Vice FM insists no foreign government wants to take in detained Uyghurs
Thailand’s Vice Foreign Minister Ras Chaleechan insists no foreign government formally requested to take in Uyghurs detained for 11 years before their repatriation to China.
Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Ras Chaleechan insisted on Sunday that no other government had ever expressed an intention to take in Uyghurs detained in Thailand as refugees.
Ras was responding to criticisms from the opposition and human rights activists, who claimed that other countries had wanted to accept the Uyghurs detained at the Immigration Division for 11 years before they were repatriated to China on Thursday. Critics alleged that the Thai government ignored requests to send the Uyghurs to a third country as refugees, fearing it would anger China.
However, Ras stated on his Facebook page, The Alternative Ambassador Returns, that no foreign government had ever sent a formal request to Thailand via the Foreign Ministry seeking to take in the Uyghurs.
"Regarding the comment by someone that a third country wanted to take in all the remaining Uyghurs, I hereby affirm that no such country exists," Ras said in his post.
The Thai government repatriated 40 Uyghurs to China on Thursday after they had been detained for 11 years.
The move sparked strong condemnations from the UNHCR and several Western governments, including the United States and the United Kingdom, which expressed concerns that the Uyghurs would face persecution by the Chinese government.
Ras said that one country had formally requested to take in some Uyghurs 11 years ago after they were arrested for entering Thailand unlawfully—apparently referring to Turkey, where a group of Uyghurs was sent.
“For the remaining Uyghurs, no other country has ever sent a request to Thailand to take them in, apart from the Chinese government,” Ras stated.
He emphasised that the resettlement of Uyghurs as refugees must be handled at a government-to-government level, with formal requests submitted through the Foreign Ministry or Thai embassies in relevant countries.
He further noted that requests to take in Uyghurs could not be made through non-governmental organisations or even the UNHCR.
Before the repatriation, Human Rights Watch condemned Thailand for detaining Uyghurs for 11 years instead of allowing them to reunite with their families in Turkey.
Ras suggested that it was understandable why no other country had expressed willingness to take in the detained Uyghurs, as doing so could create diplomatic tensions with China.
“Several countries want to maintain good relations with China and do not want to be seen as its enemy, regardless of whether it is a superpower or not. Even a superpower has its own domestic political considerations, and accepting refugees is a sensitive issue that can affect a government's popularity. That is why no country was truly willing to do it,” Ras said.
