Activists protest outside Chinese Consulate in Vancouver against CPEC, rights violation in Balochistan

Pro-freedom Baloch activists have launched a three-day Free Balochistan Movement awareness campaign in front of Chinese Consulate General in Vancouver, Canada, with an aim to highlight ongoing human right violations in Balochistan and against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that has "wreaked havoc" in the region.

Speaking on the first day of the campaign here on Tuesday, one of the Baloch activists said, "Today, we just started a three-day campaign on behalf of the Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) and we are here to highlight that China is involved with Pakistan and committing war crimes in Balochistan. Baloch people are being killed because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and many people's houses are destroyed and many people's houses are being burnt, thousands of people are being displaced internally and China, a partner with Pakistan, committing all these crimes."

"And, we continue our campaign to highlight the human right violations are going on in Balochistan. This is the campaign which we started in Canada and we let the Canadian, the Chinese people and the international community know that CPEC is against the will of the people of Balochistan. This agreement is done between China and Pakistan, which is against the Baloch people's will," he added.

"So, our campaign will continue and we will continue to highlight the war crimes by Pakistan, including China being a partner of the gross human rights violation," he said.

Another protester said, "Today I am at a protest outside the Chinese Embassy (consulate) in Vancouver which was organised by Baloch human right activists against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) programme, which is now underway and is being implemented in Pakistan-occupied Balochistan. There is a great opposition to this programme among Baloch human right activists, pro-independence groups and the freedom fighters fighting against the Pakistani Government."

"The reason for that opposition is these groups believe that large number of Baloch people, particularly along the port of Gwadar and other parts of Baluchistan, will be very negatively affected by this project. The increasing militarisation of the areas around the project, we see detentions of people, who are protesting, and repression of residents. We also see the continuation of the things that Pakistan has been doing for very long time, for many decades, it's repressive habits - enforced disappearances and a long list of human right abuses according to her history," he added.

"The message that Baloch human right activists want to send to the world is that China should not be supporting a government in Pakistan that is occupying Baloch territory and pressing through proposals like the CPEC against the will of the indigenous population," he said.

This campaign will continue till Wednesday.

Meanwhile, demanding freedom for Balochistan, pro-Azadi Baloch activists took to the streets in, the Hague, the Netherlands, recently.

Holding placards bearing slogans such as 'Pakistan must face war crime trials', 'Stop Baloch genocide', 'We are for Balochistan', 'Free Balochistan', 'Balochs reject Pak-China CPEC Agreement', 'Respect human Rights of Baloch', '5,000 killed 20,000 missing'; 'Balochistan is an occupied country', and raising pro-freedom like "we want free Balochistan", the activists took to the streets to make the world community about their problems and the atrocities they are subjected to by Pakistan.