Pacific State Palau to Take Uighur Detainees.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/ap

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- The remote Pacific island nation of Palau says it has agreed to a U.S. request to temporarily resettle up to 17 Chinese Muslims now held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center on Cuba.



Read more: http://nytimes.com/aponline/2009/06/09/world/AP-AS-US-Guantanamo-Palau.html

[IndianaGreen]

1. China hasn't been kind to Falun Gong, and they won't be to the Uighur

I will point out that the US has cleared the Uighurs of involvement in terrorist activities.

[No Elephants]

14. But they are guilty of being Muslim during Bushco's reign.

[Frank Booth]

2. Wow. This isn't much of a consolation prize.

It's hard to think of a more foreign place for a group of guys from Xinjiang.

[elleng]

3. Right; foreign, and whats to do there?

Desert Island? Not that their place of origin is so great.

[cap]

9. no... Palau is a great vacation spot.. really nice coral reef

Lots of Japanese go vaction there. I don't know what the prospects are for the uighurs.

[mainer]

15. I loved Palau. It's gorgeous, with incredible diving and nice people.

It's NOT a "desert island." It's got mangroves and plenty of lush growth. Some would call it a paradise.

[ohio2007]

25. Who in their right mind would NOT want to go there?

unless they fear global warming will swallow it all up in 100 years

[glinda]

29. If there is a Heaven it must surely be Palau. WOW!

[mainer]

31. I was there years ago, and thought it jaw-droppingly gorgeous

My only regret is that I was there for work, and didn't get a chance to scuba dive. In fact, all the islands in that area are beautiful. I especially loved Yap and Pohnpei. And I hear Kosrae is gorgeous too.

[glinda]

32. Palau has the Chinese sweat shops doesn't it? Will these released people work in them?

I love the "forests coming out of the water". Send me there!

[Frank Booth]

33. I believe you're thinking of Saipan.

[glinda]

36. Thanks!

[ohio2007]

27. Don't know Palau? Here's A Cheat Sheet

NPR article

snip

The population totals just under 20,000, according to the U.S. State Department. It says the capital, Melekeok, has a population of 391 (yes, State says it's 391; we're not missing any zeroes).

-- It has "among the world's most spectacular diving and snorkelling."

-- Palau's economy is doing pretty well. According to State, the per capita gross domestic product is $8,412 making it "one of the wealthier Pacific Island states." The main industry: tourism.

Know more about the island nation? Feel free to add your nuggets in the comment thread.

snip


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/06/palau_heres_a_cheat_sheet.html

some interesting details posted in the comment section outside of the MSM bias filters

comments


Bernard Pullon (DohaPaul) wrote:

I lived in Palau for five years and there is quite a strong Chinese connection, I wonder if these refugees will actually be safe there. Beautiful place to be sent to, their luck is in there, their longevity there ... I'm not so sure.


......




Michael Copeland (MichaelCopeland) wrote:
Palau's relationship with the U.S. center's on the Compact of free association.

snip

The aid was set to run out this year, although the U.S. rights to use Palau's space existed for about another 20 years. Palau has been in renegotiation with the U.S., trying to find a way to continue to receive that aid.

So it looks like that this was the final bargaining chip that Palau needed to convince the U.S. to continue to give its aid package.

The $200M, I assume, will be $10M per year for the next 20 years. Palau also has right to compete for certain grants, and are part of the U.S. head start system, etc. In exchange, not only will Palau get these prisoners, but the U.S. will continue to have the right to control Palau's space.

[lapfog_1]

4. Maddow was reporting that we are paying Palau

$200,000,000 or about $10,000 per Palau citizen to place these guys there.

And, apparently, there is a strong Uighur exile population near New York city (or was it Washington, D.C.) whose leaders have already offered to take them in and provide for them.

Basically, I think we are paying Palau so that the Repukes can't make commercials about how Dems set loose "terrorists" inside the "homeland". Even though these 17 individuals never committed any crimes or were even associated with any terrorist organization... and they were to be set free almost 4 years ago, by Court order.

[DUlover2909]

6. Not that I fully understand this decision, but...

At least they will be free. At least the people there get something in return. At least it's only $200 million. Consider what the whole terror war has cost us? The world isn't perfect. Bush and Cheney have cost us dearly. If these prisoners had a day in court the cost of their torture would be far beyond $200 million in my estimation. How much did the McDonald's lady get for spilling her coffee? How much do divorced Beverly Hills wives receive in alimony? I can think of a few other cases in which justice was not served (Gore v Bush) and the country suffered far more.

[lapfog_1]

7. I think it would be far cheaper, and more just

to give each of the 17 prisoners $2M dollars, a place to live in exile (either here in the US or wherever they want) and allow them to bring their immediate families (father, mother, brothers, sisters, wives or husbands, and any child of this set of people under the age of 18) to wherever they decide to live. And an official letter of apology.

[Demeter]

8. This Isn't About Justice, Obviously

It's about covering a very large US ass (Bush/Cheney and the CIA).

[DUlover2909]

13. They probably figured a pay off would be seen as an admission of guilt.

Or hush money.

[Coventina]

17. If the immediate family members are living in China, would

the Chinese government allow them to leave?

Or would they hold them as bait, hoping the exiles would return to their families?

This is just a sad situation all around, and just one more of the many, many crimes committed by Bushco that we will be paying for, in one way or another, for generations.

:-(

[ProudDad]

20. Your math's off

It's over $11,700,000 each...

See my post #19 for the exact figure...

[lapfog_1]

34. No, you simply didn't read the post carefully...

I wrote "per Palau CITIZEN" not "per detainee".

Your figure is correct per detainee. However, it's still $10,000 per citizen of the nation of Palau. Which isn't bad for letting 17 guys come live in your country.

Of course, now its not even 17 guys as a handful have been placed in Bermuda.

[ohio2007]

24. That $200 million rumor was said to be false

The ambassador of Palau, who happens to be an american attorney "working" for the island nation since they became independent in 1996, said the amount was pure fiction .

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/06/palau_president_detainees_are.html
the audio story is available at NPR.

Obama asked the president and he agreed to take them as long as all the proper papers are created and in order. and the US funds the transportation costs They are currently men without a country.

[lapfog_1]

35. OK, but multiple sources (Maddow, Huffpo, even AP), reported the $200M figure

And you know that there will be some sort of figure in the millions involved.

[ohio2007]

38. The current US foreign aid package to the nation is due to run out this October

I think they continued the program of $20 million a year for the next ten years because of the offer to accept obamas request.

That must be the $200 million they are talking about.



Although, there is this article that mentions the natives may be getting restless


Palau Population, Anecdotally, Less Than Thrilled With Prospect of Uighurs

snip

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/palau-population-anecdotally-less-than-thrilled-with-prospect-of-uighurs.html


in a country of less then 20,000, it only takes a few to catch the medias eye to paint a broad brush of decent in paradise.

I heard on the radio that the inmates Albania took in 2006 have settled. One works at a pizza shop,another attends school and yet a third applied for a visa to join relatives living in Sweden.

Palau imo, will remain calm and these new members of the country will be active in some form of the tourist industry.


hmmm....
Wonder if Heraldo will go interview them on 09/09/09 ?
;)
ya never know

[Solly Mack]

5. K&R

[tpsbmam]

10. More info: amount of money potentially involved, Chinese displeasure....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6469467.ece

<snips>

The Chinese government, which has demanded their return, accuses some Uighurs of leading an Islamist separatist movement in far western China, and Beijing has pressured countries to reject any pleas for asylum.

China's Foreign Ministry did not react immediately to the news

<end snips>

Question -- how are they to be protected should the Chinese decide to just come grab them? Palau is a peaceful place that doesn't even have a military (they were listed as being part of the coalition of the willing in iraq.....that was because individual Palau residents could join the American military).

<snip>

Palau — a group of eight main islands 500 miles east of the Philippines that are home to 20,000 people and multiple scuba diving companies — is taking 50 prisoners for resettlement from the Guantánamo camp in Cuba.

<end snip>

They're taking way more than the 14! Interesting that no-military Palau isn't afraid to take these people but prison-heavy, military-heavy Americans/Republicans are shaking in their boots. Figures.

<snip>
American officials who declined to be named said that Washington was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million (£122 million) in long-term development aid in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a defence and co-operation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.

Palau, a US territory until independence in 1994, relies on Washington for its defence.
<end snip>

More ka- ching! But if it's to relocate 50 people it's probably a good use of the money and no more expensive than finding other ways to relocate them.

[ohio2007]

26. "American officials who declined to be named " .. yeah, another reliable source close to the POTUS ?

BS

[sabra]

11. Remote Pacific nation to take Gitmo detainees (Chinese Uighurs)

Source: MSNBC/AP

Palau's president says archipelago is 'honored' to accept Chinese Muslims

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - The remote Pacific island nation of Palau said Wednesday it has agreed to a U.S. request to temporarily resettle up to 17 Chinese Muslims now held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center on Cuba.

Palau President Johnson Toribiong said the administration of President Barack Obama made the request last week and that his country was "honored and proud" to resettle the detainees from China's Uighur minority as a humanitarian gesture.

His archipelago, with a population of about 20,000, will accept up to 17 of the detainees subject to periodic review, Toribiong said in a statement released to The Associated Press.

The Obama administration sought a solution for the detainees after facing fierce congressional opposition to releasing them on U.S. soil despite a Pentagon determination that they were not "enemy combatants."

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31199972/

[damntexdem]

12. Yikes, the U.S. could be invaded by the Huns! Well, 17 UIghurs.

Quick, ship them off to Palau!

We've known for years that the Uighur detainees were not terrorists, had no connection to terrorism. Were only considered 'terrorists' by China. And now, after holding innocent people in horrible circumstances for years, and doing some terrible things to them, some pols are concerned that we've earned their hatred enough to make them dangerous to us. And we ignore the Uighur community in the U.S. that has been anxious to welcome them.

[mainer]

16. look at these pix of Palau. Tell me you wouldn't want to visit!

http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=palau&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=JCsxSruaKqTwMoCqvLgH&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title

[Yupster]

18. You convinced me

I'll go for only $ 1.65 million.

I'm on sale.

[ohio2007]

23. Paradise lost

only 20,000 citizens inhabit the islands. If they can't assimilate there,


they can easily find a way out of the earthly paradise imo.

[ProudDad]

19. I'll take a couple!!!

"Pacific state Palau to take Uighur detainees"

For the rock bottom price of only $200,000,000.00

That's only $11,764,705.88 each.

Hell, I'd put a couple of those folks up in my guest house for only
$22,000,000.00...

Save the government $1,529,411.76

[ProudDad]

21. It would be cheaper to house them

in the criminal-injustice system.

Only about $6,000,000 to keep them in a super max for life...

Much cheaper than the $11,700,000+ bribery payment to Palau for each one...

Hell, what's a few more years of USAmerikan Imperial injustice added to what's already been done to these people?

:sarcasm:

[ohio2007]

22. Bermuda takes 4 Uighur detainees from Gitmo

WASHINGTON – Four Chinese Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay prison were freed Thursday and resettled in Bermuda, sparking complaints from China and Britain even as the Obama administration tried to iron out details for sending more detainees to the Pacific island of Palau.

The four were among 17 Chinese Muslims, or Uighurs, picked up in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001.

snip



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_guantanamo_uighur_detainees

[glinda]

30. Spent a month there. Nice place. Very pretty.

[ohio2007]

39. I saw the island myself

Saw it from a perch a mile out at sea. Looked very windy.

[alarimer]

28. Palau isn't much of a paradise for foreigners.

http://www.slate.com/id/2220290/

If you don't believe me, try buying a house here. Just kidding! As a foreigner, you're constitutionally banned from owning land. Instead, why not open a business? Just make sure it's not a travel agency, scuba diving shop, grocery store, or any other type of retailer or wholesaler, since these are the exclusive domain of Palauans. (Of course, for the right price, you might find a local "owner" to partner with, but make sure it's someone who won't suddenly become a strict interpreter of Palauan statutes.) Legislation passed by the Senate and awaiting House action would also rule out work as an airport greeter, taxi driver, and tour boat operator—and, cherry on top, a separate bill also passed by the Senate would bar foreigners from fishing without a Palauan chaperone. Marrying a local could help, but bear in mind that citizenship is granted only if you have Palauan blood. (Last year, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed foreign-born children adopted by Palauans to become eligible for citizenship. The ballot included 22 other amendments, all of which passed.)

More at the link.

It looks like the Uighars will be lucky to even find someone to hire them, let alone make decent wages. Hardly paradise. Why we allowed them to be sent to a place where they will be treated barely better than they would in China is beyond me. It's pretty disgusting. Of course a camp in Albania is hardly better.

[Frank Booth]

37. I agree. And they'll be totally lost there, even if it is beautiful.

There's no good reason they shouldn't have been allowed to settle in the US.