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Uighurs need US help

The Hill, 30 December 2014

By Sibel Shinaishin – The recent report by Voice of America of Uighur refugees stranded in Thailand, who are being offered asylum by Turkey, which in turn is aggressively rebuked by China, which demands all 200 Uighurs to be sent to China for prosecution, brings forward several significant questions regarding the refugee crisis, the status of Uighurs and the future of China as a new superpower.

The 200 Uighurs who have come to international attention in the last few days are part of the growing Uighur refugee problem in Southeast Asia, which greatly accelerated after the Urumqi ethnic riots that took place in July 2009. In different countries in Central and Southeast Asia there are an increasing number of instances of Uighur refugees caught and face the threat of being returned to China where they will certainly face criminal charges and mistreatment.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu offered for Thailand to send the Uighurs to his country, a move that angered China, which views their move to Thailand as “illegal immigration.”

Asked for a response on Turkey’s offer, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the case was a matter for China and Thailand and “the relevant country” (i.e., Turkey) should stop interfering.

“We urge the relevant country to immediately stop meddling in placement work for the relevant case, be cautious with words and actions and not send out mistaken signals that connive in, and even support, illegal immigration activities,” Hua said in a faxed statement to Reuters. “Illegal immigration activities disrupt the normal orderly flow of people internationally, harm the interests of the international community, and can harm security of the relevant countries and regions,” Hua added. This sounds as a thinly veiled threat from “peaceful” China towards Turkey for opening its door to Uighur refugees.

U.S. should be raising the issue of Uighurs with Chinese government more often, as well as encourage governments of East Asian nations such as Thailand to live up to the international commitments and human rights treaties that it is a signatory to, and do the right thing: let these people go wherever they are most welcome, such as to Turkey.

Turkey should also be commended — despite a humanitarian pressure in the form of nearly 2 million Syrian refugees, its own 1 million internally displaced persons and other problems, Turkey still opens its doors to refugees from far-flung countries. U.S. Congress should note that.

From Sibel Shinaishin, Vienna, Va.

http://thehill.com/opinion/letters/228051-smiling-all-the-way-to-dc