Cina ask - Malaysia hand over Uighur Muslims? Not voters - but what say PAS, PH, Warisan...?

11 Uighur Muslims - and Malaysia agreed to send them back to China? It is an issue of human rights, Malaysian values and principles...because these people may be 'REFUGEES' or asylum seekers - escaping persecution in China?

Non-refoulement is a principle of customary international law prohibiting the expulsion, deportation, return or extradition of an alien to his state of origin or another state where there is a risk that his life or freedom would be threatened for discriminatory reasons.

Malaysia, under the UMNO-BN government, eventhough we have yet to ratify/sign the UN Convention on Refugees, have generally had a good policy when it comes to such asylum seekers and/or 'refugees' - Malaysia did not send them back to the country they are fleeing from to escape persecution, torture and even death. We did this for the Vietnamese Boat people ...and also did that for the people from Burma(now Myanmar.)

 

But, now when it comes to Muslim Uighurs from China - Malaysia has agreed to return them. Is it because of the fact that China now can dictate terms to Malaysia? After all, of late, we have seen many big projects, even what was once government owned/controlled companies being sold/given to China? 

The Malaysian Bar has condemned this move.- 'The Malaysian Bar calls upon the Malaysian Government to adhere to principles of international law, specifically the customary international law of non-refoulement, and refrain from sending 11 Uighurs reportedly in Malaysian custody back to China.' See full statement below

DAP and AMANAH also have spoken up...PAS and other political parties have yet to speak up ...or is it that they do not care.

“Is Malaysia ‘kow tow-ing’ to China as its new boss?” he asked when commenting on an extradition request received by Putrajaya from Beijing. Santiago said the 11 men may be persecuted when they were taken back to China as it was China’s policy to act against religious groups in the country.- Charles Santiago, MP Klang, DAP - FMT News, 11/2/2018

Baru beberapa hari lepas Timbalan Perdana Menteri sanggup menghantar pulang 12 orang kaum Uighur Muslim yang tertindas pulang ke negara China atas alasan menjaga 'hubungan baik' antara negara yang termasuk isu perniagaan.Apa sudah jadi kepada nilai maruah umat Islam Malaysia hari ini ? - RAJA BAHRIN SHAH ialah Anggota Parlimen Kuala Terengganu dan Pengerusi Biro Antarabangsa Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH) - Malaysiakini, 14/2/2018

What is happening to the Uighurs in China? Well, they are being persecuted...and below are some of the recent news reports...

At least 120,000 members of China’s Muslim Uighur minority have been confined to political “re-education camps” redolent of the Mao era that are springing up across the country’s western borderlands, a report has claimed.Radio Free Asia (RFA), a US-backed news group whose journalists have produced some of the most detailed reporting on the heavily securitised region of Xinjiang, said it obtained the figure from a security official in Kashgar, a city in China’s far west that has been the focus of a major crackdown.- The Guardian UK, 25/1/2018

The United States urged Malaysia on Friday to offer temporary protection to 11 Uighur Muslims whose extradition is being sought by China.The U.S. State Department said it had called on Malaysia to allow the U.N. refugee agency access to the Uighurs - among a group of 20 originally from China who escaped from Thailand last year - to determine their eligibility for international protection and eventual resettlement in a third country...“We urge the Malaysian authorities to conduct a transparent investigation and to provide temporary protection to any of these individuals who may be subject to torture or persecution if returned against their will,” said Michael Cavey, a spokesman for the State Department’s East Asia bureau.-

U.S. urges Malaysia to protect minority Muslims sought by China

US urges Malaysia to protect minority Muslims sought by China ..(Star)

 

Press Release | The Malaysian Government Must Uphold Provisions of International and Domestic Law

Thursday, 15 February 2018 12:59pm
The Malaysian Bar calls upon the Malaysian Government to adhere to principles of international law, specifically the customary international law of non-refoulement, and refrain from sending 11 Uighurs reportedly in Malaysian custody back to China. According to both foreign and local news reports, the 11 Uighurs currently in Malaysian custody are part of a group of 20 that escaped from a Thai detention camp in November 2017.  They had been detained in Thailand for immigration-related offences, having fled Xinjiang due to fears for their safety, and were heading for Turkey. The Uighurs, who are predominantly Muslim, rebelled against Chinese Government rule in their native Xinjiang Province in July 2009.  The Chinese Government views Uighurs as terrorists, agitating against Chinese rule over their province. The Malaysian Bar calls upon the Malaysian Government not to repeat the incident in August 2011 when it returned to China 11 Uighurs who were residing in Malaysia, including some who were registered as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur.  The fate of those 11 persons is not known.   The Malaysian Government’s record on respecting international law leaves much to be desired.  Apart from the 11 Uighurs deported to China in August 2011, the Malaysian Government also forcibly detained three Turkish nationals in May 2017 and returned them to Turkey at the request of the Turkish Government, which alleged that these persons had some connection with the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016.  Their fate is also unknown.  In February 2012, the Malaysian Government detained Saudi Arabian journalist Hamza Kashgari and returned him to Saudi Arabia at the request of the Saudi Arabian Government over a tweet he had posted that was allegedly insulting of Prophet Muhammad.  This was despite a Malaysian court order preventing his deportation having been obtained.  Kashgari spent 20 months in jail in Saudi Arabia for blasphemy.  The possible deportation of the 11 Uighurs back to China raises grave concerns whether the Malaysian Government will “refoule” potential refugees or asylum seekers in violation of international law.  The Malaysian Government must not abdicate or ignore its legal and moral obligation not to deport individuals to situations where their very lives may be in serious jeopardy. Although China and Malaysia signed a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters in November 2015, under Section 8 of our Extradition Act 1992 there are prohibitions against extradition in certain circumstances, including: (1) if the offence in respect of which [an individual’s] return is sought is of a political character or he proves to the Minister that the warrant for his return has in fact been made with a view to try or punish him for an offence of a political character; (2) if the request for his surrender although purporting to be made for an extradition offence was in fact made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing the person on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions; or (3) if he might be prejudiced at his trial or punished or imprisoned by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions. The Malaysian Bar cautions the Malaysian Government not to dismiss due consideration of these provisions.  The Malaysian Government cannot simply hide behind the reason of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, as an excuse to deport the Uighurs back to China.  Other potential factors — such as the massive amount of China’s foreign investment in Malaysia — should also play no role.  The Malaysian Bar calls on the Malaysian Government, as a responsible member of the international community, to honour, respect and uphold the rules and customs of international law, and the provisions of Malaysian law, and not deport the 11 Uighurs back to China. George Varughese   President Malaysian Bar 15 February 2018 Source: Malaysian Bar Website

File photo o: Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Malaysia agrees to extradite 11 Uighurs to China

Breaking News February 12, 2018 11:37

By The Star
The Nation
Asia News Network

5,381 Viewed

Detainees being investigated for links to Islamic state after escaping from Thailand

BATU PAHAT, Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur will honour its agreement with Beijing to extradite 11 Uighur Muslims wanted by China.

However, the Uighurs would be sent back to China only after the conclusion of a police investigation, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

“Malaysian police are conducting an investigation to gather intelligence, especially to check whether any of them is involved in the Islamic State [IS] terrorist group.

“Other countries do not need to worry about the Malaysian government’s deciฌsion over the matter,” he told reporters after a session with students at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia in Batu Pahat on Saturday.

The group of Uighurs had broken out of a detention centre near the Malaysia-Thai border in November after digging holes in the wall and using blankets to climb down walls.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also home minฌister, said Malaysian police had been in contact with their Chinese counterparts to discuss the extradition process.

“Our decision to extradite is based on agreements signed with China, includฌing the Mutual Legal Assistance and the extradition treaty.

He earlier said he had received an official request from China to deport 11 Uighurs who were detained in the counฌtry last year.

“Prior to this, we have extradited Malaysians from China who were involved in falsifying credit cards and other criminal activities. As such we will consider Beijing’s request,” he said.

The 11 Uighur Muslims were among reportedly 20 detainees in an immigraฌtion detention centre in Songkhla’s Sadao district who made a dramatic escape from detention in November.

The escapees were among 300 Uighurs who had been detained in Thailand since 2014 pending an invesฌtigation into their origins.

China has requested that Thailand deport Uighurs, claiming they are milฌitants, with 109 of them already having been sent back to China, sparking interฌnational condemnation.

Thai police said the group made two holes in a wall at the facility with sharp objects before climbing out and lowerฌing themselves to the ground using blanฌkets as ropes at about 3am.

They did not have food and could not communicate with villagers in Thailand and Malaysia, police said.

Six senior immigration police offiฌcers in Songkhla have been transferred to their regional headquarters and face an investigation following the escape.

The Uighurs were being detained for allegedly entering the Kingdom illegalฌly.  They had fled China, reportedly to flee from repression, and wanted to go to Turkey. - The Nation, 12/2/2018

February 17, 2018 / 3:39 AM / 3 days ago

U.S. urges Malaysia to protect minority Muslims sought by China

Reuters Staff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States urged Malaysia on Friday to offer temporary protection to 11 Uighur Muslims whose extradition is being sought by China.The U.S. State Department said it had called on Malaysia to allow the U.N. refugee agency access to the Uighurs - among a group of 20 originally from China who escaped from Thailand last year - to determine their eligibility for international protection and eventual resettlement in a third country. 

“We urge the Malaysian authorities to conduct a transparent investigation and to provide temporary protection to any of these individuals who may be subject to torture or persecution if returned against their will,” said Michael Cavey, a spokesman for the State Department’s East Asia bureau. 

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said last Saturday that Malaysia had received an official request from China for the extradition of the 11. 

Zahid said Malaysia was considering the request, and that police were investigating whether any of the group had been involved in terrorist activities. 

Human Rights Watch has called on Malaysia to ensure Uighurs are not forcibly deported as they faced “credible threats of imprisonment and torture.” 

Beijing accuses separatist extremists among the Uighur minority of plotting attacks on China’s Han majority in the restive far western region of Xinjiang and other parts of China. 

China has been accused of rights abuses in Xinjiang, torture of Uighur detainees and tight control of their religion and culture. It denies wrongdoing. Over the years, hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uighurs have escaped unrest in Xinjiang by traveling clandestinely via Southeast Asia to Turkey. 

The 20 Uighurs broke out of a cell near the Thai-Malaysian border in November by digging holes in the wall and using blankets as ladders. Five were recaptured in Thailand that month. The escapees were part of a larger group of more than 200 Uighur detained in Thailand in 2014. 

Members of the group identified themselves as Turkish citizens and asked to be sent to Turkey but more than 100 were forcibly returned to China in July 2015, an action that sparked international condemnation...Reuters, 17/2/2018