Araz News:  Thailand sent back more than 100 Uighur refugees to China on Thursday, drawing harsh criticism from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and human rights groups, over concerns that the ethnic minority members face persecution from the Chinese government.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned Thailand, saying that the deportation violated international humanitarian laws and came despite “numerous initiatives” by Turkey to prevent it. The ministry’s statement, which put the number of Uighur deported from Thailand at 115, promised that Turkey will continue to monitor their fates.

Thai deputy government spokesman Maj. Gen. Verachon Sukhonthapatipak said that Thailand had received assurances from Chinese authorities about the safety of the 109 Uighurs Thailand deported.

Protesters in Turkey ransacked the Thai consulate late on Wednesday night. Turkey had accepted an earlier wave of Uighur refugees who arrived from Thailand.

Also on Thursday, Turkish police used tear gas to disperse a group of about 100 protesters at the Chinese Embassy after they knocked down a barricade in anger over China’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority.

However, in Beijing, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China would take action against those suspected of breaking the law.

The Uighur group had been in Thailand for over a year, along with others who had fled China and claimed to be Turkish, Verachon said, adding that Thai authorities had attempted to verify their nationalities before they were relocated. “We found that about 170 of them were Turkish, so they were sent to Turkey,” he stated, continuing: “About 100 were Chinese, so they were sent to China as of this morning, under the agreement that their safety is guaranteed according to humanitarian principles.” He denied unconfirmed reports from Uighur activists that the refugees had resisted deportation and that some had been hurt.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said that the matter was not Thailand’s problem, and that, without naming China, the country the refugees were returned to would address the issue according to its own justice system. “I’m asking: If we don’t do it this way, then how would we do it?” he said, continuing, “Or do you want us to keep them for ages until they have children for three generations?”

The prime minister said that Thailand has good relations with Turkey, adding: “I want to explain to the Muslims [in Turkey] that we do not mean to hurt anyone. We want to create peace as much as possible.”

The office of the UNHCR said it was “shocked” and considered Thailand’s action “a flagrant violation of international law.”

The Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in China’s far west Xinjiang region. The group has complained of cultural and religious suppression as well as economic marginalization under Chinese rule.

“I strongly urge the Thai authorities to investigate this matter and appeal to Thailand to honor its fundamental international obligations,” Volker Türk, the UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, said in a statement. He added that such deportations violate the right to protection against the return to a country where a person has reason to fear persecution.

The UN agency said it had repeatedly brought up the matter of the Uighur refugees with the Thai government, and “in response, the agency was given assurances that the matter would be handled in accordance with international legal standards, and that the group would continue to receive protection.”

China asserts that the Uighurs left the country illegally. Beijing has accused militants of terrorism in Xinjiang, where ethnic violence has left hundreds dead over the past two years.

“China’s relevant departments will bring those who are suspected of committing serious crimes to justice according to law,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters, adding, ”As for those who are not suspected of committing crimes or who commit lesser offenses, we will find proper ways of dealing with them.”

In İstanbul, the Thai Consulate General was closed on Thursday after a group of protesters broke into the office overnight. The protesters waved Uighur flags, brought down the Thai flag, smashed windows and demolished pictures and furniture inside the consulate.

The Thai Embassy issued a statement, urging its nationals in Turkey to be on alert for “an expression of dissatisfaction over Thailand’s handling of the Uighurs who entered the country illegally.” It also advised tour guides against using the Thai flag while traveling in Turkey and urged Thais to avoid any protest areas.

China’s treatment of its Uighurs is a sensitive issue in Turkey. Many Turks see themselves as sharing a common cultural and religious heritage with their Uighur “brothers,” and Turkey is home to a large Uighur diaspora.

Rights groups have expressed concern over Thailand’s decision, fearing they could face ill-treatment and even torture.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Thailand’s repatriation of Uighurs an “outrageous rights abuse” and criticized the Thai government for “forcing [the Uighurs] back to China against their will.”

“For reasons of realpolitik, Bangkok callously treated these Uighurs as expendable pawns to be sacrificed to big brother China in clear violation of international rights standards,” said Phil Robertson, the Asia Division deputy director for the HRW.

He explained that the Thai government “broke numerous promises made over the past year to visiting senior officials from the UNHCR and foreign governments that the Uighurs would not be sent back into harm’s way.”

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a German-based advocacy group, said that those repatriated could face criminal charges and harsh punishment, possibly execution, under China’s opaque legal system, the reason many fled China in the first place. “The extradition is a dirty political deal between the Thai and Chinese authorities,” spokesman Dilxat Raxit said in a statement.

The İstanbul deputy of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, who served for two terms as the secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), submitted a petition to the OIC signed by a group of 420 writers, scientists, journalists and other prominent figures in Turkey and abroad, calling for diplomatic action to address the plight of the Uighurs. İhsanoğlu sent the petition to his successor, İyad Madani, according to reports in the Turkish media.

In a press statement, İhsanoğlu recalled that the OIC had carried out efforts to improve the condition of Uighurs during his term, adding that, after facing international criticism and pressure, the Chinese government struck a constructive tone to address the Uighurs’ demands at that time.

Relations between Turkey and China have soured over the plight of the Uighurs, taking a toll on economic, diplomatic and cultural ties. A Chinese philharmonic orchestra cancelled a program, which was scheduled to take place in İstanbul’s Zorlu Center in mid-August.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uighurs have fled unrest in China’s western Xinjiang region, where hundreds have been killed, prompting a crackdown by Chinese authorities. They have traveled clandestinely through Southeast Asia to Turkey.

China is home to about 20 million Muslims, spread across its vast territory, only a portion of whom are Uighur.

via todayszaman