Thursday, June 11, 2009

4 Gitmo Guys Living it up in Bermuda


Four Chinese Islamic terrorists have been released to the beautiful vacation islands of Bermuda. While the other 13 are going to be sent to the Pacific island of Palau. Boy Mr.Obama don't you think that you are being too tough on them?


Bermuda takes 4 Uighur detainees from Gitmo
By DEVLIN BARRETT and MATTHEW LEE

WASHINGTON – Four Chinese Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay prison were freed Thursday and resettled in Bermuda, sparking complaints from China and Britain even as the Obama administration tried to iron out details for sending more detainees to the Pacific island of Palau.

The four were among 17 Chinese Muslims, or Uighurs, picked up in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001. They remained at the military detention center in Cuba even after the U.S. government had determined they weren't enemy combatants and should be released. Their fate was in limbo for months while courts and nations debated their future.

Their release comes as the administration scrambles to meet President Barack Obama's pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by early next year.

Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown said the men will be allowed to live in Bermuda, a British territory in the Atlantic, initially as refugees but they would be permitted to pursue citizenship and would have the right to work, travel and "potentially settle elsewhere."

Brown said negotiations with Washington over settling the Uighurs began last month and he had no security concerns because the men had been cleared by U.S. courts. But Britain, which handles Bermuda's defense, security and foreign affairs expressed displeasure at the move.

In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy, said Bermuda considered the resettlement an internal immigration matter, but added that Britain should have been consulted.

"We've underlined to the Bermuda government that it should have consulted (Britain) on whether this falls within their competence or is a security issue for which the Bermuda government do not have delegated responsibility," she said.


Link to Article

No comments: