By Jared Ferrie
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Twenty-two minority Chinese Uighurs who fled to Cambodia after deadly ethnic rioting this year pose a diplomatic challenge for Cambodia, testing its ability to stand up to China, its biggest investor.
The Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim ethnic group involved in rioting in western China that killed nearly 200 people in July, have put Cambodia's leaders in an awkward position ahead of a visit by Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, who arrives on Sunday.
Cambodia is one of two Southeast Asian countries that signed a 1951 convention on refugees pledging not to send asylum seekers back to a country where they will face persecution, which would almost certainly be the case for the Uighurs, according to rights groups.
They were smuggled out of China into Cambodia in recent weeks and applied for asylum at the United Nations refugee agency office in Phnom Penh.
China has not said publicly it is seeking their repatriation, but Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters this week they were criminal suspects who were being investigated.
The timing is tricky for Cambodia, expected to sign 14 agreements with China during Xi's visit related to infrastructure construction, grants and loans.
Cambodia has already received more than $1 billion in foreign direct investment from China, which in October agreed to provide $853 million in loans to the impoverished country for dams, infrastructure and irrigation projects.
"The economic ties between Cambodia and China should not interfere with the asylum-seeking process," said Thys Hoekman of the Unrepresented Nation and Peoples Organisation, based in The Hague.
PERSECUTION RISK
The Uighur American Association (UAA) said the Uighurs could face persecution and even execution if they were deported to China.
"We believe Cambodia should abide by its international human rights commitments," said Amy Reger, a UAA researcher.
Amnesty International issued an open letter calling on the Cambodian government to refuse any extradition request. The letter cited cases of Uighurs who were returned to China, sometimes after gaining refugee status, and subsequently detained and reportedly tortured and executed.
Cambodian officials confirmed that a diplomatic note from the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh had been received, but neither the Chinese nor Cambodian authorities have divulged whether it was an extradition request.
"(The Uighurs) are suspected of crimes," Jiang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said at a media briefing on Thursday. "We think the global refugee protection system should not become a refuge for criminals fleeing from their crimes."
China has yet to elaborate on their alleged crimes or provide any evidence.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is assisting Cambodia in determining the status of the 22 Uighurs. If they were deemed to be refugees, Cambodia was bound by the 1951 convention not to deport them, said UNHCR spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey.
Cambodian officials said Xi will meet with King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials during his three-day visit.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Martin Petty and Jerry Norton)
The Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim ethnic group involved in rioting in western China that killed nearly 200 people in July, have put Cambodia's leaders in an awkward position ahead of a visit by Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, who arrives on Sunday.
Cambodia is one of two Southeast Asian countries that signed a 1951 convention on refugees pledging not to send asylum seekers back to a country where they will face persecution, which would almost certainly be the case for the Uighurs, according to rights groups.
They were smuggled out of China into Cambodia in recent weeks and applied for asylum at the United Nations refugee agency office in Phnom Penh.
China has not said publicly it is seeking their repatriation, but Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters this week they were criminal suspects who were being investigated.
The timing is tricky for Cambodia, expected to sign 14 agreements with China during Xi's visit related to infrastructure construction, grants and loans.
Cambodia has already received more than $1 billion in foreign direct investment from China, which in October agreed to provide $853 million in loans to the impoverished country for dams, infrastructure and irrigation projects.
"The economic ties between Cambodia and China should not interfere with the asylum-seeking process," said Thys Hoekman of the Unrepresented Nation and Peoples Organisation, based in The Hague.
PERSECUTION RISK
The Uighur American Association (UAA) said the Uighurs could face persecution and even execution if they were deported to China.
"We believe Cambodia should abide by its international human rights commitments," said Amy Reger, a UAA researcher.
Amnesty International issued an open letter calling on the Cambodian government to refuse any extradition request. The letter cited cases of Uighurs who were returned to China, sometimes after gaining refugee status, and subsequently detained and reportedly tortured and executed.
Cambodian officials confirmed that a diplomatic note from the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh had been received, but neither the Chinese nor Cambodian authorities have divulged whether it was an extradition request.
"(The Uighurs) are suspected of crimes," Jiang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said at a media briefing on Thursday. "We think the global refugee protection system should not become a refuge for criminals fleeing from their crimes."
China has yet to elaborate on their alleged crimes or provide any evidence.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is assisting Cambodia in determining the status of the 22 Uighurs. If they were deemed to be refugees, Cambodia was bound by the 1951 convention not to deport them, said UNHCR spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey.
Cambodian officials said Xi will meet with King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials during his three-day visit.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Martin Petty and Jerry Norton)
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Cambodia is one of two Southeast Asian countries that signed a 1951 convention on refugees pledging not to send asylum seekers back to a country where they will face persecution, which would almost certainly be the case for the Uighurs, according to rights groups.
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