Beijing sends note on Uighurs
Originally Published by: Phnom Penh Post, 15 December 2009
Chinese authorities have sent a diplomatic note to the Cambodian government regarding 22 Uighur asylum seekers who arrived here from China last month, Foreign Ministry officials confirmed Monday, raising fresh concerns among rights groups that Beijing is seeking their deportation.
Koy Kuong, spokesman for the ministry, said the note was received from Chinese officials last week, but he could not confirm its exact contents.
“The note from the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh refers to the Uighur Chinese, but I don’t know in detail what the note says,” he said.
The group of Muslim Uighurs, from China’s restive northwest Xinjiang province, arrived in Cambodia at various points last month in a bid to apply for political asylum through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Uighur rights groups have said members of the group fear retaliation from Chinese authorities after they witnessed clashes between Chinese security forces and Uighur demonstrators in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, in July.