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| Southeast Asia |
| UNHCR protests Thailand's deportation of Chinese refugees |
| 2015-11-19 |
| A United Nations agency protested Thailand's deportation of two registered refugees to China on Wednesday, saying they should not have been sent back to a country where their lives could be in danger. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees agency said the two individuals were in possession of a U.N. "protection letter". They were waiting to go to Canada, having been accepted as refugees, at the time of their arrest by Thai authorities. In Washington, the U.S. State Department also said that the two could be in jeopardy on their return to China. The UNHCR did not identify the activists or their nationalities, but an official at an Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok gave details of their case. Jiang Yefei and Dong Guangping were arrested on Oct. 28 following a request from China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the issue was being handled "in accordance with the law". He did not elaborate. The Canadian embassy in Bangkok did not offer any immediate response for comment. Thailand's generals have cultivated warmer ties with China since seizing power in a 2014 coup. The coup was widely condemned by Western nations, which downgraded diplomatic ties, but the ruling junta claimed to have support from China. Thailand has not signed a 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, nor does it have a specific law on refugees. Thailand deported about 100 Uighur Muslims back to China in July, drawing condemnation from the United States and others. Thai immigration officials said the two deported men were not Uighurs. |
| Posted by:Pappy |