THE US official in charge of closing the Guantánamo Bay detention camp has declared that the prison will finally shut before President Obama’s four-year term of office ends.
Exactly a year after Mr Obama promised to close Guantánamo within 12 months, special envoy for the closure Daniel Fried said 193 detainees are still held there.
On a visit to Brussels for political briefings, he said “let’s finish what we started together” was one of his prime messages to European governments.
“I am confident it will be closed under President Obama’s first term,” he said, stressing that he was reluctant to set any deadline.
“We have not succeeded in closing Guantánamo in the deadline he originally established but we have done a lot to get towards that goal and that goal remains our objective.” Ireland was among the first European countries to accept former detainees when two people, their identities withheld for security and privacy reasons, were transferred last September.
A total of 22 detainees have been “resettled” since last year in third countries, among them France, Portugal and Belgium. Another 24 were sent home and two went to Italy for prosecution.
More than 100 detainees are approved for transfer and about 40 will be prosecuted. A group of “less than” 50 will be held without trial indefinitely, but the position of some may be reviewed.
While the US wants more transfers to Europe, Mr Fried would not specify numbers or the countries in question. “We’re in negotiation right now with a number of governments,” he said, citing only Spain.
“Ireland was one of the countries which was critical of the Guantánamo policy of the previous administration, which then stood up and offered to help and did help once that policy changed.” The head of Ireland’s diplomatic mission to the EU was among a number of ambassadors who met Mr Fried.
However, a Government spokeswoman said the purpose of the meeting was not to ask Ireland to take additional detainees and added that this was not under consideration in Dublin.