In repatriating over 100 asylum-seeking Uighur Muslims, Thailand caved to pressure from Beijing.
Matt Schiavenza
THE ATLANTIC - JULY 12, 2015
Last week, Thailand forcibly repatriated over 100 Uighur people
to China, where the ethnic minority group is likely to face punishment
and retaliation. The decision elicited a backlash from
the United States government, the United Nations, and international
advocacy organizations who claimed that the Uighurs would be tortured—or worse—after their return. But Thailand insisted that it simply lacked the means to let them stay.
“Do you want us to keep them for ages until they have children for three generations?” asked Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand’s military-backed prime Minister.
Prayuth’s question, however, elided a key consideration: Thailand needs China’s support, and China wanted the Uighurs back.
China’s Persecuted Minority
A Muslim population native to Xinjiang, China’s vast westernmost
region, the Uighurs have lived uneasily under Beijing rule since soon
after the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949. Like the
Tibetans, Uighurs claim to be victims of economic discrimination and
religious and cultural repression. In recent years, Chinese authorities
in Xinjiang have established laws that prohibit Uighur women from wearing veils on their faces, and have discouraged fasting during Ramadan.
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