roberts, director
arrest. application to take a state- of the International Devel-
Serikzhan Bilash, head of the appointed attorney to re- opment Studies Program
advocacy group Atajurt, place Umanova. at the George Washington
was accused of "inciting Umanova told The Associ- University.
ethnic hatred" and placed ated Press on Thursday she Most of Atajurt's members
under house arrest in the is expected to be granted are ethnic Kazakhs from
Kazakh capital of Astana a visit with Bilash next week. China who were encour-
earlier this week, although A leading voice campaign- aged to repatriate to Ka- In this March 29, 2018, photo, Serikzhan Bilash, a prominent ac-
tivist campaigning against Chinese internment camps, gestures
the charges against him ing for ethnics Kazakhs in zakhstan decades ago by as he speaks to The Associated Press at a restaurant in Almaty,
have not been officially an- China, Bilash has tried to President Nursultan Naz- Kazakhstan.
nounced. steer clear of any public arbayev's government. Associated Press
The detention of possibly protests that could be con- Official pressure on Bilash
over a million Uighurs, Ka- strued as criticism of the and his group could back- Uighurs to China, but going nationalists, suppressing
zakhs and other ethnic mi- Kazakh government, focus- fire at a time when the na- after ethnic Kazakhs under the voices of Kazakhs at
norities in Chinese intern- ing instead on helping the tion faces economic prob- pressure from China could the bequest of the Chinese
ment camps has raised Kazakhs trapped in the Chi- lems. potentially put the govern- could be portrayed as tan-
acute concerns in Kazakh- nese internment camps. "This is all the more politi- ment in a fraught position. tamount to treason," Rob-
stan, which heavily relies But the activist, who is cally dangerous at a time "For many ethnic Kazakh erts said.q
on trade with neighboring originally from China's far when domestic dissatis-
China. Bilash's group has western region of Xinjiang, faction about economic
been actively supporting has come under pressure progress and social servic-
relatives of those detained. from authorities in recent es in Kazakhstan is on the
Bilash said in an audio mes- months. A court last month rise and there is on-going
sage relayed by his law- found Bilash guilty of ille- discussion in the country
yer, Aiman Umarova, that gally leading an unreg- about presidential succes-
unknown officials visited istered organization and sion as Nazarbayev ages,"
his place late on Wednes- fined him the equivalent of Roberts said.
day and pressured him into $666. Shortly before being Kazakhstan has accom-
signing blank documents. placed under house arrest, modated Beijing on sensi-
"They told me that if you he reported being followed tive ethnic issues in the past
want a lenient verdict, we by unknown men. when it extradited ethnic

Pedestrian bridge collapses in Mumbai,

5 killed and 36 hurt

NEW DELHI (AP) — A pe- dia news agency reported. Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
destrian bridge connecting An audit of the bridge's railway station.
a train station with a road safety was carried out last Maharashtra state's top
collapsed in Mumbai on year, said Maharashtra elected leader, Devendra
Thursday, killing at least five state Education Minister Fadanavis, ordered an in-
people and injuring more Vinod Tawde. He told re- quiry into the collapse of
than 30, police said. porters that some minor the structure.
Police officer Praveen damage was detected In 2017, a stampede broke
Satpal said 36 injured peo- and had not been repaired out on a crowded pedestri-
ple were hospitalized, some before the collapse of the an bridge connecting two
in serious condition. Some bridge. railway stations in Mumbai,
motorists who were driving Thousands of commuters India's financial and enter-
under the bridge when it have used the 39-year-old tainment capital, killing at
collapsed were among the bridge daily to reach Mum- least 22 people and injur-
injured, the Press Trust of In- bai's bustling Chhatrapati ing 32.q