The Uighur Dilemma

Posted by AsiaViews | Nov 27, 2017 | 0 |

The Bangkok Post

Nov 23, 2017
The jailbreak of 20 illegal Uighur migrants from a detention center in the southern province of Songkhla earlier this week poses a foreign policy dilemma for the military regime.

Some have managed to cross the border to Malaysia. Five of them were reportedly re-arrested by Malaysian authorities. The remainder are still at large.

The Uighur are a Muslim minority from the Xinjiang region of China who have fled human rights abuses carried out by the Chinese government. It is well known that they have no intention of living in Thailand or nearby countries. For them, Thailand is just a transit point to a third country, presumably Turkey which has a policy of accepting all such migrants thanks to their Islamic ties.

Some 100-200 Uighur are reportedly still being held in detention centers. Most of them were apprehended by Thai authorities when sneaking onto Thai soil in early 2014 in the hope of a new life elsewhere. Instead, they ended up in detention centers.

It is known that Beijing, claiming that some Muslim migrants are associated with terror attacks in the restive Xinjiang region, wants all the Uighur back for trial. Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said if those migrants face charges in their country, they will be sent back. Yet deportation, as mentioned by Gen Prawit on Tuesday, does not seem to be a choice right now.

Back in July, 2015, Thailand decided to deport 109 Uighur to China, at its request, disregarding concerns by human rights groups. Just weeks after the forced deportation, Bangkok became the target of a deadly bomb attack which several observers believed was retaliation for handing the Uighur back to China. Twenty, mostly Chinese tourists, died when a bomb was detonated at the popular Erawan shrine.

The regime, in particular Gen Prawit, who is believed to be the key man behind the deportation order in exchange for closer ties with Beijing, ruled out any connection between the Erawan shrine bombing and the Uighur deportation as the trial of the bomb suspects continued at a snail’s pace. Yet there is no information to counter the Uighur theory. The arrest of a wife of a Turkish man suspected to have a role in the Erawan bombing only complicated the matter.

Many observers believe this is the high cost of friendship with Beijing. Every August, authorities are ordered to tighten up security, especially in the area around the Erawan shrine.

It’s sad that innocent people seeking a new life in a place where they can freely practise their religious beliefs have to end up in custody for years.

Detention centers that accommodate these illegal migrants are designed for their temporary custody pending deportation or a transfer process, should returning them to their place of origin prove to be life-threatening as with the Uighur. They are not equipped with facilities for long-time detention.

Under Thailand’s immigration law, authorities have no obligation to hand over illegal migrants to their country of origin. The migrants, like the Uighur, have breached the law but their period behind bars has exceeded the penalty for the crime they committed under immigration law. Forced deportation is out of the question since these people are at high risk of being deprived of their basic rights.

It’s time for the Thai state to end the dilemma, and counter China over this difficult issue on an equal footing. The burden of proof falls on Beijing if any Uighur migrants are wanted for their alleged roles in attacks in the country.

Yet the Thai state has the full power to consider the evidence and may seek help from international organizations in deciding the process. In principle, those without a terrorist background must be given the chance to start afresh on a humanitarian basis.

(:https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1365339/the-uighur-dilemma)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

The Uighur Dilemma