Bermuda has today granted entry to four Guantanamo Uighurs

It is with great relief that the GfbV registered the permission for four Uighurs from the US Guantanamo prison camp on the British Bermudan islands. This morning at 11.30 CET four Uighurs arrived by air from Cuba on the Bermudan islands, reported the human rights organisation on Thursday afternoon according to information received from reliable sources of the Uighurs. "The Bermuda solution is certainly not ideal, but at least they are safer there than in Palau”, said the GfbV Asia consultant, Ulrich Delius.

In the light of the close proximity to the People’s Republic and the large Chinese marine presence in the region the safety of the refugees can not be guaranteed in Palau. "In Palau the Uighurs would be in constant fear of a commando raid by China”, warned Delius. Neither the US troops, who are stationed far away on the Pacific island of Guam, nor Taiwan, which is allied with Palau, offer sufficient guarantee of the safety of the former Guantanamo prisoners.

The GfbV regretted the fact that so far no state in which there is an intact Uighur community which could concern itself with the integration of the refugees has been prepared to take any of the 17 Uighurs held in Guantanamo. Neither Germany, Belgium, France, Norway nor Turkey have signalised their preparedness in this regard. "But integration is especially important for these severely traumatised people to give them security and to make sure that in future no security risk arises”, said Delius. On the Bermuda islands there are no Uighurs and the culture and way of life are completely foreign to the new arrivals.

In the British crown colony Bermuda off the east coast of the US there live some 65,000 people. This British possession, which is very popular with US holiday-makers, comprises about 150 islands, of which many are uninhabited. Great Britain is represented in this area of only 54 sq. km. by a governor.

Ulrich Delius is also available at u.delius@gfbv.de