Canada has refused a request from the U.S. government to accept 17 Uighur prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp:
The Obama administration has blocked efforts to free the Uighurs immediately and has reportedly insisted that once they are settled abroad, none of the Uighurs, or any other Guantanamo detainee for that matter, can ever set foot on U.S. soil.
The U.S. government also has not retracted its claim that the detained Uighurs once belonged to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department… Washington lawyer Susan Baker Manning, who is part of a legal team that fought to win the release of the Uighurs, said she suspected the real reason behind Canada’s refusal to do so is likely pressure from China.
“Chinese pressure is a very, very real issue and it’s our understanding that that has been the true barrier to resettling these men for many years,” she said..
See also this CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) broadcast on Canada’s refusal:
“Canada has endured years of criticism from the United States over both boarder security, and Ottawa’s immigration policies, so try to get your head around this. CBC news has learned that Washington has come calling on Canada – for what? – to accept more than a dozen detainees from Guantanamo Bay who are members of a group labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S.”
The U.S. has asked several questions to accept their Uighur prisoners, among them Australia, Germany, and Albania.
See also past CDT posts on Guatanamo’s Uighur prisoners.
