Dharamsala, June 15: The four of the Uighurs released to Bermuda from the Guantanamo Bay have claimed that life in China, where they face persecution, is worse than life at Gitmo.
The detainees from the Chinese occupied East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang), who range from 31 to 38 years old, told Fox News that they are innocent, glad to be free and hold no grudges against the United States for their captivity.
Denying past allegations that they had aided Osama Bin Laden’s escape, the Uighurs – with a help of a translator- said they didn’t know anything about Al Qaeda or its leader.
“I am not a terrorist. I have never been terrorist. I want to live peacefully,” one of the men told Fox News.
The Uighurs, released this week, are staying at a guest cottage complex on the island without security or electronic monitoring, but their attorney said they will have to periodically check in with local police.
Their release comes amid increasing political tensions in Washington over what to do with the more than 200 detainees being held at the Guantanamo facility following President Obama’s pledge to close the facility within a year of taking office.
With the US Justice Department under Bush Administration declaring that the Uighurs should no longer be classified as “enemy combatants,” they are among the least threatening of the detainees whose fate must be decided.
A September 2008 federal court motion filed by the Justice Department confirmed their change of status and declared that all 17 Uighurs being held at Gunatanamo should be resettled in a foreign country.
The Uighurs will be eligible for Bermudian passports in the future, but the U.S. has a mechanism in place to block their entry into the U.S., according to Fox News report.
Their attorney says the Uighurs want to stay in Bermuda as part of a guest worker program, which has a provision to allow guest workers to get Bermudian citizenship in limited cases.
However, the transfer of the Uighurs has been criticized not only by U.S. Republican lawmakers but by the governments of the United Kingdom, which controls the territory of Bermuda, and China, which wants the Uighurs returned.
The Bermudan government, however, defended its decision to take the Uighurs, whom the U.S. feared would face torture if sent back to China.
Meanwhile, the Uighurs said they plan to make their home in Bermuda also may open a restaurant, probably working first in some form of manual labor. They also may open a restaurant and look forward to swimming and fishing.
