Portugal agrees to resettle some Gitmo prisoners Stephen C. Webster

Published: Saturday December 13, 2008





Print This Email This International goodwill for the incoming Barack Obama administration is already proving its worth.



In a letter published Saturday, Portugal agreed to resettle some Guantánamo prisoners, and urged its European allies to also assist the United States in closing the prison.



Some 60 prisoners among the 250 currently occupying the prison cannot be returned home, for fear they would be subject to punishment or torture in countries like Libya, China and Algeria. It has been a point of pressing concern to human rights groups.



"The time has come for the European Union to step forward," said Portugal's Foreign Minister Luis Amado. The EU "should send a clear signal of our willingness to help the U.S. government resolve this problem, namely by taking in the detainees."



"Diplomats said the announcement by Portugal was partly a product of personal diplomacy by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a trip in September," reported the Seattle Times. "But they said it also appeared that the logjam was breaking because other countries were eager to show the incoming Obama administration that they were willing to assist in the complex challenges of closing the camp."



The United States has reportedly been seeking to clear the detainees in question for nearly five years.



