From Guantanamo to the South Pacific: Is This a Joke?

Let's face it, when it comes to Guantánamo, there's little to laugh about, unless you're an Islamophobic sadist -- in which case, there's still nothing for the rest of us to laugh about.

The Associated Press reports that, in a desperate effort to rid itself of the toxic human debris of Guantánamo, the Obama administration is eyeing up the tiny Republic of Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines, to dispose of some, or all of the 17 Uighurs in Guantánamo.

The Uighurs are Muslims from China's Xinjiang province, who were swept up in the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, and sold to U.S. forces by Pakistani villagers after fleeing from a run-down hamlet in which they had sought solace from their Chinese oppressors, or, in many cases, because they had found themselves unable to make their way to Turkey or Europe, to look for work, as they had originally intended.

Despite this, their proposed resettlement in the United States has caused panic attacks amongst politicians whose understanding of the prison's inhabitants has clearly gone no further than to curl up at Dick Cheney's knee, and say, "Gee, tell me again how the prisoners in Guantánamo are the most dangerous terrorists in the world?"

Apparently unable to understand that the majority of the prisoners in Guantánamo were bought for bounties, and were never adequately screened to determine their status, these fearful politicians continue to ignore the copious amounts of research demonstrating that all but a few dozen of the remaining 239 prisoners are either completely innocent men, or Taliban foot soldiers, recruited to fight an inter-Muslim civil war in Afghanistan that began long before the 9/11 attacks, and had nothing to do with international terrorism.

In this, they have been ably assisted by the appeals court in Washington D.C., where, in February, a panel of judges led by Judge A. Raymond Randolph, who has, to date, defended every single Guantánamo policy decision that was subsequently reversed by the Supreme Court, overturned an earlier ruling by District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina.

In October, Judge Urbina ruled, very sensibly, that the Uighurs were to be allowed to resettle in the United States, in the care of the large Uighur community in and around Washington D.C. and in a community in Tallahassee, Florida that had gone out of its way to help them.

Judge Urbina made his ruling for four very good reasons: firstly, because the government had been persuaded to drop all its charges against the Uighurs (after the most humiliating court defeat, last June); secondly, because they cannot be returned to China, where they face torture or worse: thirdly, because no other country had been found that was prepared to take on China by accepting them: and fourthly, because their continued detention in Guantánamo was, simply, unconstitutional.

Having somehow skipped the class that would have informed them that rocking boats is sometimes required in politics, senior officials in the Obama administration refused to order the men's release into the United States in those first few halcyon days in office, when anything seemed possible, and have now vacillated to such an extent -- most recently, apparently, when Rush Limbaugh started barking -- that releasing them into the U.S. is simply too much to contemplate, even though it clearly remains the right thing to do.

To make matters worse, while mumbling occasionally about transferring some of the Uighurs to the mainland, the administration has, at the same time, been instructing the Justice Department to endorse the views of Judge Randolph in a petition intended to prevent the Supreme Court from reviewing the Uighurs' surreal and intolerable limbo.

Confronted with the problem of rehousing five other Uighurs in 2006, the Bush administration secured, for an undisclosed sum, the cooperation of Albania (a Muslim nation, albeit a poor one, with no other Uighurs and little work), but that escape route was soon sealed off as the Albanians found themselves subjected to the wrath of the People's Republic. Since then -- despite hopeful murmurs from other countries, and the acceptance, in Sweden, of an asylum claim by one of the Uighurs sent to Albania, who made a sneaky escape in November 2007 and was finally accepted in February this year -- no other country has yet taken the bait.

The Obama administration could probably weather this -- the odd Bob Dylan-style protest notwithstanding -- by plying the Uighurs with ever more comfort items in their secluded camp, away from all the other prisoners, and would, perhaps, soon be pointing out how marvelous the climate is, but senior officials are aware that the countries of Europe are unlikely to take any other prisoners from Guantánamo facing similar repatriation problems -- from countries including Algeria, China, Libya, Russia, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia and Uzbekistan, who are also low achievers in the field of human rights -- unless the U.S. government also plays ball.

Hence the appeal of Palau, which, although it appears to be have been chosen as the result of a dart thrown at a globe by a desperate official, is actually a rather canny option. A former U.S. trust territory, the island became independent in 1994, but retains close ties with its former masters, having signed a "Compact of Free Association" with the U.S., guaranteeing financial assistance in exchange for certain defense rights, More importantly, it maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, rather than with the People's Republic of China. The fact that it has no Uighur population and that its population of 21,000 includes no Muslims is, presumably, neither here nor there.

Could this, then, be the answer to the Obama administration's Uighur problem? Perhaps, but if so, it will demonstrate only that, when it comes to cleaning up the mess that is Guantánamo, cowardice, desperation and the least enviable form of pragmatism available are yet another example of Bush and Cheney's despicable legacy.

Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press), and maintains a blog here.

Comments

[MyDogIsADemocrat]

So when do they start voting them off the island? Does the last survivor get the 200 Million?

[Chubbster]

Freakin' SEND THEM BACK TO THEIR HOMES AND FAMILIES. Now that's a tough call to make.

[howeverfaraway]

When did we become such a nation of fraidy-cats?

[research]

That's why we call conservat5ives Chicken Hawks.

[Annoula]

Andy:
As you so accurately pointed out in your last paragraph:
"Could this, then, be the answer to the Obama administration's Uighur problem? Perhaps, but if so, it will demonstrate only that, when it comes to cleaning up the mess that is Guantánamo, cowardice, desperation and the least enviable form of pragmatism available are yet another example of Bush and Cheney's despicable legacy."

Now...how come nobody in the media is seriously asking and/or explaining HOW and WHO got us into this mess???
While it is certainly very valid to object to Obama's hesitation wouldn't it be much more valid to HELP US UNDERSTAND what the root cause of this legal/dipl­omatic/eth­nic/religi­ous/human rights limbo was?

Aside from being a service to justice and human rights, a comprehensive analysis of how this poor guys ended up where they are might help the skeptics understand the abject incompetence of the previous administration, its total disregard for human rights and HOPEFULLY, it might finally shut up Dick Cheney and ban his little girl from her "Daddy knows best" Telethon.

[WilliePilgrim]

The US's treatment of prisoners in this conflict, regardless of the their official designation, has been sad and seems to get even sadder.
Everyone has hopes that Obama will somehow bring about some resolution and the narrowly framed controversy is calling for his application of some wisdom on this issue. Regarding Guantanamo, I wish that instead of trying to find a new location, as if that is the problem, Guantanomo would become not just another embarrassing chapter of US history but a model of transparent and humane treatment of those individuals caught up in these war sof ideologies. By moving the Uighers to Palau, as if we somehow erase the blemish by moving it, we really are opening ourselves, and the Obama administration to a no-win situation where we will be seen as doing anything to try to appear as if we're improving the situation. Sadly, this will fool nobody and only add the pain and humiliation that this miserable seemingly un-ending chapter brings us.

[hpobserver]

They could offered the money to any U.S. town that would take them. It would have been 2 birds in one stone, redress the injustice done to the Uighurs and provide a stimulus to one of the American cities or towns that sorely need it.

[hpobserver]

I find it shameful that Palau seems to have shown more courage than the U.S.
What are we saying, we are too paranoid to release these people (even though they are innocent) into our own societies, but the people of Palau are somehow lesser human beings and don't have the same right to safety as us?

[mightbesane]

So the concern is that instead of repatriating people to Washington, DC, or Tallassee, FL, they are going to Palau?

I've lived in Washington. You can have it. Sorry, all you Beltway folk. Washington is a nice place to visit but nobody should have to live there except politicians. They deserve it.

I've been to Tallahassee - red dirt, George W. country. Chop the panhandle off Florida and Al Gore would have had two comfortable terms.

Pacific island? Tropical climate? Per capita income above the regional average? Sounds like hell.

[Alboots]

They can come stay wit me for $100,000,000.

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

200 million dollars wasted. Tax the auto industry and waste it like this? No wonder billions are being wasted 10000 miles away by the government instead of using the money to create jobs here. $200 million could have saved a lot of car dealerships.

[Paul]

What? St. Helena was booked?

[arcticredriver]

Guantanamo houses and employs several thousand foreign workers. Jamaican firemen man the Naval Bases fire department. The food preparation at Guantanamo seems to have been largely outsourced to corporations who employ foreign workers. They serve as grounds keepers and

I think the Uyghurs would be better off declining deportation to Palau. If the anti-captive hysteria could be curbed enough to let them take some of the relatively unskilled jobs other foreigners fill in Guantanamo. There is no reason for them to be confined to Camp Iguana. Why not let them live in the same kind of housing the foreign workers live in -- at least until some other country takes them.

[Derek Flood - Huffpost Blogger]

Hadn't Obama very recently asked Australia to take this group of forsaken men? Australia under (the now deposed) Howard government so desperately wanted to keep Muslim asylum seekers out off of its shores that it made a deal with tiny Nauru, who like Palau, recognizes Taiwan, to offshore its undesirables. Perhaps Obama was considering the change in leadership in the Rudd-led government down under but it was almost as absurd to suggest Palau as it was Australia. Funny thing about the Uighurs is, in the Cold War they could theoretically have been American allies under the Reagan Doctrine (just like the Afghans that sheltered them a decade later) if the Republicans had wanted to irritate China's Communist elites . The case of our Chinese Muslim prisoners is one of failed realpolitik and American responsibility.

[Cratchit]

Sorry, but you simply don't know what you're talking about. We have an obligation to repatriate these people to China. As far as the Chinese are concerned, they are terrorists and must face their crimes. If Osama bin Laden ran off to China seeking asylum, do you think we'd just shrug and walk away? "Realpolitik", not pansy liberal sentiment, requires us to send these guys home.

[MrBadger]

I have great respect for President Obama's political navigation skills. But I have to tell you that pursuing political navigation at the expense of doing what is clearly the right thing is starting to wear at my confidence in this administration. I keep waiting for Obama to take a principled stand when it is needed and damn the consequences. I'm starting to wonder if that is in his nature. I'm hoping, praying to be proved wrong here. But I'm starting to wonder. He's clearly better than the alternative. But... I was hoping for more.

[Uyghur94]

As an Uyghur, I am extremely disappointed. Both for the 10 million Uyghur around the world and the Chinese Government the case of the Guantanamo Uyghurs never has been just about those 17 men, it is about whether Uyghurs can get justice in the world. It is fact that Uyghurs and Tibetans could not get justice in China, but they hope the US and the free world has a better sense of justice than the Chinese. If China gets its way on this issue, it will reinforce the impression on the Uyghurs that the world does not care if the Chinese oppresses them. China is in the middle of fullblown cultural genocide against Uyghurs. It has banned our languages in schools, banned religion, destroying Uyghur cities and forcing the residents to move out to make room for the Chinese immigrants, forcing our young girls to work at sweat shops in Eastern China as part of a scheme of dispersing our people from their homeland, arresting thousands of people every month who dare to voice their resentment of these policies. China wants to impose the impression on the Uyghurs that it can do anything to them because the world does not care. The Guantanamo issue is a part of this Psychological warfare. If the Uyghurs are tossed out at a remote Island where they will have no future, I'll count it as a win for the Chinese. I guess justice does not exist in this world for the small and weak.

[pmorlan]

Our politicians should be ashamed of themselves. There is no valid reason to keep the Uighurs out of the U.S. and they all know it.