China’s Uighurs still caught in jaws of Thai Immigration

[webfact]

China’s Uighurs still caught in jaws of Thai Immigration 

By The Nation

 

 

Thailand is a key transit point for foreign refugees, but their treatment here depends on who’s chasing them

 

In light of the Immigration Department’s sloppy and embarrassing handling of a Bahraini football player for whom asylum in Australia was waiting, the authorities obviously need a clearer operating procedure to avoid similar incidents in the future. 

 

Hakeem al-Araibi fled Bahrain in 2014, was granted refugee status in Australia where he plays semi-professional soccer, and only came to Thailand for his honeymoon. He arrived in November, was detained in connection with a 10-year sentence given him in absentia in Bahrain, and remained in custody in Bangkok until last week. International condemnation of Thai authorities finally helped free him.

 

Meanwhile in the same week, Uzbekistan sent Qalymbek Shahman, an ethnic Kazakh with Chinese nationality, back to Thailand whence his flight departed because Beijing wants him repatriated. China has incarcerated an estimated one million ethnic Muslim Uighurs and Kazakhs in “re-education camps”, believing Maoist-style indoctrination will rid them of any hopes for cultural or geographic autonomy.

 

Predominantly Muslim Turkey has urged China to close what are concentration camps by another name and end its persecution of Muslims, which it called “a great cause of shame for humanity”. Unfortunately the appeal from Ankara found few echoes around the world, with most countries more interested in tapping the retail value of the vast Chinese population.

 

Thailand’s status as a primarily Buddhist society does not excuse its silence on Beijing’s ethno-religious suppression, and in fact should encourage it to speak out. Now a victim of that persecution has landed back in our laps. Swift and decisive action is needed, preferably before the Immigration Police have to again ask the Foreign Ministry to clean up the mess it’s made.

 

Blaming the al-Araibi debacle on Bahrain with its reputation for crushing dissent sounded pathetic given that he was kept in a Thai jail for 76 days. Nor does it seem to matter these days that Interpol issued a “red notice” for al-Araibi’s arrest. Interpol has devolved into a political tool for dictators.

 

Moreover, our officials have ignored international standards for the treatment of refugees and others seeking political asylum.

 

Also in recent news was seven undocumented Uighurs escaping from an Immigration detention centre in Mukdahan. It was a match for the incident in Songkhla in November when 25 Uighurs broke through their cell wall to gain freedom. They were among the more than 200 Uighurs detained in Thailand since 2014.

 

They had good reason to escape. In July 2015 Thailand forcibly returned 100 Uighurs to China, again to the dismay of the international community. They were sure to face harsh punishment there. A Uighur extremist group retaliated the following month by blowing up the Erawan Shrine in the heart of Bangkok.

 

Thousands of Uighurs have fled their historical homeland in China’s Xinjiang province as state suppression mounted. Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations are their transit points to Turkey, where they have in common a mother tongue, Turkic, and which is regarded as a defender of the Muslim faith globally, Ankara’s appalling human-rights record notwithstanding.

 

Thailand – despite not being a signatory to the Geneva Convention on refugees – has a moral obligation to respect international norms and humanitarian principles. Clearer policy on the treatment of asylum seekers would do much to ensure that people in genuine or perceived danger can feel safe in official detention while their cases are assessed. Instead, Thai Immigration is being seen overseas as a cruel beast.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30364100

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-02-14

[YetAnother]

59 minutes ago, webfact said:

Moreover, our officials have ignored international standards for the treatment of refugees and others seeking political asylum.

boils down to human rights, something thailand isn't keen on

[car720]

I love these articles which tell us just how lousy we are as human beings, especially when they are usually written by completely ignorant people.

I was walking through the main park in Shanghai once when I witnessed a woman walking behind another woman and putting her hand into her bag.  I was about to call out to the woman when my Chinese friend shut me up and quickly pointed out several men following closely.  These guys were, I was informed, the protectors and anyone that interfered with the theft would be knifed for their effort.  This was a gang of Uighers.  Muslims all.  

My point is that you have to be in the midst of any given situation before you can start bleating an ill-informed opinion.

[Scott]

Troll post removed.

[Srikcir]

2 hours ago, car720 said:

This was a gang of Uighers.  Muslims all.  

Assuming you knew this as a fact (might be particularly suspicious if coming from a Chinese national), what makes such any more different than any other criminal gangs such as Thai Buddhists?

[Orton Rd]

19 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Assuming you knew this as a fact (might be particularly suspicious if coming from a Chinese national), what makes such any more different than any other criminal gangs such as Thai Buddhists?

I would think a Chinese national would be able to tell who they were, just like somebody in the UK would be able to identify a few Roma Gypsies in the west end of London up to no good along Oxford street etc.

[Galactus]

4 hours ago, car720 said:

I love these articles which tell us just how lousy we are as human beings, especially when they are usually written by completely ignorant people.

I was walking through the main park in Shanghai once when I witnessed a woman walking behind another woman and putting her hand into her bag.  I was about to call out to the woman when my Chinese friend shut me up and quickly pointed out several men following closely.  These guys were, I was informed, the protectors and anyone that interfered with the theft would be knifed for their effort.  This was a gang of Uighers.  Muslims all.  

My point is that you have to be in the midst of any given situation before you can start bleating an ill-informed opinion.

bs. article presses totally correct points but as you are brainwashed and hold a hatred towards muslim, you just ignore it.

these are very well known facts, all those concentration camps, nazi style.

if china was doing this to jews or christians, you were criticizing china now.

and like you have seen any uighur in your life, how did you know they were uighurs or muslim?

of course some uighur people joined ISIS and involved in terrorism but you just cannot mistreat a whole population just bc of a handful of terrorists.

[lvr181]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand – despite not being a signatory to the Geneva Convention on refugees – has a moral obligation to respect international norms and humanitarian principles.

They don't care or don't want to understand! Too often, higher order thinking does not happen. "..moral obligation.." what is that?

 

Patting oneself on the back (in order to move forward) for "idiocy", can only lead to condemnation. And they got it and deservedly so! 

[Johnnyngai]

My first visit was back in 2000, but China is no longer my favorite vacation place. 

Up until 2012, the big cities in China were still very messed up. 

The police was simply lazy.  You want safety? You hire your own security guard!   

The central government wanted to buy loyalty from the Uighurs, 

the police use it as an excuse to look the other way when it came to Uighurs pick pocket gangs.  

Since Uighurs pick picket gangs only make up 3 % of the street crime, why deal with it.  

Dealing with Uighur pick picket gangs mean having to pay for translators, it cuts into the police ktv budget. 

The Uighurs territories are very economically depressed, and most Uighurs do not speak Mandarin. 

When they came to the big cities to look for opportunities, they were recruited by gang leaders.  

 

I believe things have changed much in the big cities, Uighurs pick pocket gangs have relocated.  

 

[Johnnyngai]

There is no discrimination against Muslims or Uighurs; 

as long as they pledge allegiance to the Beijing government and worship within an approved setting.  

There is actually a central religious propaganda office that regulates  ALL  religious activities. 

I met an Uighur in Hainan on vacation four years ago.  

She was a school administrator in Beijing.  

She must have accepted a whole basket of carrots;

she spoke so highly of the government that she actually made me sick.  

 

[Johnnyngai]

I learned my away in China by meeting college students in an language exchange web site. 

Six years ago, I was in Kashgar for 14 days, I found the Uighurs in Kashgar were genuinely nice people. 

I took the taxi to and from the airport; the Uighur driver didn't rip me off.  

I gave them a 10% tip and they pretended they didn't want it.   

I hope the slick Hans from the big cities would not pollute them.  

[Johnnyngai]

 "" China has incarcerated an estimated one million ethnic Muslim Uighurs and Kazakhs in “re-education camps”,

believing Maoist-style indoctrination will rid them of any hopes for cultural or geographic autonomy. "" 

 

The above is an exaggeration, not because the communist government is kind and reasonable. 

It is because the Uighurs region is too dry / harsh to support a huge population.  Half a million, may be ?  

During Chairman Mao's time, some of the area was used for atomic bomb testing.  

[JAG]

28 minutes ago, Johnnyngai said:

During Chairman Mao's time, some of the area was used for atomic bomb testing.  

That may go some way towards explaining a degree of antipathy towards the Chinese central government!

[Traubert]

43 minutes ago, Johnnyngai said:

 "" China has incarcerated an estimated one million ethnic Muslim Uighurs and Kazakhs in “re-education camps”,

believing Maoist-style indoctrination will rid them of any hopes for cultural or geographic autonomy. "" 

 

The above is an exaggeration, not because the communist government is kind and reasonable. 

It is because the Uighurs region is too dry / harsh to support a huge population.  Half a million, may be ?  

During Chairman Mao's time, some of the area was used for atomic bomb testing.  

Spot on Mr Johnny. The reports have always said 'up to a million.' One report yesterday said 3-5 million. The sheer logistics of that are impossible.

 

Bad muslims in the west are terrorists, bad muslims in China are 'repressed minorities,' when in fact they have concessions that the Han can only dream about.

 

China borders Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgistan, all of whom have had significant extremist doctrine in the recent past. When China discovered that Uighurs were attending training camps in those countries, and indeed set one up in Xinjiang, what where they supposed to do? Let them carry on because they're a minority group? Sheer hypocrisy from the western press.

 

They conveniently fail to mention the Kunming Railway station slayings, the Xinjiang miners murders, the car bomb in Tiananmen, the market bombing and the Urumqi riots, where they burned Han teenage girls alive, etc etc etc. Oh those poor, cuddly Uighurs.

 

In fact, every affected country in the west would do the same as the Chinese if they dared, but the extremists played the wrong card when they tried it in China. The Chinese do not muck about. No watch lists here, only flame throwers.

[car720]

5 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Assuming you knew this as a fact (might be particularly suspicious if coming from a Chinese national), what makes such any more different than any other criminal gangs such as Thai Buddhists?

merely pointing out that they are not the innocent victims that are being portrayed here and elsewhere.

[car720]

4 hours ago, Galactus said:

bs. article presses totally correct points but as you are brainwashed and hold a hatred towards muslim, you just ignore it.

these are very well known facts, all those concentration camps, nazi style.

if china was doing this to jews or christians, you were criticizing china now.

and like you have seen any uighur in your life, how did you know they were uighurs or muslim?

of course some uighur people joined ISIS and involved in terrorism but you just cannot mistreat a whole population just bc of a handful of terrorists.

I know them well because I live in China.  As for Jews, Christians, Muslims or anyone else, I am a Deist so I don't give a tinkle either way.  You have not seen them running rampant with knives, cutting peoples throats that are walking down the street.  I have, albeit on Chinese television.

[car720]

20 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

I would think a Chinese national would be able to tell who they were, just like somebody in the UK would be able to identify a few Roma Gypsies in the west end of London up to no good along Oxford street etc.

Precisely.

[hansnl]

On 2/14/2019 at 7:18 AM, car720 said:

I love these articles which tell us just how lousy we are as human beings, especially when they are usually written by completely ignorant people.

I was walking through the main park in Shanghai once when I witnessed a woman walking behind another woman and putting her hand into her bag.  I was about to call out to the woman when my Chinese friend shut me up and quickly pointed out several men following closely.  These guys were, I was informed, the protectors and anyone that interfered with the theft would be knifed for their effort.  This was a gang of Uighers.  Muslims all.  

My point is that you have to be in the midst of any given situation before you can start bleating an ill-informed opinion.

I don't quite understand why we should have compassion with Muslims as they have no compassion whatsoever with what they call "infidels".

Besides, Turkey blabbering about human rights is hilarious, seen the track record of that country against minorities like Christians, Jews, Yazedis, Greeks, Kurds etc.

Or any other group that doesn't agree with the government of the day?

May I also mention Cyprus?

[car720]

7 hours ago, hansnl said:

I don't quite understand why we should have compassion with Muslims as they have no compassion whatsoever with what they call "infidels".

Besides, Turkey blabbering about human rights is hilarious, seen the track record of that country against minorities like Christians, Jews, Yazedis, Greeks, Kurds etc.

Or any other group that doesn't agree with the government of the day?

May I also mention Cyprus?

and don't forget T.E. Lawrence.