The Paetongtarn Shinawatra government has dismissed the local and global outcry over the repatriation of 40 Uyghurs to China, insisting -- albeit unconvincingly -- it's a "happy ending" for all. Really?
The sudden repatriation was confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai on Thursday evening, an hour after the Chinese embassy posted pictures of returned Uyghurs on its website. All state bodies have kept tight-lipped about rumours of the forced return of the Uyghurs who had been detained in Thailand since 2014.
Mr Phumtham insisted that all the Uyghurs were "willing to leave for China and to reunite with their families" and that the government did not breach any local or international laws in sending them back. He said the government will assign ministers to their homeland of Xinjiang in China soon to follow up on how they are doing.
This is the second batch of Uyghurs to be repatriated from Thailand. Previously, 109 were sent back against their will in 2015 during the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration, allegedly under pressure from Beijing. Regardless, a leaked picture of them on a plane remains vivid in the public memory.
According to Mr Phumtham, as no third countries wanted to take the detained Uyghurs, their repatriation was deemed inevitable after more than a decade. He lauded Beijing for its promise to take good care of them.
After all, Mr Phumtham, as well as Prime Minister Paetongtarn, did not say a word about the fate of the 109 Uyghurs. Their claims of not breaching any laws are hardly convincing with regard to The Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act 2022, which stipulates the non-refoulement principle.
What is worse is the circumstances under which the repatriation, which is shrouded in secrecy, took place. The unusual time, around 2am in the morning, and the vehicles used, a fleet of vans with windows covered in black tape, have merely heightened people's anxiety.
Kannavee Suebsang, an MP known for advocacy of human rights, released letters to Ms Paetongtarn from some detained Uyhghurs, petitioning her not to send them back to China.
He also challenged the claims that no third countries wanted to take the 40 Uyghurs in.
As a civilian-elected government that claims to champion democracy, the Paetongtarn administration, unlike the former junta regime, faces higher expectations that it is so far failing to meet.
Yet, it would be unfair to reprimand the government alone. Those in advanced countries like the United States and Europe should have done more in the past decade to take the Uyghurs or secure a place for them in third countries.
The operation surely marks another dark spot on the country's human rights record, despite its position in the UN Human Rights Commission.
Last but not least, the government must be aware of the consequences of not fulfilling its commitment regarding human rights protection, which may come in the form of trade protectionism, a lower status in the global ranking, and so on.
Some countries, among them Japan, have started to warn their citizens of terrorist attacks if travelling in Thailand, like the bloody explosions that rocked the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok a few months after the first batch of Uyghurs were repatriated.
And this is just the start.
