Friday, December 25, 2009
The Washington Post
SOUTHEAST ASIA has witnessed more than its share of war and political violence in the past half-century. From the bloody conflict and communist repression in Vietnam, to the killing fields of Cambodia, to the various crackdowns in Burma, the region's woes have generated hundreds of thousands of refugees in need of haven and resettlement. Throughout that time, the most peaceful and politically open country in the area, Thailand, has generally made room for those fleeing persecution and danger.
Thailand's performance stands in contrast to that of other nearby states, such as China, which has frequently repatriated North Koreans escaping starvation and tyranny. Indeed, Beijing has pressured other countries to adopt a similarly ungenerous approach to those fleeing China's own internal repression: Just last week, the Cambodian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen forcibly sent home 20 Uighur asylum seekers who fled after the July protests in Urumqi, China -- despite the fact that they had been issued "Persons of Concern" letters by the U.N. Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Cambodia.
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