Northern Ireland urged to take Guantanamo detainees
Northern Ireland called upon to start accepting detainees Guantanamo detainees
Also In The News
|
Madonna has topped the UK album chart with her third greatest hits album, Celebration. |  |
Monday, 28, Sep 2009 12:18
By Richard James.
Northern Ireland has been called upon to start accepting detainees released from Guantanamo Bay.
US president Barack Obama has ordered the controversial prison camp to be closed by January next year.
However the ambitious plan has been met with strong opposition in the United States with the re-location of detainees on American soil a particular sticking point.
Humanitarian group Amnesty International has today called on Northern Ireland to take some of the detainees released from Guantanamo.
The call comes as two detainees, released from the prison camp by US authorities, arrived in the Republic of Ireland for resettlement.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland programme director, said: "We very much welcome this humanitarian action from the Irish government and we now ask that the move be echoed in Northern Ireland, where we have considerable experience of prisoner release and reintegration.
"The Republic is just the latest in a growing list of European countries to take detainees released from Guantánamo.
"The first and deputy first minister should indicate to Downing Street and the White House that Northern Ireland too stands ready to be part of the humanitarian solution to closing the camp.
"Ministers in the Republic have shown courage and imagination in making this move and their counterparts in Northern Ireland should show similar mettle."
Amnesty claims some 60 men are at risk of torture or persecution if returned to their home countries.
US defence secretary Robert Gates said during the weekend the closure of Guantanamo may take longer than expected and fall outside Mr Obama's deadline.