An opposition MP today rebutted the Thai government’s claims that the Uyghurs, deported on Thursday, returned home voluntarily.
“Nobody believes that those who escaped suppression in China would willingly return there,” said Kannavee Suebsang, the sole MP of the Fair party, who then produced three letters, which he claimed had been written by Uyghurs, stating that they did not want to go back to China.
The first letter, Kannavee said, was jointly written by 48 Uyghurs detained in a Bangkok detention centre, asking the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to help by granting them asylum status.
Early Thursday morning, 40 of these Uyghurs were repatriated to China, following an agreement between the Thai and Chinese governments, but the letter clearly indicated that they did not want to return to China, claiming that they would be assaulted and could die.
Kannavee said the letter never reached the UNHCR.
The second letter was addressed to the Thai prime minister, stating that the writers were Uyghurs who had been detained in Thailand for more than ten years.
During that period, some of them had died and some fell seriously ill, due to a lack of sunlight and fresh air.
The writers asked Paetongtarn Shinawatra to help them go to any country where they could start a new and happy life with their families.
“As a mother and a daughter, only you are the right person to understand our situation and help us,” they wrote.
The letter also referenced the return to Thailand of Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, and his reunion with his family, adding “As God helped Paetongtarn’s family reunite, please help poor people like us to reunite with ours.”
The third letter, written earlier this year, pleaded: “Please don’t send us back to China.” At the top of the letter, “SOS” was written.
Kannavee said these letters clearly prove that the Uyghurs did not want to return to China, contradicting the Thai government’s claims.
“The Thai government cannot speak on their behalf. It (the government) must let them speak for themselves,” he said.
He added that he also does not believe the Thai government’s claim that it will monitor the living conditions of the Uyghurs deported to China.
