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Not in my Backyard: US refuses to accept/return Uighur Refugees
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posted Saturday, 30 May 2009
The specter the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp has once again risen to haunt America this week. This time in relation to a group of ethnic Uighur whom Washington is both refusing accept on its soil and is refusing to send them home.
The men, members of the ethnic Uighur people of East Turkestan, were abducted from Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001 as part of the so-called War on Terror, and were held without charge in the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp for several years before being cleared for release a US courts in 2004, which ruled that they could not be held because they had committed no crimes against the US.
However, despite being given the green light they have continued to languish in confinement because Washington has repeatedly declined to take responsibility for them. with US refusing grant them leave to stay in the US because they have been 'exposed to unAmerican ideals', but also unable to return them to China where they face what amount to a death sentence because of their support for East Turkestani independence.
From the pen of journalist MARK SHERMAN.
Although ACB has long become used to the idea of foreign double standards, this is a particularly blatant case of 'not in my back yard' which has to all intensive purposes rendered those involved stateless: Unable to return home because of Beijing's persecution, yet also unable to stay in the US because of Western hypocrisy and an American refusal to live up to its responsibilities.
It's not as if these people are dangerous; the US courts have already decreed that they aren't a threat to the US or to US interests, and Washington has approached several other Western countries in regards to granting them asylum, and it's not as if America is afraid of upsetting Beijing, because Washington regularly ignores the Mainland government over issues such as Taiwan and the Dali Lama.
ACB can't help but wonder whether Washington wold be fighting so hard to keep these men out if they were white, or if they weren't Muslims.
In the past the US has been more than happy to take in separatists from countries such as Northern Ireland who are suitably white and suitable pro America, yet it has consistently refused to take in people of Arabic and/or Muslim origin, such as Iraqi translators accused of collaborating with US forces.
The men, members of the ethnic Uighur people of East Turkestan, were abducted from Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001 as part of the so-called War on Terror, and were held without charge in the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp for several years before being cleared for release a US courts in 2004, which ruled that they could not be held because they had committed no crimes against the US.
However, despite being given the green light they have continued to languish in confinement because Washington has repeatedly declined to take responsibility for them. with US refusing grant them leave to stay in the US because they have been 'exposed to unAmerican ideals', but also unable to return them to China where they face what amount to a death sentence because of their support for East Turkestani independence.
From the pen of journalist MARK SHERMAN.
The Obama administration, picking up the argument of its predecessor, is opposing the release of Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay into the United States.
In papers filed with the Supreme Court late Friday, the administration says a group of Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurz) are being lawfully held at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba even though they are not considered enemy combatants.
The administration says a federal appeals court ruling that blocked the Uighurs' release in the United States should be upheld. The government is trying to find another country to take them.
The Uighurs' "continued presence at Guantanamo Bay is not unlawful detention, but rather the consequence of their lawful exclusion from the United States," Solicitor General Elena Kagan told the court.
The men are held apart from the other detainees, in the least restrictive conditions, Kagan said. "They are free to leave Guantanamo Bay to go to any country that is willing to accept them," she said.
The court could decide by late June whether to hear the Uighurs' case.
A federal judge determined in October that the Uighurs should be freed because the Pentagon no longer considered them enemy combatants. U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said they should be allowed into this country because the administration could find no other country willing to accept them.
The Bush administration appealed Urbina's decision and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Urbina had gone too far in ordering the men released into the United States.
The three-judge appeals panel suggested the detainees might be able to seek entry by applying to the Homeland Security Department, which administers U.S. immigration laws. But the court bluntly concluded that the detainees otherwise had no constitutional right to immediate freedom after being held in custody at Guantanamo without charges for seven years.
The Uighurs argue that last year's Supreme Court ruling that granted Guantanamo detainees the right to go to federal court to seek their freedom is meaningless if they can continue to be held.
Uighurs are from Xinjiang, an isolated region that borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and six Central Asian nations. They are Turkic-speaking Muslims who say they have long been repressed by the Chinese government. China has said that insurgents are leading an Islamic separatist movement in Xinjiang. The Uighur detainees were captured in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001.
Albania accepted five Uighur detainees in 2006 but since has balked at taking others, partly for fear of diplomatic repercussions from China.
In papers filed with the Supreme Court late Friday, the administration says a group of Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurz) are being lawfully held at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba even though they are not considered enemy combatants.
The administration says a federal appeals court ruling that blocked the Uighurs' release in the United States should be upheld. The government is trying to find another country to take them.
The Uighurs' "continued presence at Guantanamo Bay is not unlawful detention, but rather the consequence of their lawful exclusion from the United States," Solicitor General Elena Kagan told the court.
The men are held apart from the other detainees, in the least restrictive conditions, Kagan said. "They are free to leave Guantanamo Bay to go to any country that is willing to accept them," she said.
The court could decide by late June whether to hear the Uighurs' case.
A federal judge determined in October that the Uighurs should be freed because the Pentagon no longer considered them enemy combatants. U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said they should be allowed into this country because the administration could find no other country willing to accept them.
The Bush administration appealed Urbina's decision and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Urbina had gone too far in ordering the men released into the United States.
The three-judge appeals panel suggested the detainees might be able to seek entry by applying to the Homeland Security Department, which administers U.S. immigration laws. But the court bluntly concluded that the detainees otherwise had no constitutional right to immediate freedom after being held in custody at Guantanamo without charges for seven years.
The Uighurs argue that last year's Supreme Court ruling that granted Guantanamo detainees the right to go to federal court to seek their freedom is meaningless if they can continue to be held.
Uighurs are from Xinjiang, an isolated region that borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and six Central Asian nations. They are Turkic-speaking Muslims who say they have long been repressed by the Chinese government. China has said that insurgents are leading an Islamic separatist movement in Xinjiang. The Uighur detainees were captured in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001.
Albania accepted five Uighur detainees in 2006 but since has balked at taking others, partly for fear of diplomatic repercussions from China.
Although ACB has long become used to the idea of foreign double standards, this is a particularly blatant case of 'not in my back yard' which has to all intensive purposes rendered those involved stateless: Unable to return home because of Beijing's persecution, yet also unable to stay in the US because of Western hypocrisy and an American refusal to live up to its responsibilities.
It's not as if these people are dangerous; the US courts have already decreed that they aren't a threat to the US or to US interests, and Washington has approached several other Western countries in regards to granting them asylum, and it's not as if America is afraid of upsetting Beijing, because Washington regularly ignores the Mainland government over issues such as Taiwan and the Dali Lama.
ACB can't help but wonder whether Washington wold be fighting so hard to keep these men out if they were white, or if they weren't Muslims.
In the past the US has been more than happy to take in separatists from countries such as Northern Ireland who are suitably white and suitable pro America, yet it has consistently refused to take in people of Arabic and/or Muslim origin, such as Iraqi translators accused of collaborating with US forces.
View Comments/Add a Comment (3)
1. Bill Rich left...
Sunday, 31 May 2009 12:31 am
If you were Obama, what would you rather do: Release some known terrorists
into the US so that they can continue to do what they do best, or send them
back to China to face certain death ?
2. ACB left...
Sunday, 31 May 2009 2:04 am
Bill Rich:
3. tyong left...
Sunday, 31 May 2009 1:18 pm
usa is to blame for all problem in world