BEIJING, Dec 25 (IPS) - If Asia, already unsettled by China’s economic rise, needed a reminder that economic power would be followed by more political assertiveness, then none was more compelling than Beijing’s unconcealed sway on Cambodia to expel 20 Uyghur asylum seekers over the weekend.
The Uyghurs – a predominantly Muslim minority concentrated in Xinjiang province, an autonomous region in western China – had sought asylum in Cambodia after fleeing Chinese security forces’ crackdown on the region in July. Their forced deportation – at night, on a specially chartered flight to China – came hours before Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping arrived in Phnom Penh on Sunday carrying promises for nearly 900 million U.S. dollars in foreign investment and aid.
"When a member of the Security Council so flagrantly pressures another country to violate its international legal obligations, it’s a matter of concern not just for a handful of asylum seekers but for the world," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, in a statement.
No comments:
Post a Comment