Radio Australia
June 25, 2009

Palau's President says fears his country can't provide a safe haven for Guantanamo detainees are unfounded. The President's statement follows concerns raised by the detainees that they will be under threat from China if they agree to take up an offer to resettle in Palau. Palau President Johnson Toribiong says they have nothing to worry about. But a lawyer for two of the detainees says there is no formal offer on the table.

Presenter: Barbara Heggen
Speaker: Johnson Toribiong, Palau President, George Clark lawyer

EGGEN: Palau made international headlines earlier this month when it agreed to take 13 of Guantanamo's Uigher detainees from China's far west Shin Jyung province. Originally 22 Uighers were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001and transferred to Guantanomo Bay detention centre but In 2003, US authorities determined that they were not terrorists. Since then five have gone to Albania and 4 to Bermuda but 13 men remain in limbo in Guantanamo. A Lawyer for two of the remaining men George Clark is hopeful that the saga may finally be coming to an end but says the offer is still not formally on the table due to legal issues.

CLARK: One major legal issue is that you can't be a Palaun citizen unless you have Palaun blood, so you say to yourself how do we get documentation, like travel documentation for these men. If they go to Palau and resettle in Palau they will never be able to get a passport, they will never be able to get some kind of travel document, so that discussion is a discussion we're having with the state department, we've had it with the Palauns but it's a state department issue I think as to how we deal with that.

EGGEN: As far as Palau President Johnson Toribiong is concerned the offer is genuine and Palaun representatives have met with the detainees to answer questions and discuss concerns. One major issue raised by the men is that of safety. While the US doesn't regard the Uighers as terrorists China does because the Turkic muslims have been pushing for an independent state. The detainees are worried that Chinese authorities will be able to reach them in Palau. President Toribiong says the men have nothing to worry about. Palau has no formal links with China and the United States is responsible for its security.

TORIBIONG: They're kind of nervous about the presence of the Chinese in this part of the world but that's not a problem it's a baseless concern, the chinese may not want these detainees to be sent to Palau but that's a problem for the United States to consider, they will have no enemy, Palau is under the US defence umbrella. The only security concern I have is that the Chinese may bring in a battleship more than an airplane but I think the United States will take care of that and I don't think China will do that, there is only 14 of them left China to invade Palau because of these 14 people I don't think so..

EGGEN: Lawyer George Clark also believes the detainees will be safe from China in Palau. His two clients are keen to take up the offer as soon as it's formalised. He says if other detainees decline the offer their options will extremely limited.

CLARK:Well they're trapped between two super powers which is typically not a good place to be China pressure is just immense. China views them as terrorists so it's putting a vast amount of pressure on countries to take em, even though the guys are harmless and not terrorists. Y'know the United States
as really let everybody down, the administration has in a sense let people down because they haven't taken these men and it made perfect sense for them to take them, it would have opened up European countries to take some and I think that was the original intention but it failed and that's where we are.