Thailand’s secret deportation from Uyghurs to China A victory for Beijing, Snub to us

Bangkok, Thailand
Cnn
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The secret deportation of Thailand from dozens of Uighers to China, which triggered the international conviction, is a diplomatic victory for Beijing and a fall for the United States and the United Nations, which had long warned that the men were exposed to torture and detention if they were returned home.

The 40 men fled from China in 2014 and arrived in Thailand, where they were arrested and later spent more than a decade in custody and in the legal balance.

In the early morning hours of Thursday, they were reportedly brought to an airplane airport in Bangkok, with the Thai officials later confirmed that after an official application by Beijing, they had deported “40 ethnic Uygurian citizens of Chinese”.

The US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio led legislation, which was committed to the protection of the rights of the Uygurian people as a senator, and informed his hearing to confirm the Senate before being sworn in as State Secretary that he would use Bangkok against the deportation of the Uyghurian men.

Rubio condemned the move “according to possible possible terms” and added that Uyghurs in China had “persecution, forced labor and torture and at the same time lacked the rights of reasonable processes.

China’s oppression of Uighuras and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in their distant western region of Xinjiang was referred to by the USA and other countries with widespread and credible reports on arbitrary detention, mass surveillance, forced work and restrictions on movement restrictions – adjustments China Vehemently detention, permanent prison terms.

“We ask all governments in countries in which Uyghurs are looking for protection so as not to violently return ethnic Uighers to China,” said Rubio.

The UN Head of Head Volker Türk said that the deportations had violated the legislation of Thailand in order to prohibit the return of people to places where they may be subjected to torture or abuse.

He said his office repeatedly asked the Thai authorities to “respect their obligations under international law regarding these people who need international protection”.

“It is deeply regrettable that they were violently returned,” he said.

In response to this, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blew up “some countries and international organizations” on Friday for “producing lies over Xinjiang and politicizing the problem”. People’s murder and forced labor are the “lies of the century,” said a spokesman for the Ministry in Beijing regularly.

The Chinese news agency Xinhua said on Thursday that 40 Chinese citizens who had entered Thailand were deported and brought back to China without mentioning their ethnicity.

In conversation with reporters on Thursday, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra confirmed no deportations.

But on Friday she admitted that she was aware of the whole time, but could not comment on publicly, and quoted the protocol and national security concerns.

She added that during a visit to China in early February they discussed the deportations with Chinese officials and that the officials guaranteed the security of the Uyghurs as soon as they had arrived in China.

Thailand is not a party of the 1951 refugee convention and does not recognize the concept of asylum. The Southeast Asian kingdom has a story in which refugees are pushed back across its borders and dissidents deported.

In 2015, Thailand deported over 100 Uyghurs to China and triggered the international outcry. The fate and the whereabouts of the return are unknown, said UN experts last year.

Thailand has long been a draw for investments from Beijing and played a role at China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a huge program for developing the international infrastructure that was launched more than a decade ago.

Almost a decade before pandemic, China was also Thailand’s largest source for foreign tourists, a decisive driver of the kingdom economy, who depends heavily on tourism.

After the deportations, Rubio Beijing asked to protect the human rights of the Uyghurs and to ensure “full access” in order to “regularly” check their well -being.

The deported men were part of a larger group of around 350 people who, after their arrival in Thailand,, according to previous reports from UN experts, right -wing groups and Uyghur activists.

Five Uyghurian prisoners, including a newborn and a 3-year-old, died in custody, the reports say.

Human rights groups and activists say that in the years since then the men have been captured “under life-threatening conditions” without access to lawyers, family members or UN representatives.

In January, dozens of the detained Uyghurs wrote a letter to the international community.

“We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries that deal with human rights to immediately intervene to save ourselves from this tragic fate before it is too late,” they wrote.

This story has been updated with additional information. The CNN Beijing Office has contributed to the reporting.