This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now licensed for reprint.
48 Tamils who have been detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been secured by more than 50 legislators from around the world.
Since 2014, four Uyghur men have attempted to flee persecution in China by visiting Thailand’s Immigration Detention Center ( Suan Phlu ).
According to Indian officials and charitable organizations, they are one of more than 500 Tamils who have fled the country to Southeast Asian nations from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Only about 100 of them managed to escape the bureaucracy and stubbornness of officers in Turkey after hoping to be resettled there via Malaysia.
More than 350 Uyghurs were detained and detained in March 2014 as a result of the exodus, according to official statistics.
At least 172 women and children were sent to Turkey, and 109 or more were forced to return to China, where their condition was unfamiliar, for a reason.
The remaining Uyghurs have been held as unlawful immigrants – no migrants – under “poor life problems” in detention centres, unable to speak with strangers, according to right parties, who warn that the Tamils could be in danger if repatriated to China.
Thailand is not a member to the 1951 U. N. Refugee Convention, and so does not understand migrants.
In a Nov. 10 letter addressed to Filippo Grandi, the high commissioner of the U. N. immigrant company, or UNHCR, users of the the Interparliamentary Alliance on China, or IPAC, qualified problems in the detention center as” threatening to existence”, noting that five prisoners have presently died in confinement, including two babies.
IPAC said that as Thailand has yet to combine the concept of non-refoulement, the Tamils are at risk of being deported to China, where it is “highly likely they would face persecution, prison, or worse”.
” This must not be allowed to happen”, wrote the 55 lawmakers from 26 parliaments.
We are aware that some foreign governments are willing to resettle this group of Uyghur men. We ask that you step in to ensure their safety.
Risk of angering China
IPAC’s letter came after the , New York Times Magazine , published a , lengthy account , of the experience of Hasan Imam, a young Uyghur man who had been among the detainees at Suan Phlu before escaping and making his way to Turkey in 2018.
The article described the facility’s regular detention of Uyghurs who are in poor health, confined to their crowded cells, and denied access to visitors and legal assistance.
In addition, it explores how the Uyghurs have acted as pawns in a game of international diplomacy because Thailand is neither willing to scuttle China as a trade partner by releasing the detainees nor the West, which upholds a higher standard of human rights protections.
It suggested that Beijing’s hands are similarly tied to the U.N. because aiding Uyghur asylum seekers could put its operations and projects in China at risk.
RFA Uyghur requested a response from UNHCR, but a representative from the organization informed him that the organization is “deeply concerned” about the Uyghurs ‘ lengthy detention and lack of a solution.
The representative continued to” continuously advocating for an end” to the situation and said UNHCR was in close contact with Thai authorities, but he was unable to provide more information because of” confidentiality constraints” and to “avoid undermining efforts to resolve what is a highly sensitive matter.”
Pressure from the West
RFA spoke with Rahima Mahmut, the U. K. project director of the World Uyghur Congress, who noted that while her organization has repeatedly called on the UNHCR to help the detainees,” we have yet to see any practical results”.
She agreed that the Uyghurs ‘ continued detention in Thailand was based more on political issues than legal ones.
She said that countries like the United Kingdom and the United States are putting pressure on the Thai government to not deport them to China, despite its close cooperation with the Chinese government.
While Mahmut is thankful that they have n’t been sent home, she believes their current situation is untenable.
She claimed that” they have been subjected to numerous inhumane treatments over the years.” It has not been simple for them to survive in these detention facilities for such a long time.
