Protest against forced deportations on charter flights to Thailand

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On December 8, 2013, 46 undocumented Thai nationals were deported on a chartered flight.

On July 6, 2013, the Ministry of Justice and the Immigration Bureau deported 75 Filipino nationals on a chartered flight. APFS conducted an investigation in the Philippines from July 25 to July 28, and found that none of the deportees were able to find work and were struggling to make ends meet. Some had also been separated from their partners and children living in Japan and were exhausted both physically and mentally. It was also discovered that some had sustained bruises during the deportation process. The deportation to the Philippines on a chartered flight was recently questioned in the Diet on November 5, raising doubts about humanitarian considerations and human rights protection.

In addition, on March 22, 2010, ABUBAKAR AWUDU SURAJ (Ghanaian national), who was receiving support from APFS in obtaining special residence permission, died during government-sponsored deportation, and a lawsuit seeking state compensation is still ongoing. The fact that forced deportations have been resumed while the truth of the incident, in which the actions of immigration officials at the time of deportation are questionable, has yet to be revealed, is nothing short of outrageous.

It has been revealed that of the 46 Thai nationals deported on December 8th, 13 of them had been residing in Japan for over 20 years. They have no base of livelihood in Thailand and may end up homeless. Furthermore, on November 25th, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were occupied by demonstrators aiming to overthrow the government. The demonstrations are continuing to grow, and the political situation is extremely unstable. Was there really a need to forcibly carry out deportations at a time like this?

Repatriation on charter flights poses greater safety issues than repatriation on regular aircraft, and mass repatriation that ignores the individual circumstances of each person being deported is inhumane.
APFS firmly protests this forced deportation on a charter flight to Thailand.

December 11, 2013
APFS (Non-Profit Organization)
(ASIAN PEOPLE'S FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY)

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