"Risk of Violating International Obligations under UN Conventions"
"China Commits Genocide under Communist Party Orders"
"Regularly Check the Welfare of the Uyghurs"
The Thai government’s forced repatriation of the Uyghur Muslim minority to China has drawn condemnation from the United States, which issued a statement denouncing the action.
On the 27th (local time), U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio released a statement saying, "We strongly condemn Thailand’s forced repatriation of at least 40 Uyghurs to China without ensuring due process, where they face persecution, forced labor, and torture." He added, "As a long-standing ally of Thailand, we are concerned that this action risks violating Thailand’s international obligations under the United Nations (UN) Convention Against Torture and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance," and urged "all governments where Uyghurs seek protection not to forcibly return them to China."
Uighur women are holding a protest condemning China's oppression of the Xinjiang Uighur people in front of the Chinese Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Yonhap News
Furthermore, the U.S. criticized China for "committing genocide and crimes against the Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang region under the direction and control of the Communist Party," and called for "regular checks on the welfare of the repatriated Uyghurs." Not only the U.S., but also the foreign ministries of the United Kingdom and Germany have pointed out this forced repatriation decision and urged both the Chinese and Thai governments to ensure the safety of the Uyghurs.
Earlier, the Thai government acknowledged that it forcibly repatriated Uyghurs who had been detained for 11 years to China. According to the Bangkok Post and other sources, Kannawi Suebsang, a member of the Fair Party, reported that around 2 a.m., a truck with covered windows transporting detainees left the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok. Then, at 4:48 a.m., an unscheduled China Southern Airlines passenger flight took off from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. The flight arrived six hours later at Kashgar Airport in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, an area known to be predominantly inhabited by Uyghurs.
About 300 Uyghurs fled China in 2014 and attempted to seek asylum in T?rkiye but were caught in Thailand, a transit country. The Thai government forcibly repatriated 109 of them to China the following year and sent 173 to T?rkiye. The remaining 53 were detained and held at the Suan Phlu detention center. Among them, five died, and five others were arrested after attempting to escape and were sentenced to prison terms.
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