Six Chinese Muslims or Uighurs have flown from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba military detenion center to Palau, the island nation in the Pacific Ocean. The transfer leaves seven more Uighurs still confined at the naval base, along with 208 other men.
This is part of the Obama administration’s effort to close the prison, an administration official said Saturday. The Uighurs, captured in 2001 in Pakistan and Afghanistan, had been declared to be no threat to the U.S. for some time, but they cannot return to China as they are regarded as terrorists by the Chinese government and have said that they fear persecution if they are returned there.
Thus, the U.S. has been searching for a home for the Uighurs, but none would deign to take them. In October 2008, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ordered the Uighurs released into the custody of their supporters in the United States, mainly in the Washington area.
However, an appeals court overturned that ruling in February of this year, saying judges have no authority to override immigration laws and the U.S. to release foreigners into the country. In October, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving 13 of the Uighurs, agreeing to consider the issue.
The release of these Uighurs had been announced some time ago, by the Department of Justice. However, for security reasons, the exact date was kept secret.
Palau has agreed to take the Uighurs, but only temporarily. Even given that, many in the island nation were concerned that the Uighurs would affect their primary income: tourists.
Wells Dixon, a lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights who represents three of the men, said, “Palau is courageous to offer our Uighur clients a temporary home. We are hopeful that other countries like Australia and Germany will resettle them permanently.”
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