Thailand: Don’t Forcibly Return Uighurs to China More than 230 Uyghur-Turks fleeing ethnic tension in East Turkestan (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, under chinese occupation since 1949) have been detained in Thailand and face deportation back home where they could be punished or even executed, according to some of their relatives. Thai police on Wednesday swooped down on a secret camp in a mountainous rubber plantation in Songkhla province in southern Thailand where the 235 Uyghurs were believed to be waiting to be smuggled across to neighboring predominantly Muslim Malaysia, the relatives said, speaking from Malaysia and Turkey. The Uyghurs had initially told the Thai authorities that they are from Turkey, fearing they would be deported back to China if their true identity is revealed, a relative told Radio Free Asias Uyghur Service, speaking from Malaysia. Thai authorities have already informed Chinese diplomats in Bangkok about the groups illegal presence in Thailand, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The detained Uyghurs have spoken with Thai officials through an interpreter and they described themselves as Turkish in order to prevent any departure to China and with expectations of assistance from Turkey, the source explained. Thai authorities showed the detainees flags of different countries, including China, to identify their nationality but they refused to acknowledge Chinese citizenship, the relatives said. Today a Chinese delegation, probably from the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, went to them and said, You are Uyghurs, we can take you to China, dont worry, but the detainees did not say anything to the delegation except, We are Turkish. Thailand and Malaysia and several other Southeast Asian neighbors—such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos—with strong trade and diplomatic ties to China have deported Uyghurs home in the past, following pressure from China. The experience over the past few years shows that people who leave China illegally and try to seek political asylum abroad are severely punished upon their forceful return, a Uyghur source said. Thai authorities should realize that Uighurs forced back to China disappear into a black hole, Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch said in a statement, adding that Uighurs forcibly returned to China face credible threats of torture. Below is a petition (in Turkish) where you can sign to call the Turkish authorities to bring the Uighurs to Türkiye. change.org/tr/kampanyalar/türkiye-cumhuriyeti-dışişleri-bakanlığı-tayland-da-bulunan-220-uygur-türkü-çin-e-iade-edilmesin-türkiye-cumhuriyeti-ne-kabul-edilsin?share_id=kblOdKzIER&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&v&x=%7Eopen_graph_autopublish_experiment
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 01:26:24 +0000
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