ID :
374004
Thu, 07/09/2015 - 13:13
Auther :

PM concerned over Thais in Turkey

BANGKOK, July 9 (TNA) - Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has expressed his concerns over the living condition of Thais in Turkey, after a group of men attacked the Thai Consulate office in Istanbul at about midnight on Wednesday, and prepared to give urgent calls on Turkish leaders to settle the problem in order to ensure safety of Thai nationals there. Deputy Government Spokesman Major General Weerachon Sukhontapatipak told journalists on Thursday that the prime minister was informed of the attack at the Thai Consulate office in Istanbul and was worried over the safety of the Thai people and officials working at the Thai Consulate. The deputy spokesman said the prime minister has ordered the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to monitor and provide cooperation on the issue. According to an earlier report issued by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the attack took place at about midnight on Wednesday, but no casualties were reported among Thai nationals. The violence came after the attackers were displeased with the Thai government's sending a number of ethnic Uyghurs who entered Thailand illegally back to China on Wednesday. The hundreds of ethnic Uyghurs, who illegally entered into Thailand earlier this year, claimed to be from Turkey, but only part of them, about 170, were sent to Turkey in late June after their nationality was proven to be Turkish, while some 100 others were found to be from China and were sent to China on July 8 and more than 50 others remain in Thailand awaiting nationality verification. The deputy government spokesman stated Thailand has given a temporary shelter for the ethnic Uyghurs for humanitarian reason, while the Thai government has worked with the Chinese and Turkish governments on the issue on constant basis. Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Ministry Spoksman Sek Wannamethee, who is also Director-General of the ministry's Department of Information, told reporters that his ministry will closely keep monitoring the situation in Turkey. The spokesman noted that the Thai Embassy’s consular section service in Ankara, Turkey's capital, was closed on July 9 and will be re-opened for its normal operations on July 10. (TNA)

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