Turkey’s diplomatic steps save lives of Uyghur refugees in Thailand
Daily Sabah, 28 December 2014
Daily Sabah Politics – Thanks to diplomatic actions taken by Turkey and the United Nations, some 300 Uyghur refugees in Thailand will not be sent to China, from where they had escaped and face death if they return. Seyit Tümtürk, the vice president of the World Uyghur Congress, visited the captured refugees during his visit to Thailand. He told media that Turkey had taken the necessary steps to bring nearly 300 Uyghurs to Turkey, who were found at a human smuggling camp in Thailand a few months ago.
Stating that the Turkish embassy officials in Thailand are closely following the case, Tümtürk said China’s pressure prevents the Thai government from sending Turkic Uyghurs to Turkey. He also expressed his concerns regarding the democratic gap caused by the military coup ruling in Thailand and said the current administration might send refugees back to China.
The HRW has applauded a request by Turkey to have a group of Uyghurs discovered in a Thai border camp in March relocated to Ankara, highlighting the country’s role in providing them with consular services. Phil Robertson, the deputy director of the organization’s Asia Division, stated that the organization believed they should be allowed the freedom to go.
“Thai officials have informed us that there is a human smuggling situation going on and say they will closely investigate the issue,” Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said recently. “I brought the issue to the notice of the Thai foreign minister in New York and the Chinese foreign minister in Beijing as well, and told them that Turkey wants to shelter those Uyghurs,” he said.
Thai immigration police detained dozens of people at a human smuggling camp in southern Thailand in March, who were later declared as illegal immigrants. Chinese officials in Thailand had identified the group as Uyghurs from China’s northwestern restive province of Xinjiang. The illegal immigrants, however, claimed to be Turkish nationals, fearing that they could face death if sent back to China.
“Since the government of Turkey has stated they are prepared to receive them, it’s hard for us to understand why Thailand doesn’t just allow this group to be repatriated to Turkey,” Robertson said.
Human rights organizations, activists and analysts have said that Uyghurs have been subject to religious, cultural and language restrictions, which have led them to flee China and helped fuel their demands for a separate state. They have frequently fallen victim to people smugglers as they look to seek a better life.
Hidayet Oğuzhan, Chairman of Eastern Turkistan Education and Solidarity Foundation, recently told Daily Sabah that Uyghurs appreciate Turkey’s efforts to shelter those in Thailand and added that if those who fled Xinjiang get deported to China, they could all face death sentences. “We have had the opportunity to speak with some of the people in Thailand and they told us that their families are being pressured by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang to sign documents, seeking their return back to China. Their life will be in danger if they return,” Oğuzhan said.