Thailand, Uyghurs, and a Shifting Foreign Policy Toward China

Beyond the Mekong

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A conversation with Cornell University's Magnus Fiskesjo.
[caption id="attachment_286625" align="alignright" width="301"]Magnus Fiskesjö, a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Cornell University. (Photo Supplied)[/caption] In late February, Thailand ignored international pleas for mercy and secretly deported at least 40 Uyghurs to China, prompting accusations that Bangkok had bowed to pressure from Beijing and eliciting an angry response from Washington.Their deportation ended 11 years of “inhumane” detention in Bangkok and dashed any hopes for political asylum and a fresh life abroad, which had reportedly been offered by several Western countries.The deportation was seen as a major embarrassment for Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who had previously promised to adhere to international human rights law. It was a diplomatic slap in the face for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had urged Thailand not to deport the Uyghurs.Magnus Fiskesjö is a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Cornell University in New York and has followed the plight of the Uyghurs for many years – and since their deportation in the early hours of February 27.He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about how the Thais have used a Chinese-backed crackdown on criminal syndicates, who are still operating scam centers near their borders with Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, to sneak the Uyghurs onto chartered flights destined for ChinaFiskesjö was educated in his native Sweden and at the University of Chicago, where he received a joint PhD in Anthropology and East Asian Languages and Civilizations in 2000.He previously worked at Sweden's embassies in Beijing and Tokyo, and served as director of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. Since 2005, he has taught anthropology and Asian studies at Cornell.His research involves political anthropology, ethnic relations, and genocide, as well as archaeology and repatriation issues, mostly in East and Southeast Asia. He has authored several books, including "Stories from an Ancient Land," on the Wa people of the China-Myanmar frontier.

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