A resolution was adopted in Brussels. Bangkok’s surrender to China starts producing international consequences.
by Marco Respinti
On March 13, 2024, the European Parliament condemned the recent forced deportation of 48 Uyghur refugees to the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—they say “at least 40”—, carried out by the government of Thailand. The refugees had fled to Thailand hoping to reach Türkiye but were detained in Thai facilities for ten years under horrific conditions, which led to some deaths.
In a resolution adopted by MEPs with 482 votes in favor, 57 against, and 68 abstentions all cross-party, the EP urged Bangkok to halt any further forced return to countries where people’s lives are at risk. The Parliament also called on the European Commission—the executive arm of the European Union (EU)—to use free trade agreement negotiations to pressure Thailand into reforming its lese-majesty law, releasing political prisoners, halting the deportation of Uyghur refugees, and ratifying all core International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. ILO, a United Nations agency, aims, in fact, to advance social and economic justice by setting international labor standards, which may prove a very useful tool to put pressure on Thailand.
MEPs appealed to the Thai government to grant the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) unrestricted access to all detained Uyghur asylum seekers and to provide the international community with transparent information on their status.
Their request is for Thailand to swiftly strengthen its institutions in line with international human rights standards, including granting amnesty to all parliamentarians and activists persecuted or imprisoned under repressive laws, such as those convicted under lese-majesty charges.
This strong indictment from MEPs also includes a call for the suspension of all extradition treaties that EU member states have with Communist China, emphasizing the primary goal of compelling the PRC to fully respect the fundamental rights of deported Uyghurs. The Potemkin visit by a Thai delegation to Xinjiang is certainly not enough to answer this call.
Overwhelmed by reports of allegations involving a new bribery scandal linking some MEPs and the usual suspect, Huawei’s management—famously tied to the Chinese regime and known for security breaches—it seems almost certain that, unfortunately, the media will pay little attention to this news.
Marco Respinti is an Italian professional journalist, member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), author, translator, and lecturer. He has contributed and contributes to several journals and magazines both in print and online, both in Italy and abroad. Author of books and chapter in books, he has translated and/or edited works by, among others, Edmund Burke, Charles Dickens, T.S. Eliot, Russell Kirk, J.R.R. Tolkien, Régine Pernoud and Gustave Thibon. A Senior fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (a non-partisan, non-profit U.S. educational organization based in Mecosta, Michigan), he is also a founding member as well as a member of the Advisory Council of the Center for European Renewal (a non-profit, non-partisan pan-European educational organization based in The Hague, The Netherlands). A member of the Advisory Council of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief, in December 2022, the Universal Peace Federation bestowed on him, among others, the title of Ambassador of Peace. From February 2018 to December 2022, he has been the Editor-in-Chief of International Family News. He serves as Director-in-Charge of the academic publication The Journal of CESNUR and Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights.
