In December, members of the ethnic Uighur community...

In December, members of the ethnic Uighur community of Central Asia expressed their concern and protested over the activities of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the unlawful deportation of three citizens of China of Uighur nationality: Hamit Mamat, Ilyar Zordona and Kasym Mahpira, who crossed the state border of Kazakhstan on August 30, 1998, in the hope of receiving political asylum in the country. In spite of the fact that the Uighur community called upon the Kazakh authorities not to hand them over, these people were handed over to China on February 6, 1999, where they could be executed. This forcible deportation has gone against Kazakhstan's international obligations, in particular, the non-expelling principle.