Email forward of a Radio Free Asia article, in which Colin L. Powell tells RFA that the Uyghur detainees being held in Guantanamo will not be sent back to China. The article discusses allegations that the Uyghur detainees were abused/mistreated by a Chinese delegation that traveled to Guantanamo, thus there is concern that if the detainees are returned to China that they may face harassment, detention or torture.
UNCLASSIFIED
_• LAr13
Brunson, Anne C (L-LM)
From: Dolan, JoAnn (L-PM)
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 1:02 PM
To:- - Taft IV, William H (SBU); Legal-L-HRR (SBU)
Subject: FW: RFA News: POWELL SAYS U.S. WON'T SEND UYGHURS BACK TO CHINA
Importance: High RELEASED IN FULL
Let's hope this settles the issue.
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Original Message-
From: rfanews-adminOtechweb.rfa.org [mailto:jacksonhanserfa.org)
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 11:48 AM
To: rfanews@techweb.rfa.org
Subject: RFA News: POWELL SAYS U.S. WON'T SEND UYGHURS BACK TO CHINA
Importance: High
U.S. WON'T SEND UYGHURS BACK TO CHINA
Secretary of State says U.S. would help finance end to North Korean
nuclear program
READ MORE
www.rfa.org/front/article.html?service=eng&encoding=10&id=143618
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2004—The United States won't send back to China 22
Chinese-origin ethnic Uyghur detainees now held at a U.S. military prison
in Cuba, U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
But he added that Washington is still trying to find a third country to
take them in.
"The Uyghurs are a difficult problem, and we are trying to resolve all
issues with respect to all detainees at Guantanamo," Powell said in an
interview here Aug. 12. "The Uyghurs are not going back to China, but
finding places for them is not a simple matter. We are trying to find
places for them, and, of course, all candidate countries are being looked
at."
Some 22 ethnic Uyghurs have been held since 2002 at the Guantanamo Bay
prison. Amnesty International alleged in May that a Chinese delegation had
taken part in mistreatment of some of them. U.S. military officials have
denied allegations of physical mistreatment leveled by some released
detainees from Britain, but say some "credible" allegations "are being
investigated."
Human rights groups fear the Uyghurs—the Muslim people who constitute a
small minority in China but a majority in China's remote Xinjiang
Autonomous Region—could face harassment, detention, or torture if they are
returned the China. All were detained as part of a broad antiterror sweep
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in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Powell also said the United States would help bear the cost of dismantling
North Korea's plutonium and highly enriched uranium program, but only if
Pyongyang agrees to a "totally irreversible" dismantling of its declared
nuclear arms program.
"I think just as we did with Libya in helping to remove the burden that it
had of these programs, we would certainly help North Korea," Powell said.
"It's important to say, though, it has to be done in the context of
something that is totally irreversible, and it has to be done in the
context of the entire program, all aspects of the program, and it has to
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE 1
REVIEW AUTHORITY: SHARON E AHMAD UNCLASSIFIED DOS-001557
DATE/CASE ID: 21 DEC 2004 200303827 ,
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be an ackn9widedgement of not only the previous programs of plutonium, but
the entiChed uranium programs as well."
"So, in that context, and that's the six-party talks, certainly the United
States would be willing to assist with the cost of removal, destruction,
and total elimination of the programs," he said.
RFA broadcasts news and information to Asian listeners who lack regular
access to full and balanced reporting in their domestic media. Through its
broadcasts and call-in programs, RFA aims to fill a critical gap in the
lives of people across Asia. Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated
in 1996, RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean,
Lao, Mandarin, the Wu dialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham),
and Uyghur. It adheres to the highest standards of journalism and aims to
exemplify accuracy, balance and fairness in its editorial content. Visit
www.rfa.org to learn more about RFA•or listen to RFA broadcasts. #####
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