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Uighur refugees have been held in Thailand for around ten years. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
The immigration detention center is located in the middle of the Thai capital Bangkok. Not far from the tourist and entertainment districts, 43 Uyghur refugees have been eking out an existence here for around a decade.
Two inmates have died this year alone
The cells are overcrowded, it is noisy and many of the inmates suffer from illnesses, says Polat Sayim, refugee representative of the World Uyghur Congress. He also accuses the authorities of lacking medical care.
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Overcrowded cells in the immigration prison in Bangkok.
Keystone/Sakchai Lalit
“This year alone, two inmates died because they were inadequately treated and not taken to the hospital in time,” explains Polat Sayim.
Around ten years ago, several hundred Uyghur men, women and children were arrested after entering Thailand. They had fled oppression in China and wanted to travel via Southeast Asia to a safe third country.
Armed police sent to Thailand
Thailand was just a transit country for them, explains Phil Robertson of the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch.
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Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch, Southeast Asia
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To Beijing’s anger, a group of Uyghur women and children were finally allowed to travel on to Turkey. However, a few weeks later, Thai authorities deported another group back to China.
The Chinese government sent a plane with armed police to Thailand, said Robertson, to pick up 109 men and boys. Since then there has been no trace of them.
Thailand doesn’t want to decide
After the forcible deportation, Thailand was heavily criticized internationally. Since then, the Thai government has not wanted to make a decision, said Robertson. “So they literally let these people rot in prison.”
Several states have agreed to take in the Uyghurs, says Polat Sayim. But the Thai authorities didn’t let them go.
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The immigration authority in Thailand does not want to comment on the matter.
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The Thai immigration authority did not want to comment on the subject when asked. The matter is politically extremely sensitive, says Thai human rights activist Chalida Tajaroensuk.
Thailand does not want to jeopardize relations with China
The Chinese government maintains good relations with the Thai authorities, Chalida continued. Economically, people are also dependent on China, not least the tourism industry. They don’t want to spoil things with Beijing.
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The Thai human rights activist Chalida Tajaroensuk (Director of the People’s Power Foundation) lobbies, among other things, for the Uyghur refugees.
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Phil Robertson has no understanding of that. The detained Uyghurs must be released immediately. These people deserve to finally get their lives back.