The death of Aziz Abdullah, a Uighur detainee at Bangkok's Immigration Detention Centre, is the epitome of the government's mishandling of those escaping China's southwestern Xinjiang region as well as the Muslim minority group's long-forgotten plight on Thai soil.
The 49-year-old man died earlier this week of a lung infection. Despite claims by immigration authorities that they had taken good care of his health, rights activists said Abdullah had been seriously ill for more than three weeks but was not allowed to go to hospital until he finally collapsed. He was then taken to hospital but was soon pronounced dead. The tragedy prompted an outcry from rights advocates who are now urging the government to find humane solutions to end the group's suffering.
Abdullah was a farmer in a remote part of Xinjiang. He arrived in Thailand with his pregnant wife, his brother and seven children in 2013. He was among nearly 200 Uighurs escaping Beijing's oppressive rules that have drawn global condemnation. Their dream of reaching Turkey via Malaysia was, however, shattered when Thai authorities arrested them in southern Thailand. Abdullah ended up in a detention cell, while nothing about his wife and children was mentioned.
The Uighur issue has tainted Thailand's human rights record for far too long. Back in 2015, as preparations were underway to send Uighur asylum seekers to a third country, the junta government succumbed to Beijing's pressure, swiftly deporting more than 100 of them to China. The fate of the deportees is unknown.
It is an open secret that the junta made this controversial decision to appease China in a show of gratitude for Beijing's support at a time when it was ostracised by the western world over the coup by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and the National Council for Peace and Order in 2014.
Not only did the forced deportation trigger global outrage, but it seems to have also contributed to security problems. In the time that followed, Thailand was rocked by powerful explosions that killed more than a dozen people at a Bangkok shrine popular among Chinese tourists. Some analysts linked the blasts with the Uighur issue. The government tries to avoid upsetting China, and it dares not send the Uighurs anywhere and keeps them in detention.
According to security officers, these detained Uighurs -- estimated to number about 50 -- are undergoing a nationality verification process, which doesn't seem to ever end. Several detainees have even made unsuccessful escape attempts over the past years. The question is: Are there grounds to detain these Uighurs?
The mishandling of the Uighur issue speaks volumes about Thailand's stance, not to mention diplomatic prowess, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allows immigration and security authorities to hold this group of people without clear charges. Immigration law violations are punishable by a maximum of two years' imprisonment and fines.
In an about-face move, immigration insisted that it has provided detained Uighurs with food and medicine, but only doing this misses the point. Keeping innocent Uighurs in detention for over a decade with no end in sight is not a reasonable approach.
Thailand once managed to hold successful negotiations, albeit behind closed doors, in the case of Hakeem al-Alaibi, the Bahraini footballer who was detained in Bangkok while awaiting Australian citizenship in 2019.
This is a preferable model for interaction with a foreign power. Why not try using it?
