Thailand Deports Uyghurs Despite International Asylum Offers

[snoop1130]

Picture courtesy of News Statesman

 

Thailand has deported 48 Uyghurs to China, turning down asylum offers from the US, Canada, and Australia. This decision, reported by Reuters, took place despite a decade-long detention period and concerns from UN human rights experts about the safety of these ethnic minorities.

 

Thailand's government has defended the move, claiming it was legal and aligned with their human rights policies. However, organizations have long criticized China for its treatment of Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic group primarily residing in Xinjiang, numbering about 10 million.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai stated no clear resettlement offers from Western countries were received. He said, "We waited for more than 10 years, and I have spoken to many major countries, but no one told me for certain."

 

A US State Department official, who wished to remain unnamed, claimed that the US had actively worked with Thailand to address this issue. Sources from Canada and Australia also confirmed offers to resettle the Uyghurs had been made, though these were not made public due to fears of straining diplomatic relations with China.

 

 

While Thailand and China's foreign ministries have remained silent, Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, expressed disapproval of Thailand's action, warning of potential diplomatic fallout.

 

China's embassy in Bangkok called the deportees 40 "illegal migrants," stating they have now been reunited with their families. Five Uyghurs remain in Thai prisons due to legal challenges, while the status of three others is uncertain.

 

Former Thai ambassador Pisan Manawapat confirmed multiple offers from other nations to take in the detainees but cited China's influence as a critical deterrent, saying, "We didn’t want to upset China."

 

Thailand’s consideration for deportation relied heavily on China's promises to allow Thai officials to monitor the well-being of the Uyghurs after their return.

 

Picture courtesy of Institute for European, Russian,, and Eurasian Studies

 

UN experts cautioned about the potential for torture or worse, criticizing Thailand's handling of the situation. The UN refugee agency highlighted its lack of access to assess the Uyghurs' asylum claims, leaving them trapped in detention without options.

 

To provide context, Xinjiang was designated an autonomous region in 1955 but remains tightly controlled by the Chinese central government. Development initiatives since the 1990s have escalated cultural tensions between Uyghurs and the Han Chinese, who have increasingly settled in the region.

 

The Chinese government defends its policies in Xinjiang as necessary to counter extremism and spur economic growth. It rejects accusations of genocide as politically driven and without credible evidence, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-05

 

 

[ikke1959]

Again of proof of the many lies of this Government... New elections are needed

[MikeandDow]

32 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Again of proof of the many lies of this Government... New elections are needed

agree 100% Total lies from the begining  Thailand has shot its self in the foot big time !! shame on you

Keep licking your Chinese masters backsides Thailand. Shows your true colours to the world. A third world cesspool beholden to China. As for the Deputy PM he lies like a cheap carpet.

 

[Tropicalevo]

The opposition should go for the throat on this one, but the People's Party will probably have to try and do it alone.

Deals are being done with the rest of the opposition.

So sad for the people of Thailand.

[Purdey]

Poor Thailand, always a balancing act.

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

"We didn’t want to upset China."

 

Maybe now the Chinese tour groups will be allowed to resume?

[BayArea]

7 hours ago, Purdey said:

Poor Thailand, always a balancing act.

more like poor Thai people. the Thai gov't, elites, and top military brass could care less what the international community thinks of them. 

[BayArea]

8 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

"We waited for more than 10 years, and I have spoken to many major countries, but no one told me for certain."

Pure BS

[watchcat]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand's government has defended the move,

 

Yes what can they do, China told them to srnd them home.

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand has deported 48 Uyghurs to China, turning down asylum offers from the US, Canada, and Australia. This decision, reported by Reuters, took place despite a decade-long detention period and concerns from UN human rights experts about the safety of these ethnic minorities.

Disgusting....

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand's government has defended the move, claiming it was legal and aligned with their human rights policies.

Non-existant in Thailand

[NorthernRyland]

I'm with Thailand on this one. Muslims can't be assimilated and are a problem waiting to happen. Those people pictured below are presumably citizens in some Western country that have the exact same rights as you do except the live in a parallel societies.

 

The West invented the idea of so-called "human rights" and so they discard it as well. Learn from Thailand on this one and get rid of these people while you still can.

 

[Olof Karlsson]

Why were they imprisoned for 10 years ?

[Tropicalevo]

10 minutes ago, Olof Karlsson said:

Why were they imprisoned for 10 years ?

 

They were refugees seeking asylum but they entered Thailand illegally.

Thailand treats all refugees that do this the same - deported back to their own country.

[CallumWK]

16 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

New elections are needed

 

New elections with the same result as the previous ones.

[Peterphuket]

With friends like this, you don't need enemies anymore, if there should ever be a third world war, Thailand will be the first country to be taken by their friends China, I think as a foreigner being then you should leave this country as soon as possible, if not, you will have to learn Chinese instead of Thai, and you may help in the rice fields.

[newbee2022]

Human Rights??

Is that what Big Brother decides. Not UN.

[jwl53]

30 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

Muslims can't be assimilated and are a problem waiting to happen. Those people pictured below are presumably citizens in some Western country that have the exact same rights as you do except the live in a parallel societies

Anyone ever told you you a horrible racist you see the Muslim word and you tar every Muslim with the same terrorist brush, 

[Peterphuket]

7 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

New elections with the same result as the previous ones.

You can be sure of that, the 3 richest people in this country call the shots and are firmly in control.

[Dcheech]

16 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Again of proof of the many lies of this Government... New elections are needed

 

And the winner, would do something different?    

[Jonathan Swift]

16 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Again of proof of the many lies of this Government... New elections are needed

It's universal everywhere that elections only bring in new crooks and liars, Sad but true. 

[Jonathan Swift]

I speculate of course, but someone got paid to do this, or Thailand is afraid of China for any number of reasons. China may have threatened Thailand with economic sanctions or some similar economic blackmail. Or the Chinese government may have personally threatened individuals and families. They have spies running all around the US for example, and have kidnapped people there. Pretty disgusting. 

[Chongalulu]

22 minutes ago, jwl53 said:

Anyone ever told you you a horrible racist you see the Muslim word and you tar every Muslim with the same terrorist brush, 

Muslim is not a race. So you've immediately shot yourself in the foot from the start. Now to educate yourself further Google the orientation of the majority of terrorist incidents in the West.

Feeling chastened now? 

[AustinRacing]

Disgusting, gutless etc….but, but, but if Thailand is forced to take sides it has to side with China as would western countries siding with USA. Unfortunately it’s the world we live in. 
if they don’t wish to go home why don’t Muslims countries nearby take them. 

[Thingamabob]

29 minutes ago, jwl53 said:

Anyone ever told you you a horrible racist you see the Muslim word and you tar every Muslim with the same terrorist brush, 

Islam is a religion, not a race.

[NorthernRyland]

21 minutes ago, jwl53 said:

Anyone ever told you you a horrible racist you see the Muslim word and you tar every Muslim with the same terrorist brush, 

 

racist....🥱 Look at the photo again. Those are not your people. They will totally dominate you given a chance. Get with the program and stop being a chump.

 

[Gandtee]

It would seem the only reason to deport the Uyghurs to China when other countries had offered to take them was to kowtow to the Chinese.

[NemoH]

🤣🤣😂😂 “reunited with their families”….probably in some concentration retraining camps …. 🤣🤣.. 

[spidermike007]

Thailand's government has defended the move, claiming it was legal and aligned with their human rights policies.

 

What these numbskulls meant to say is that since Thailand does not have a human rights policy. It was not against any of it this, because there is none of this.

 

This is really a bad look for Thailand, considering the fact that multiple nations offered asylum. What this essentially means is that they would rather send these people back to have their organs harvested, and in the process obey their masters in China. The world knows Thailand is not a democracy and the world knows that the extremely toxic army still has a tremendous amount of influence here, even though they have been completely useless for decades now. 

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, Dcheech said:

 

And the winner, would do something different?    

as long as we can get rid of these crooks everything should be tried.. I know too but if nobody ever make a statement nothing will ever change... and we all know that the army and the elite will never accept something else as they still keep the power to enrich themselves and keep the country back