Thai Officials Plan to Visit East Turkistan

After facing severe criticism for handing over 40 Uyghurs to China, several high-ranking officials in the Thai government have announced their intention to visit East Turkistan to "verify" the situation of the Uyghurs who were handed over to China.

According to the Bangkok Post on March 5, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong are scheduled to visit East Turkistan on March 18 to check on the status of 40 Uyghurs who were handed over to China after being detained in Thailand for more than ten years.

On Wednesday, Phumtham repeated his claims that Thailand strictly adhered to legal requirements when returning the Uyghurs to China, and claimed that no other country was willing to accept the detainees except China.

Phumtham, who also serves as Defense Minister in addition to being Deputy Prime Minister, reiterated that Thailand accommodated the Uyghurs for 11 years without causing major problems and noted that in the early years, the government requested assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in finding a place to resettle the Uyghurs.

The Thai government detained about 350 Uyghurs who fled Chinese ethnic genocide to Thailand ten years ago. In July 2015, 172 Uyghurs, including women, children, and the elderly, were accepted by Turkey. A week later, the Thai government returned 109 Uyghurs to China. The fate of the Uyghurs who were returned to China remains unknown to this day.