In an open letter published the day after Uruguayan media reported the prisoners would be transferred by the end of the year, Mujica confirmed the deal -- though without giving a date -- and called on Obama to end the "unjust and unjustifiable embargo on our sister republic of Cuba."
The leftist leader called the move a humanitarian gesture for "human beings who were suffering an atrocious kidnapping at Guantanamo."
Mujica has faced criticism at home since announcing in March that the South American country would take in the inmates in an effort to help Obama fulfill his long-delayed promise to close the prison.
He largely backed off the issue during a recent election campaign to choose his successor.
But he is pressing ahead with the plan now that his Broad Front (FA) party has secured its hold on power for another five years with the victory of his ally, former president Tabare Vazquez, in a run-off election Sunday.
In his "open letter to the Uruguayan people and President Barack Obama," Mujica also urged the United States to free the three still-jailed members of the "Cuban Five," a group convicted on spying charges in 1998, as well as Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera.
Under Mujica's plan, the Guantanamo inmates would be treated like any other residents and be allowed to travel freely.
Mujica, a former guerrilla known for legalizing marijuana, giving most of his salary to charity and living in a run-down farmhouse, has said he sympathizes with the men's plight because of the 13 years he spent as a political prisoner.
There are now 142 inmates remaining at the prison, set up in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The United States has had a "perpetual lease" since 1903 on Guantanamo Bay, in the southeastern corner of Cuba.
It has maintained its economic and financial embargo on the communist island since 1962.
AFP
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/117257.aspx
5/12/14
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Related:
China votes in favor for ending US embargo against Cuba. The United States and Israel voted against.
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Uruguay set to take six Guantanamo prisoners ...
ReplyDeleteUruguay's President Jose Mujica has confirmed his country will resettle six Guantanamo Bay prisoners on humanitarian grounds.
President Mujica was himself held for over a decade in terrible prison conditions during his country's period of military rule in the 1970s and 80s.
An October opinion poll showed 58% of Uruguayans were opposed to bringing in the prisoners.
Newspaper reports say they are expected to arrive by Tuesday morning.
The arrival date for the prisoners was not confirmed by President Mujica.
He also called on the United States to release three Cuban prisoners held in United States jails on spying charges......................http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30356327
5/12/14
Guantanamo : six détenus accueillis en Uruguay...
ReplyDeleteL'Uruguay a accueilli six détenus de Guantanamo, réduisant à 136 le nombre de prisonniers encore présents dans ce centre de détention américain sur l'île de Cuba. Ils sont au total 19 à avoir été rapatriés ou renvoyés dans un pays tiers en 2014.
Barack Obama parviendra-t-il à tenir sa promesse ? Six détenus de Guantanamo - quatre Syriens, un Palestinien et un Tunisien -, ont été accueillis par l'Uruguay, dans une accélération manifeste des transferts de la prison américaine, où il reste désormais 136 hommes, a annoncé, dimanche 7 décembre, le Pentagone.
Les six hommes, qui avaient tous reçu préalablement leur "approbation pour transfert" des autorités américaines, ont quitté la base américaine de Guantanamo, située à Cuba, à bord d'un avion de l'US Air Force à minuit (05H00 GMT) dimanche, a indiqué à l'AFP un porte-parole du Pentagone, Myles Caggins.
Les six hommes, accueillis par l'Uruguay, où le président José Mujica a promis qu'ils seraient libres, sont âgés de 30 à 40 ans et étaient arrivés à Guantanamo parmi les premiers détenus en 2002. Il s'agit des quatre derniers Syriens -- Ahmed Ahjam, Ali Hussein Shaabaan, Omar Abou Faraj et Jihad Diyab --, du Palestinien Mohammed Tahanmatan et du Tunisien Abdoul Ourgy, selon un communiqué du Pentagone............http://www.france24.com/fr/20141207-guantanamo-six-detenus-liberes-accueillis-uruguay-etats-unis-barack-obama-syrien-jose-mujica/
7/12/14
Seis presos de Guantánamo de baja peligrosidad llegan a Uruguay...
ReplyDelete“El primer día que se quieran ir, se podrán ir”, asegura el presidente saliente José Mujica.
Seis presos de la base estadounidense en Guantánamo, Cuba, llegaron la madrugada del domingo a Uruguay a bordo de un avión sanitario. Los reclusos considerados de baja peligrosidad permanecen hospitalizados en Montevideo. El mayor traslado de presos de la base cubana desde 2009 y el primero hacia América del Sur (al menos de pública notoriedad) se produce con varios meses de retraso después de que el presidente de Uruguay, José Mujica, anunciase que esperaría el resultado de las elecciones y el visto bueno del nuevo presidente electo para llevar a cabo la operación. Tabaré Vázquez, ganador de las elecciones del 30 de noviembre, ha dado luz verde cuando se cumple una semana de los comicios. La oposición de centro derecha se mostró contraria al traslado.................http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/12/07/actualidad/1417966676_015709.html
7/12/14