Three Uyghurs reportedly relocated, or "Uyghur trio allegedly repositioned"
Uyghurs Find New Home in Canada, Leaving Behind a Decade-Long Saga
The last three Uyghurs held at Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre have finally found a new home in Canada, putting a permanent end to an ordeal that spanned more than a decade.
Confirmation of their resettlement came from reliable government and diplomatic sources, who shared the news with our website. The Uyghurs, who've been at the detention center since 2014, were transferred under an agreement between Thai and Canadian officials.
This announcement comes just a few months after Thailand deported 40 Uyghurs from the center to China, causing an uproar from Western governments and human rights organizations. Luckily for the trio, they held passports issued by Kyrgyzstan.
Back in 2014, about 300 Uyghurs were arrested by Thai immigration authorities under Yingluck Shinawatra's administration near the Thai-Malaysian border. Over time, 173 women and children were granted permission to travel to Turkey in hopes of seeking asylum. However, the following month, the National Council for Peace and Order forcibly repatriated 109 Uyghurs to China at Beijing's request. The sight of Chinese police escorting Uyghurs, hooded and handcuffed, sparked international fury, particularly from the West and human rights organizations.
A bomb explosion at the Erawan Shrine in August 2015, which claimed 20 lives and injured over 130, added fuel to the fire, with speculation persisting over a possible relation to the controversial deportations.
Notably, throughout their detention at Suan Phlu, the Uyghurs endured tough living conditions. Activists claimed they suffered overcrowding, poor hygiene, food, water, and medical care shortages as well as inadequate access to halal meals and basic healthcare. Several detainees even lost their lives during this period.
Furthermore, rights groups accused the government of denying the Uyghurs access to legal representation, family contact, humanitarian groups, and international refugee organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Consequently, the Uyghurs were effectively unable to seek asylum status.
Following the decision to repatriate over 40 Uyghur detainees to China by the administration of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Chalida Tajaroensuk, chairwoman of the People's Empowerment Foundation, announced this week that the last three Uyghurs have arrived safely in Canada. These three Uyghurs have been established as Kyrgyzstan citizens, as they used their Kyrgyz passports to illegally enter Thailand in 2014.
Initially, one of the Uyghurs who had resettled in Australia reached out to various embassies, urging them to accept the three Kyrgyz Uyghurs. The Canadians responded favorably, allowing the UNHCR to process their resettlement in the country.
Until now, the plight of the Uyghurs in Thailand has been a contentious issue, with human rights groups and Western countries voicing their concerns about the treatment of Uyghurs in detention and the forced deportations to China. Hopefully, the resettlement of these three Uyghurs in Canada represents a step towards ensuring their safety and human rights.
Additional Insights:- The remaining Uyghurs in Thai detention centers are continuing to endure difficulties. A recent Human Rights Watch report documented numerous instances of physical abuse, as well as denial of medical care.- The Uyghur community faces widespread persecution in China, with many being detained in camps for 're-education'. The Chinese government has been accused of targeting Uyghurs for their Muslim religion, among other factors.- Canada's decision to resettle the Uyghurs follows a trend of Western countries expressing solidarity with Uyghurs and criticizing China's human rights abuses against the Muslim minority group.
- The Uyghur community, despite finding a new home in Canada, still has members enduring hardships in Thai detention centers, as documented by a recent Human Rights Watch report.
- Amidst the Uyghurs' resettlement in Canada, the international community continues to voice concerns about the treatment of Uyghurs in detention and the forced deportations to China, a contentious issue in war-and-conflicts, politics, and general-news.
- Canada's resettlement of Uyghurs represents a step toward ensuring their safety and human rights amidst China's systematic persecution of the Uyghur Muslim minority group, a matter of crime-and-justice and human rights.
- Despite being granted Kyrgyz passports, the Uyghurs who were once detained at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Thailand faced numerous challenges, including physical abuse, denial of medical care, and the denial of asylum status due to limited access to legal representation.
- Western countries, including Canada, have shown solidarity with the Uyghur community by expressing criticism of China's human rights abuses, following the global trend of addressing crime-and-justice and human rights violations in countries like Thai and China.
