PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE)
East-Turkistan.Net
contact@East-Turkistan.Net
27 February 2025

The East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) unequivocally condemns the Thai government for its shameful complicity in China’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs by forcibly deporting 40 Uyghur refugees to Chinese-occupied East Turkistan (so-called “Xinjiang”).

A recent China Southern Airlines flight (CSN5246), operating on the morning of February 27, 2025, was documented traveling from Bangkok, Thailand (DMK) to Kashgar, East Turkistan (KHG). This direct transfer of Uyghurs from Thailand to Chinese-occupied East Turkistan is irrefutable proof that the Thai government is actively collaborating with the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its systematic campaign of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur people.

Thailand has flagrantly violated international law by engaging in refoulement, knowingly sending Uyghur refugees to a regime that commits mass internment, torture, forced sterilization, enslavement through forced labor, and executions. By doing so, Thailand is guilty of violating:

1. The UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) (Article 3) – prohibiting refoulement.
2. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (Articles 6 & 7) – ensuring the right to life and protection from torture.
3. Customary International Law, which establishes non-refoulement as a global norm.

This is not the first time Thailand has assisted China in Uyghur persecution—in 2015, over 100 Uyghur refugees were forcibly deported, many of whom were later disappeared, imprisoned, or executed by the Chinese regime.

“Thailand’s shameless refoulement of Uyghur refugees is a direct contribution to China’s ongoing genocide in East Turkistan. By handing innocent Uyghur refugees to a regime that is committing genocide and crimes against humanity, Thailand has stained its hands with the blood of the Uyghur people and must face immediate consequences,” stated Dr. Mamtimin Ala, President of the East Turkistan Government in Exile

The ETGE demands that Thailand face immediate diplomatic, economic, and legal consequences for its direct involvement in China’s genocide. We urge the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, and all democratic nations to:

1. Sanction the Thai government and all officials responsible for the deportation of Uyghur refugees under the Global Magnitsky Act and similar human rights sanction frameworks.
2. Blacklist China Southern Airlines for its role in Uyghur deportations and genocide logistics, restricting its operations in democratic countries and imposing financial penalties.
3. Grant Uyghurs protected status under international refugee protections.
4. Launch an international investigation into Thailand’s repeated violations of international human rights law and its collaboration with China and the CCP in the oppression and genocide of Uyghurs.

The East Turkistan Government in Exile calls upon all governments, human rights organizations, international bodies, and media outlets to expose and unequivocally condemn Thailand’s complicity in China’s ongoing Uyghur genocide.

The Thai government must not be allowed to act with impunity as an enabler of genocide and crimes against humanity. If the international community fails to take decisive action, Uyghur refugees in other countries will face an imminent and grave risk of being forcibly sent back to their deaths. Sanctions, diplomatic consequences, and full accountability must be imposed without delay.