Should Ireland offer asylum to detainees released from Guantánamo?

cornbb

Sorry if this is the wrong forum or if it's been posted elsewhere.

Some background from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/11/guantanamo-eu

European countries should offer asylum to former terrorist suspects released from Guantánamo Bay, Portugal's foreign minister said today.

In a letter sent to his European Union counterparts, Luis Amado said Portugal was willing to grant refugee status to detainees who cannot return to their home countries.

President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to close the controversial camp, currently holding 250 men, at the US naval base on the south-eastern tip of Cuba.

Lawyers claim that up to 200 of them have no case to answer but cannot be sent back to their native countries for fear of persecution.

Amado said the EU "should send a clear signal of our willingness to help the US government resolve this problem, namely by taking in the detainees," according to the letter.

He said the EU has made progress on the legal considerations attached to such an offer, but he did not elaborate.

The letter was posted on the Portuguese government website. It was sent to the EU foreign ministers yesterday, to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The UN's torture investigator, Manfred Nowak, had recommended last month that European countries take in Guantánamo inmates who cannot be sent home.

There's no evidence against the detainees to justify imprisoning them any further in the US and they can't be sent home for fear of being persecuted. Therefore we have a problem. Can Ireland lend a helping hand by offering these men a home? I vote yes. We are in a position to provide a solution to a big problem and I think it would be a "good deed" for us. I don't believe there is evidence to suggest that these men are criminals or terrorists and the US should take the responsibility of paying the bills for this.

What say ye?

Edit: mods, am I allowed to add a poll to this thread?

jhegarty

I think we should offer entrance to anyone who is willing to work , pay taxes and live by our laws.

Morlar

Shouldnt america give them refugee status ?

Considering the background to the reason WHY they are apparently unable to return home without fear of being persecuted ?

AARRRGH

We already do this with Palestinian militants (I've met some of them) and I have no problem with it.

podge79

IMO we should be looking at the cases of those who have already applied for asylum here and not be giving preferential treatment because someone was held in GB... no problem with them applying and staying just think we should deal with the backlog and everything first

Overheal

Morlar wrote: »

Shouldnt america give them refugee status ?

I really dont see how those detainees could feel safe or ever be safe on american soil - much to the blame of the american people ourselves. Someone would end up taking a shot at them, or worse.

johnnyskeleton

I think a more pertinent question is, would they want to come to Ireland? They probably have bad memories of their stopover in Shannon.

AARRRGH

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

I think a more pertinent question is, would they want to come to Ireland? They probably have bad memories of their stopover in Shannon.

Heheh

cornbb

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

I think a more pertinent question is, would they want to come to Ireland? They probably have bad memories of their stopover in Shannon.

Yeah the prices in that departure lounge are shocking...

On a serious note, I hadn't thought about that side of it, if the Irish government were complicit in their illegal detention in the first place then maybe offering asylum now could be a form of apology...

johnnyskeleton

cornbb wrote: »

Yeah the prices in that departure lounge are shocking...

On a serious note, I hadn't thought about that side of it, if the Irish government were complicit in their illegal detention in the first place then maybe offering asylum now could be a form of apology...

Rather, if the irish government was complicit in their illegal rendition & detention, can you realistically expect them to feel safe in Ireland? There will always be the risk that at any moment the gardai will arrive at their little cottage in west mayo and say "the republicans are back in power - prepare for some more torture".

I know that if I were in their position I would probably want to go to somewhere with no close ties to the US (like New Zealand or France), and no extradition treaty with the US (like Cuba or St Kitts).

There is also the practical considerations of climate and how buggered our country is, so all in all I think France or the Netherlands are the best bets.

DonkeyStyle \o/

President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to close the controversial camp

Presumably to open a less controversial one?

Regardless of where in the world they end up, if "detainees" are being released without charge after going through mental hell at gitmo, I think unlce Sam should be picking up the tab for the years of therapy/counselling and getting these guys back on their feet.

DadaKopf

Diplomatically, I would say this offer would be extremely provocative. Grant detainees asylum? Well, they're entitled to claim for asylum status. Bear in mind that these detainees are from all over the gaff. I'd prefer more provocative action... like assisting Guantánamo detainees to sue the US state for human rights abuses. If they need asylum, then fine.

Overheal

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote: »

Presumably to open a less controversial one?

Goodbye Treadstone; Hello Black Briar.