France is pushing for an EU fact-finding mission to Guantanamo Bay and for the bloc to take in 60 inmates after the camp closes, with EU foreign ministers to discuss the issue on Monday (26 January). EU justice commissioner Jacques Barrot and anti-terrorism chief Gilles de Kerckhove are to lead the fact-finding trip to the Cuban prison which is to be shut down within a year following the decision by new US President Barack Obama, diplomats told Financial Times Deutschland. Guantanamo Bay is to be closed down within a year, but the fate of its inmates is yet uncertain The proposal is just one of many floated by France, which chaired the rotating EU presidency until 1 January before the Czech Republic took over. France is also pushing for a centralised, EU-level check on the prisoners' background. The 60 inmates in question will not face criminal charges in the US, but cannot be returned to their home countries in the Middle East and China because they risk torture and ill treatment.
France is pushing for an EU fact-finding mission to Guantanamo Bay and for the bloc to take in 60 inmates after the camp closes, with EU foreign ministers to discuss the issue on Monday (26 January).
EU justice commissioner Jacques Barrot and anti-terrorism chief Gilles de Kerckhove are to lead the fact-finding trip to the Cuban prison which is to be shut down within a year following the decision by new US President Barack Obama, diplomats told Financial Times Deutschland.
Guantanamo Bay is to be closed down within a year, but the fate of its inmates is yet uncertain
The proposal is just one of many floated by France, which chaired the rotating EU presidency until 1 January before the Czech Republic took over. France is also pushing for a centralised, EU-level check on the prisoners' background.
The 60 inmates in question will not face criminal charges in the US, but cannot be returned to their home countries in the Middle East and China because they risk torture and ill treatment.
We can't have any torture nor ill treatment, now, can we. Surely not. Nope.
What should be done with Guantanamo Bay prisoners when the prison closes? They should be sent to be held by other foreign countries or international bodies. They should be tried in a regular U.S. court. They should be tried in a special "National Security Court." They should be sent back to Afghanistan and held there until the end of the conflict. They should be tried in a U.S. military court and detained until the war is over or they are no longer considered a threat. It is a mistake to close Guantanamo. I don't know.
I shant go on lest I begin a rant. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
