BANGKOK (Reuters) – Cabinet ministers from Thailand will head to China’s Xinjiang region on Tuesday to inspect Uyghurs deported last month, an official said, ahead of a three-day visit in which Bangkok says only five of the 40 sent back will be made available.
Thailand sent back the 40 Uyghurs in a secretive pre-dawn deportation on February 27, defying calls from United Nations human rights experts who said they were at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned.
The move drew a sharp rebuke from western countries, including the United States, which last week hit unnamed Thai officials with visa sanctions over the deportation. The European parliament also condemned Thailand, calling on the European Union to use free trade negotiations as leverage to prevent a repeat.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in the Xinjiang region. Beijing denies any abuse and has accused western countries of interference and of peddling lies.
Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechachai, Justice Minister Taweee Sodswong, senior military officials and nine members of the Thai media will travel to Xinjiang, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said.
“The defence minister’s delegation will receive a summary briefing by a representative from the Xinjiang autonomous region,” said Jirayu, adding they would later visit Uyghurs.
Thailand has repeatedly said it had received assurances from China that the Uyghurs would be looked after.
‘NO HIDDEN AGENDA’
Phumtham, who is also deputy prime minister, has said Thailand expected to meet only five of the 40 Uyghurs returned and one from a previous group sent back a decade ago.
They were all from a group of 300 Uyghurs who fled China and were arrested in 2014 in Thailand. Some were sent back to China, others to Turkey and the rest kept in Thai custody until last month’s deportation.
“The government will make known to the civilised world the straightforwardness of Thailand and that there was no hidden agenda or deportation of refugees,” spokesperson Jirayu added.
At a regular briefing on Tuesday in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the visit was “part of normal friendly exchanges between China and Thailand.”
Reuters reported this month that Canada and the United States had offered to resettle the Uyghurs who had been returned to China, but Bangkok feared upsetting China. Thailand said it had received no concrete offers, however.
The deportation was in the Southeast Asian country’s best interest due to the possibility of retaliation from Beijing if the group was sent elsewhere, a Thai vice minister for foreign affairs later said.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok and Laurie Chen in Beijing; ; Editing by)
