US embassy issues security alert in Thailand after Uighurs’ deportation to China
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“Similar deportations have prompted violent retaliatory attacks in the past,” a security alert posted on the embassy website said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BANGKOK - The United States embassy in Bangkok on Feb 28 issued a security alert for its citizens in Thailand, a day after the secretive deportation of 40 Uighurs to China
“Similar deportations have prompted violent retaliatory attacks in the past,” a security alert posted on the embassy website said.
Diplomats and security analysts say Thailand's widely-condemned deportation of 100 Uighurs to China in July 2015 led to a deadly bombing a month later at a Bangkok shrine that killed 20 people in what was the worst attack of its kind on Thai soil.
The Thai authorities at the time concluded the attack was linked to their crackdown on a human trafficking ring, without specifically linking the group to the Uighurs. Two ethnic Uighur men were arrested in connection with the incident and their trial is proceeding, despite repeated delays.
The Japanese embassy in Thailand also sent an e-mail warning its citizens in the wake of Feb 27's deportation, the mission told Reuters.
“This is not a change in risk assessment about Thailand,” it said in an e-mail.
The Thai foreign ministry did not immediately comment on the security alert and e-mail warning.
Thailand is a major regional tourist destination that received 35.5 million visitors in 2024, with its economy heavily dependent on the sector. Thailand also draws millions of visitors from China every year.
Held in Thailand for a decade, 40 Uighurs were sent back to China in a pre-dawn operation on Feb 27, defying calls from United Nations human rights experts who said they would be at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned.
China has rejected allegations of abuse against the Uighurs and on Feb 28 described those as groundless lies. REUTERS
