Thailand should be commended for deportation of 40 Uighurs to China: Thai DPM

BANGKOK – Thailand should be commended for its handling of its return of 40 Uighur Muslims to China, a deputy premier said on Feb 28, as his country endured a torrent of international condemnation over its

secretive deportation

.    

The 40 Uighurs who had been held in Thailand for a decade were sent back to China in a pre-dawn operation on Feb 27, defying calls from United Nations human rights experts who said they would be at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned.  

The European Union and the UN refugee agency said Thailand had clearly violated its international obligations, while US Secretary of State

Marco Rubio expressed alarm

at the forced return of Uighurs by a US ally to a country where he said the ethnic minority has faced genocide, forced labour and crimes against humanity.

The move also drew a rebuke from Australia.

Thai ministers on Feb 28 said measures were being taken to ensure the well-being of those returned, including periodic inspections starting from next week.

“Thailand should be commended for managing this problem,” Thailand’s Defence Minister and Deputy Premier Phumtham Wechayachai told a press conference.

“This is done out of goodwill of the Thai government and not ill intent... It is a good thing to get them out of detention so they can return to their normal lives with relatives, husbands, wives and children.” 

Mr Phumtham said the Uighurs returned voluntarily, and Thailand had received reassurance from China they would be cared for and not mistreated. 

‘Lies of the century’

Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uighurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in the western region of Xinjiang. China denies any abuses. 

Asked on Feb 28 about international criticism of the deportation, China’s foreign ministry said it firmly opposed “groundless accusations” and interference in its internal affairs.   

Spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular briefing Mr Rubio’s allegations of genocide and forced labour were “blatant lies of the century”. 

The 40 Uighurs were part of a group of 300 who fled China and were arrested in Thailand in 2014. Some were sent back to China and others to Turkey, with the rest kept in Thai custody. 

Thai Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said the foreign minister would be among those visiting the Uighurs returned to China.  

“We will make inspections from time to time... We will go see for ourselves,” he said, adding that Thailand would seek to bring the media along.

The deportation of the Uighurs was Thailand's second in a decade and some diplomats and security analysts believe that the July 2015 transfer of 100 Uighurs to China led to the bombing a month later of a

busy Bangkok shrine that killed 20 people

in the worst attack of its kind on Thai soil.

Thai authorities at the time concluded that the attack was linked to their crackdown on a human trafficking ring, without specifically linking the group to the Uighurs. Two ethnic Uighur men were arrested in connection with the attack and their trial is proceeding despite repeated delays.

Mr Tawee said there were five other Uighurs serving prison sentences in Thailand until 2029 following convictions in unrelated criminal cases. REUTERS