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| German FM Opposes Taking Uighur Gitmo Inmates | |
| 2009-05-19 | |
The fate of a group of Guantanamo inmates of Uighur origin is threatening to drive a wedge between the US and Germany. The US has asked Germany to take in nine ethnic Uighur detainees. But now German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, although he supports taking Guantanamo prisoners, is trying to keep the number of Uighurs as low as possible, SPIEGEL has learned. At the end of April, senior US diplomat Daniel Fried, who is responsible for trying to resettle prisoners from the soon-to-be-closed Guantanamo Bay camp, gave the Germans a list of nine inmates that the US wants Germany to take. The prisoners belong to China's Uighur minority, a mainly Muslim group which has been the subject of brutal repression by the Chinese authorities. However Steinmeier is concerned that taking the men would cause a diplomatic spat with China, which considers the men to be terrorists and has demanded their extradition. Steinmeier's staff has been following the American initiative with trepidation, particularly because Fried already served as a secretary of state during the Bush administration. Last week, a senior official from the German Foreign Ministry, Reinhard Silberberg, told the US administration about Germany's reservations during a visit to Washington. Germany could only accept Uighur prisoners if other European countries also took some of them, he said -- that way, at least China's anger would not only be focused on Germany. Berlin only wants to accept some of the nine Uighurs and would like if possible to take prisoners of other nationalities in addition. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry refused to confirm the SPIEGEL report. "We are still at the very beginning of our discussions within the German government and with the US," he told the news agency Reuters Saturday. Steinmeier has received support from former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who warned against accepting the Uighurs. "Such a decision would put a serious strain on German-Chinese relations," Schröder told SPIEGEL. It was indeed correct to support US President Barack Obama in his efforts to close Guantanamo, Schröder said. However "only the US itself can take in the Uighurs without causing serious diplomatic damage," he said. Steinmeier was Schröder's chief of staff from 1999 to 2005 and is also the Social Democratic Party's candidate for chancellor in September's national elections. The US has asked Germany to take the Uighurs, considered by US officials to pose little risk, partly because Germany is home to one of the largest Uighur enclaves outside Asia. Around 500 Uighurs live in Munich. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 I oppose taking them. too. Don't want the vermin under foot in my home. Leave them in Cuba. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-05-19 12:17 |
| #5 However Steinmeier is concerned that taking the men would cause a diplomatic spat with China, which considers the men to be terrorists and has demanded their extradition. Doesn't the US have an extradition treaty with China and doesn't refusing them violate international law? If we want Chinese cooperation with the Norks and other diplomatic wrangles on the UNSC, we should respect their sovereignty. |
| Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 2009-05-19 09:04 |
| #4 They're obviously waiting on the 'Chip.' Saudi 'Killer Chip' Implant Would Track, Eliminate Undesirables. It could be the ultimate in political control — but it won't be patented in Germany. German media outlets reported last week that a Saudi inventor's application to patent a "killer chip," as the Swiss tabloids put it, had been denied. The basic model would consist of a tiny GPS transceiver placed in a capsule and inserted under a person's skin, so that authorities could track him easily. Model B would have an extra function — a dose of cyanide to remotely kill the wearer without muss or fuss if authorities deemed he'd become a public threat. The inventor said the chip could be used to track terrorists, criminals, fugitives, illegal immigrants, political dissidents, domestic servants and foreigners overstaying their visas. "The invention will probably be found to violate paragraph two of the German Patent Law — which does not allow inventions that transgress public order or good morals," German Patent and Trademark Office spokeswoman Stephanie Krüger told the English-language German-news Web site The Local. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-05-19 08:16 |
| #3 So the Germans are more afraid to upset the Chinese than the Americans? Bring the troops home and tax the Beemers at 100%. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-05-19 07:01 |
| #2 Lets just make everybody happy and give them back to China. I am sure the Chinese would be pleased and the Germans could be pleased that the Chinese were pleased. How the Uighurs would feel about going "home" would be another matter. Tell the Germans you are sending the Uighurs to China. See if they can be persuaded to "do the right thing". Probably not. |
| Posted by: Angleton9 2009-05-19 04:50 |
| #1 only the US itself can take in the Uighurs without causing serious diplomatic damage No no no...you wanted it closed, now you get to deal with the consequences. It just amazes me how people think they can just wave a magic wand and make problems disappear. |
| Posted by: gromky 2009-05-19 04:35 |