|
|
|
Cables reveal difficulty of relocating some Guantanamo
detainees |
CNN
|
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
China obstructed efforts to move 17 Chinese Muslim
Uyghurs
Germany considered taking seven but was warned "a heavy
burden" could follow
The 17 ended up in Palau, Bermuda, Albania, and
Switzerland
Washington (CNN) -- The relocation of 17 Chinese Muslim
Uyghurs detained at Guantanamo Bay was a thorny issue
for the United States, according to cables released by
the website WikiLeaks.
Attempts to find new homes for the 17 detainees was met
with resistance because of fear of retribution from
China.
At one point, Germany considered accepting seven of the
Uyghurs. But the government was "subsequently warned by
China of 'a heavy burden on bilateral relations'"
between Germany and China if the Germans accepted the
detainees.
According to one cable, German Chancellery Security and
Foreign Policy Advisor Christoph Heusgen said relocation
of the Uyghurs "would be 'too difficult,' but that
Germany could probably accept '2-3 others' from
Guantanamo."
The document also summarized Heusgen as saying, "If
Germany were to take any [Uyghurs], it would be best to
do so in combination with other European countries to
prevent China from focusing its opposition on any one
country."
In another cable, this one from the U.S. Embassy in
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the Chinese ambassador to
Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, called America's refusal to
relocate the detainees to China a "slap in the face."
The missive quotes Zhang as saying, "Releasing 17 from
Guantanamo is an unfriendly act toward us."
"He then went on at length about what a 'slap in the
face' it was to China that the [Uyghur] detainees were
not going to be returned to their homeland but instead
shipped to Germany, where reportedly they had already
been granted refugee status," the cable says.
It goes on to say that Zhang "did imply that the
Guantanamo situation had made China look for ways to hit
back at the U.S."
The 17 Uyghurs were eventually relocated to Palau,
Bermuda, Albania, and Switzerland. |
|
