The Thai government has been attacked by critics over a claim that 40 Uyghur detainees had asked to go back to China after being detained in the country for more than a decade.
Fair Party MP Kannavee Suebsang on Friday released two letters written by the detainees, calling for help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community to ensure they are not handed over to China due to concern about safety.
Another letter was written to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra seeking her help to send them to reunite with their families in Turkey.
The Fair Party lawmaker, who once worked for the UN refugee agency, said the three letters with different dates were written while the Uyghur men were detained at the Suan Phlu immigration detention centre in Bangkok.
The letters were posted on his social media accounts to counter a statement made by Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who stressed on Thursday that the Uyghurs were returning voluntarily to meet their families in China, instead of “getting jailed in Thailand hopelessly”.
Mr Kannavee argued that the men’s desire to go to third countries was clearly reflected in their letters.
The 40 Uyghurs, as well as eight Chinese people wanted for various offences, were sent back to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China on Thursday morning from Bangkok. The Thai move has drawn criticism from the international community, including the UNHCR and the United States.
The US Embassy in Bangkok has also issued a security warning to its nationals, noting that Thailand’s action could lead to some kind of retaliatory attack. (Story continues below)
A convoy of police trucks, with all windows blacked out and Uyghur detainees inside, is seen leaving the Suan Phlu immigration detention centre for Don Mueang airport on Thursday morning. (Photo: Kannavee Suebsang Facebook Account)
Transparency lacking
A Thai Senate committee issued a statement on Friday saying the repatriation was conducted without transparency.
This would have consequences including damage to the credibility of the country on the international stage, said the committee on political development, public participation, human rights and consumer protection issued.
It criticised Thai authorities for having preventing them from meeting the detainees to observe their treatment during their long detention.
Ms Paetongtarn said on Friday that the government decided to send the Uyghurs back because no other countries had offered asylum to them in the decade since they entered Thailand illegally.
The prime minister said the Chinese government had guaranteed the men’s safety upon their return to China and that the process was conducted in line with international practice.
“Thailand has adhered to human rights principles and carefully carried out the repatriation to assure the safety of the returnees,” she said.
Inspection trip planned
“Thailand should be commended for managing this problem,” said Mr Phumtham, who is also the defence minister.
Measures are being taken to ensure the wellbeing of those who were returned, including periodic inspections starting from next week, the government said.
“This was done out of the goodwill of the Thai government and not with 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.
Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said the foreign minister would be among those visiting the Uyghurs 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 media members also.
The deportation of the Uyghurs was the second such operation by Thailand in a decade. Some diplomats and security analysts believe the July 2015 transfer of 109 Uyghurs 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 the attack was linked to their crackdown on a human trafficking ring, without specifically linking the group to the Uyghurs. Two ethnic Uyghur men were arrested in connection with the attack and their trial is proceeding, despite repeated delays.
