BANGKOK—Thailand faced a blizzard of international criticism Thursday, and its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, was ransacked, after it deported 109 ethnic Uyghur refugees to China despite fears that they would face persecution there.
The U.N. refugee agency called Thailand’s action “a flagrant violation of international law.” The United States also condemned the deportations, and voiced deep concern about protection of asylum-seekers in Thailand. Amnesty International said that the Muslim Uyghurs could face detention or torture in China.
Protesters in Turkey, which has cultural ties to the Uyghurs and accepted an earlier group of Uyghur refugees from Thailand, ransacked the Thai Consulate in Istanbul overnight. Police in the capital, Ankara, used pepper spray to push back Uyghur protesters who tried to break through a barricade outside the Chinese Embassy.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned Thailand, saying the deportation came despite “numerous initiatives” by Turkey to prevent the Uyghurs’ repatriation. The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said it was “shocked,” having been given assurances by Thailand that the group would continue to receive protection.
Thai deputy government spokesman Maj. Gen. Verachon Sukhonthapatipak said Thailand had assurances from Chinese authorities about the safety of the Uyghurs. However, in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China would take action against those suspected of breaking the law.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said that as a third country, the matter was not Thailand’s problem, and that the place they were sent to—he did not name China—would take care of it according to its justice system.
“I’m asking if we don’t do it this way, then how would we do it?” he said. “Or do you want us to keep them for ages until they have children for three generations?”
The Uyghurs had been in Thailand for over a year, along with others who had fled China and claimed to be Turkish, the spokesman, Verachon, said. Thai authorities sought to verify their nationalities before relocating them, he said.
“We found that about 170 of them were Turkish, so they were recently sent to Turkey,” he said. “And about 100 were Chinese, so they were sent to China as of this morning, under the agreement that their safety is guaranteed according to humanitarian principles.” He denied reports from Uyghur activists that the refugees resisted deportation and some had been hurt.
