Thailand today confirmed the deportation to China of 40 members of the Chinese ethnic minority of Muslim Uighur origin, despite appeals from the United Nations and human rights organizations.
"I think it is normal procedure to repatriate people who are considered illegal immigrants. The Uighurs are no different, they have to be repatriated. How many more years should they be detained: 11, 12, 13? They are human beings, they should be allowed to return," Thai police chief Kittirat Panpetch told a news conference.
The confirmation came after hours of rumors of a covert operation. The police chief himself had previously said he could not reveal details for reasons of national security.
Thai Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra told parliament she needed to receive "detailed information" about what had happened, while the Thai Foreign Ministry had yet to respond to questions in a briefing with reporters on the matter.
China's Ministry of Public Security previously reported that Thailand deported 40 Chinese citizens who were in "irregular migration status" as part of a joint China-Thai operation against cross-border crimes, without specifying whether they were Uighurs.
According to the ministry's statement, authorities in both countries ensured that the deportation process was carried out "in accordance with current legislation and international standards."
Thai media have indicated from the beginning that the deportees were Uighurs, sharing images of several vans with windows covered in black cellophane leaving the detention center where some 48 Uighurs have been held for years.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference in Beijing, when asked about the deportations, that "China is a rule of law in terms of protecting the human rights of all ethnic groups, including the people of Xinjiang," the western Chinese region where the Uighurs originate.
"I want to say that your rights are being protected. Illegal immigration is a crime and we oppose human trafficking," he added.
In late January, the UN called on Thailand to "immediately" suspend the deportation of 48 Uighurs to China, due to the risk of reprisals against members of the ethnic minority. The situation of the eight who were not deported is unknown.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said that "sending detained Uighurs to China is a flagrant violation of Thailand's obligations under domestic and international law."
The 48 Uighurs are part of a group of around 350 people from this minority group linked to the peoples of Central Asia who were arrested in 2014 when they entered Thailand illegally.
In 2015, Bangkok deported more than 100 Uighur men to China, triggering a wave of international outrage, and simultaneously sent 170 Uighur women and children to Turkey.
The rest of the group that was not deported is incommunicado, without access to lawyers, family members or representatives of UN agencies.
In recent years, several Western organizations and governments have accused Beijing of repressing and detaining thousands of Uighurs in re-education centers.
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