Original report from Phnom Penh
22 December 2009
The UN’s refugee agency and the European Union both condemned the forced deportation of Uighurs to China on Saturday, as police began looking for two who escaped custody.
Twenty of the Muslim Uighurs, who had reportedly fled their native Chinese province of Xinjiang following violent rioting in July, were turned back in a surprise decision by the Cambodian government ahead of the visit of a senior Chinese official.
The UNHCR had not had a time to assess their requests for asylum, prompting an outcry from the US, local rights groups and others. The group of 20 was missing two of the original asylum seekers, whom police are now searching for, officials said Tuesday.
Throughout last week, Cambodian officials said they were cooperating with UNHCR to determine the status of the asylum seekers.
Christophe Peschoux, Cambodia representative for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement he was “dismayed” at the turnaround.
Cambodia belongs to the international conventions against torture and on civil and political rights, which bars the return of people who may face threats in their home countries. The credibility of Cambodia’s refugee system “is now seriously questioned,” Peschoux said.
“Critical to this process is the willingness of the Cambodian government to honor its own commitment to refugee protection, to respect the cardinal principle of non-refoulement, and withstand outside pressure from more powerful countries,” he said. “With the plane of shame that took off Saturday night, it is our freedom from want and fear that has become narrower in this part of the world.”
A statement from the Presidency of the European Union said the deportation showed a “worrying disregard” by Cambodia for its international obligations. The EU statement urged the government to review its procedures for asylum seekers and for the government of China to respect the rights of the group.
Chinese Embassy officials could not be reached for comment.
Chinese officials have said the group is wanted for crimes related to anti-Chinese rioting in July. The deportation came on the eve of a visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jingping, who wrapped up three days of talks Tuesday.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Cambodia had applied its own laws to the Uighurs. “Cambodian law obliges this application,” he said Tuesday. “We did not receive any pressure from any sovereign country.”
Twenty of the Muslim Uighurs, who had reportedly fled their native Chinese province of Xinjiang following violent rioting in July, were turned back in a surprise decision by the Cambodian government ahead of the visit of a senior Chinese official.
The UNHCR had not had a time to assess their requests for asylum, prompting an outcry from the US, local rights groups and others. The group of 20 was missing two of the original asylum seekers, whom police are now searching for, officials said Tuesday.
Throughout last week, Cambodian officials said they were cooperating with UNHCR to determine the status of the asylum seekers.
Christophe Peschoux, Cambodia representative for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement he was “dismayed” at the turnaround.
Cambodia belongs to the international conventions against torture and on civil and political rights, which bars the return of people who may face threats in their home countries. The credibility of Cambodia’s refugee system “is now seriously questioned,” Peschoux said.
“Critical to this process is the willingness of the Cambodian government to honor its own commitment to refugee protection, to respect the cardinal principle of non-refoulement, and withstand outside pressure from more powerful countries,” he said. “With the plane of shame that took off Saturday night, it is our freedom from want and fear that has become narrower in this part of the world.”
A statement from the Presidency of the European Union said the deportation showed a “worrying disregard” by Cambodia for its international obligations. The EU statement urged the government to review its procedures for asylum seekers and for the government of China to respect the rights of the group.
Chinese Embassy officials could not be reached for comment.
Chinese officials have said the group is wanted for crimes related to anti-Chinese rioting in July. The deportation came on the eve of a visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jingping, who wrapped up three days of talks Tuesday.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Cambodia had applied its own laws to the Uighurs. “Cambodian law obliges this application,” he said Tuesday. “We did not receive any pressure from any sovereign country.”
11 comments:
fuck the UNHCR AND THE FUCKING VIETNAMESE PUPPUT GOVERMENT.WHAT A BUNCH OF COMMUNIST..........UNHCR IS FUCKING TO SLOW ALL THEY WANT IS MONEY AND DON'T GIVE A DAM ABOUT HUMAN RIGHT ALSO AH HUN SEN GOVERMENT LISTEN TO AH CHINESE AND AH YOUN TO MUCH ADN KILLING IT OWN PEOPLE FUCK ALL THE COMMUNIST SON OF BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
United Nation should repremend Cambodia to the maximum punishment in order to get Cambodia government to respect their obligation to the UN sign in 1951. Further more UN donors should reconsider cut off aid to Cambodia beggar government, to push government to respect human right in country as well as abroad.
Cambodia government is a foolish regime and need to be taugh a lessons.
11:34
Agree w/ you. Until the Cambodian gov't know how to value human life, then we will hand out food stamp again.
You can not kill some one and run out of your country and claim to be refugee . When the police is looking for you because your are criminal, you can not foul the world that you are victim of persecution. Imagine if all the killers can be save by the refugee convention, what will be the meaning of human life .
Oh hash hash 1;13pm.
The killers with power like Yuon Communist and CPP always blame the victims. Just because the men wear label Policemen does not mean they are good men. These victims fought to survive under the very racist fucking HANS.
USA or EU have a lot of time to bring these people out of Cambodia. Instead doing the right thing, only crying.
All of you are always great, but did not know how to deal with the problem.
They are hiding at the US Embassy, and they will land in the US one day. God bless America
They are both to blame:
Both the UNHCR and the Cambodian government are to blame for the deportation.
Reasons:
(1) UNHCR is too slow to process the refugee status and assessment and furthermore it even leaked out the info to the reporters and the outside worlds. It's nearly a month and they could not decide on providing them the status and send out to the third countries since they are the most wanted in China and that they know that Cambodian government is a very closed ally to China.
(2) The Cambodian government is even more to blame, because it is already given some important works by the UNHCR to make the assessment but instead they kept it still-blocked which they intends to delay until Vice President of China's arrival in the hope to get huge benefits for the transfer.
YOU'RE BOTH TO BLAME!!!!
YOU SHOULD NOT TRUST CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT TO HANDLE SOME OF YOUR SENSITIVE ISSUES
YOU MUST KNOW THAT....ALL UIGHURS WILL BE BADLY TORTURED OR KILLED UPON THEIR ARRIVAL.....
CAMBODIAN
I think they are hiding in the US Embassy or Vietnamese Embassy. Because Vietnam will get paid by the US and because Vietnamese and Chinese are enmeies no matter what they pretend to be friends right now. Vietnamese help the US to get those ethnic minority groups like Muslim Uighurs to rise and to cause troubles in China.
In this dirty world, people help one enemy to kill another enemy.
5 Million Vietnamese illegally lives in Cambodia, Hun Sen blind eye don't even do anything, but 22 Uighurs and even babies, Hun Sen has no heart to let them live.
Hun Sen is the King of Dictatorship regime. Eneough is enough. This is his last chance for Regime.
Shall we vote him again in 2013?
Red-Ant.
What Huynh Kvack trying to say is..... 22 Uighurs is too many, but the Vietnamese are okay.
Some of you may not know this, but this monkey regime work the opposite of us human.
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