THE Foreign Office is threatening to cancel a state visit by the Queen to Bermuda after a row with the island over its “unacceptable” decision to give sanctuary to four former inmates of Guantanamo Bay.
The boycott is being considered after Bermuda infuriated David Miliband, the foreign secretary, by allowing the four men, all Chinese Muslim Uighurs, to stay on what is an overseas British territory.
The move followed a secret deal struck between Washington and the Bermudans. It was carried out without consulting Britain or the island’s governor.
Miliband protested to Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, about the pact. He told her the move was “invalid” because it breached Bermuda’s constitution, under which the UK has control over the island’s foreign and security policy.
The Uighurs are Muslim separatists from Xinjiang province. They had fled to Afghanistan in 2001 to escape Chinese oppression and were detained after they went to Pakistan.
Their arrival in Bermuda last month sparked an angry response from Sir Richard Gozney, the island’s governor. He summoned Ewart Brown, the Bermudan prime minister, for a dressing down.
The men’s sudden appearance surprised MI5, which is monitoring a Bermudan security assessment to establish whether the Uighurs represent a continuing terrorist threat.
The Uighurs had spent seven years inside America’s high security prison in Cuba, alongside other Al-Qaeda suspects, accused of being enemy combatants after they were turned in by Pakistani villagers.
Buckingham Palace had agreed in principle for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to go to Bermuda this autumn to mark the 400th anniversary of its settlement by shipwrecked British sailors. This decision is being reviewed following the Guantanamo move.
“It’s a big issue which is being considered alongside the usual issues in deciding whether the Queen should visit,” said a senior official. The Foreign Office declined to comment on the trip.
Bermuda’s decision to accept the former detainees sparked street protests among some of its 60,000 people. They accused Brown of being a “dictator” and of harbouring terrorists.
The four men have been cleared of taking up arms against America but plans to resettle them in the United States caused a furore.
Conchita Ming, chairman of the Bermuda 2009 committee, said she was still awaiting confirmation of the royal visit. “We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed,” she said. The Irish government is in the process of taking two Guantanamo Bay detainees to assist in efforts to close the prison. A delegation will interview two Uzbek inmates this week.
Source:The times
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