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Britain
Britain voices frustration over Gitmo inmates in Bermuda
2009-06-17
LONDON - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Tuesday he had "friendly" talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about four Guantanamo inmates sent to Bermuda, but made clear his frustration. He added that the status of the four Uighurs -- from a mostly Muslim minority living in China's northwestern Xinjiang province -- remained "unclear."
It's clear that Bambi is making a concerted effort to cheese off one of our best allies ...
That's why he's cheesing them off - because they were our strongest ally in Iraq and Afghanistan. The pattern seems to be rather clear.
US authorities last week ignored demands by China for custody of the four, who had served seven years at Guantanamo Bay, and flew them from Cuba to Bermuda, an Atlantic archipelago that accepted them in a guest-worker program. The Foreign Office was clearly caught short by the transfer, and said that authorities on Bermuda -- a British overseas territory which has a degree of autonomy -- should have consulted London over the transfer.

London had apparently not been alerted to the transfer by the administration of US President Barack Obama either, but the British government has voiced no criticism of Washington.

"We are obviously in touch with the American authorities. I've spoken to Secretary Clinton about it. I gave her my explanation of what I believe (happened)," Miliband told a parliamentary committee.

Asked if he had had a frank conversation with Clinton, he said: "It's always a friendly conversation with Hillary Clinton. But we have no doubts about what should have happened in this case and it didn't."
Posted by:Steve White

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