Wednesday, June 10, 2009

God bless Palau...for helping us find a place for the Uighurs

A while back a federal judge demanded that the Uighurs be freed from Guantanamo. Thanks to Palau, the Obama administration can obey the order.

'Paradise' for Guantanamo Uighurs
By Rob Reynolds, senior Washington correspondent
AlJazeera.net


The Uighurs...have been held for seven years

The long and unhappy odyssey of the Guantanamo Uighurs, from China's Xinjiang province to Cuba via Afghanistan, is apparently about to end in a remote archipelago some call a Pacific island paradise.

The government of Palau, a nation of 20,000 people about two and a half times the size of the US capital, Washington DC, has announced it will accept up to 17 ethnic Uighur detainees following a request from the US.

Palau is better known for its coral reefs and lakes full of gently pulsating jellyfish than as a power player in international politics.

But Johnson Toribiong, the country's president, said he was "honoured and proud" to help the US out, and hoped the Uighurs will be able to restart their lives there.

The US has also pledged $200m in long-term development aid for Palau - but the US state department denies the money is a payoff.

In Washington, a Uighur community leader reacted happily.

"As long as the Uighurs don't get sent back to China I am delighted," said Rabiya Kadeer...

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