Serious legal problems would be involved in resettling terror suspects released from Guantanamo Bay in Spain, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Friday, adding to European unease about the idea.
| You mean we can't just release them? Who knew? |
Zapatero was speaking at a press conference after the daily Periodico de Catalunya reported that he favored taking in Guantanamo inmates following US President-elect Barack Obama's pledge to shut down the notorious military detention center at a US Navy base in Cuba.
"While I am anticipating [an eventual request from Washington], it poses serious legal problems," Zapatero said, while adding that no such request had yet been made.
| Just let them go inside Spain. How hard can that be? |
The European Union is divided over the question, with some countries seeking a concerted European approach and others already opposed to the idea.
The Netherlands has gone furthest, ruling out accepting any newly freed inmates. "If they are not to be tried but cannot return to their own countries, it is first and foremost the responsibility of the country which arrested and imprisoned them, the United States," a Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday. "The Netherlands will not take in Guantanamo inmates."
| So they don't want the tar-baby ... |
Portugal and Germany previously signaled they might accept detainees, but France was cautious, welcoming the camp's imminent closure, but calling for a common European position. "We think consultation between Europeans should continue because we think it is natural that our response should be discussed and coordinated between Europeans," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told AFP.
Germany had previously made a similar announcement. "In our view Guantanamo must be closed on legal and humanitarian grounds, in terms of international law and human rights, and for moral reasons," German government spokes-man Thomas Steg said Monday. "If we begin to review such closure plans and take a stance, then it can only be in a European context based on a discussion with all member states."
| Translation: having been (inadvertently) called on their position, the Euros, as usual, will do nothing but talk. A lot ... |
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