‘My family fled Sri Lanka’ – Billionaire responds after backlash over Uyhgur genocide remarks

 18 January 2022

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya said his family had to flee Sri Lanka, which he called “a country with its own set of human rights issues", following controversy after he was accused of downplaying rights violations against Uyghurs by China, claiming “nobody cares”.

Palihapitiya, an early Facebook executive and a part-owner of the Golden State Warriors basketball team, made the remarks during an episode of the “All-in” podcast.

“Nobody cares about it, nobody cares about what's happening to the Uyghurs,” he insisted. “Of all the things I care about it is below my line.”

“You bring it up because you really care, and I think that's nice that you care, the rest of us don't care,” he told fellow host Jason Calacanis.

“I think a lot of people believe that and I'm sorry if that's a hard truth to hear but every time I say that I'm caring about the Uyghurs I'm really just lying if I don't really care, so I'd rather not lie to you and tell you the truth. It's not a priority for me.”

“Every time I say that I care about the Uyghurs, I’m really just lying,” he added.

During the conversation, Palihapitiya was speaking on how he felt domestic US issues were of more importance to him and spoke of the rates of incarceration of Black men in the US and other human rights violations. He also touched on the situation in Sri Lanka.

“When I look at Sri Lanka, who you know has a very chequered human rights record. In fact, terrible, in some ways and the way that they ended the war against the Tamils - atrocious,” he said.

“I have to make a decision about ‘Is this something I am going to wade in to or not?’. And what I’ve realised through my own life’s journey is that these are not my battles.”

His comments sparked widespread criticism. Within hours, the Golden State Warriors released a statement distancing themselves from Palihapitiya.

“As a limited investor who has no day-to-day operating functions with the Warriors, Mr. Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise, and his views certainly don't reflect those of our organization,” the team said in a statement Tuesday.

As the controversy grew and news of his remarks spread, more criticism came in from across the globe.

"When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen," wrote Boston Celtics Forward Enes Kanter.

Earlier today, Palihapitiya released what he termed “clarifying comments”.

“As a refugee, my family fled a country with its own set of human rights issues so this is something that is very much part of my lived experience,” he said. “To be clear, my belief is that human rights matter, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere."

Palihapitiya was born in Sri Lanka to Sinhalese parents in 1976. His family fled the island when he was aged 5-years-old to Canada.

Sri Lanka also stands accused of committing genocide against the Tamil people, the height of which was in 2009 in which tens of thousands of civilians were killed in a Sri Lankan military offensive.

To date, no one has been held accountable.