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Guantánamo

Cable sobre cómo convencer a España para que acoja presos de Guantánamo

El Departamento de Estado de EE UU sugiere que se aproveche la posible preocupación de España por quedar detrás de otros países que se han comprometido con EE UU sobre Guantánamo.

ID:200357
Date:2009-04-02 13:02:00
Origin:09MADRID351
Source:Embassy Madrid
Classification:SECRET//NOFORN
Dunno:06MADRID2657 09SECSTATE31088 09STATE20757
Destination:VZCZCXRO7633
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHFL RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH
RUEHNP RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHMD #0351/01 0921302
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 021302Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0472
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 3932
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0894
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000351

NOFORN
SIPDIS

FOR EUR/WE, NEA, S/WCI, INR
PASS TO NSC FOR RASMUSSEN, BRADLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2034
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PHUM, MOPS, KAWK, KISL, KPAO, SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN: S/WCI ENGAGES GOS ON ACCEPTING GTMO
DETAINEES

REF: A. STATE 20757
B. SECSTATE 31088
C. 06 MADRID 2657

MADRID 00000351 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: ADCM William H. Duncan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1. (S//NF) SUMMARY: As part of a 10-nation visit through the
Middle East and Europe, S/WCI Ambassador-at-Large Clint
Williamson on March 23 met an inter-ministerial group of
Spanish officials for discussions on the status of Guantanamo
Bay (GTMO) detainees and the prospect of the GOS accepting
some of them for resettlement. The meeting was the first
in-depth bilateral discussion on the issue and took place
after Secretary Clinton's February 24 meeting in Washington
with Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos (See REFTEL A),
in which he confirmed GOS openness to accepting GTMO
detainees. END SUMMARY.

2. (C//NF) The GOS delegation was led by four Directors
General (DGs) - Assistant Secretary equivalent - from three
ministries: Luis Felipe Fernandez de la Pena, MFA DG for
non-EU Europe and North America; Miguel Angel de Frutos, MFA
DG for Consular Affairs and Assistance; Arturo Avello, the
Ministry of Interior's DG for International Relations and
Immigration; and Aurora Mejia, the Ministry of Justice's DG
for International Judicial Cooperation. Fernandez de la Pena
will accompany Deputy Foreign Minister Angel Lossada to
Washington April 6-7.

//Efforts to Close Guantanamo and the Possible Role of the
GOS//

3. (S//F) Ambassador Williamson noted the high priority
placed by the new Administration on closing Guantanamo within
one year, and explained the January 22 Executive Order signed
by President Obama on his second day in office. The order
called for a DOJ-led review process, currently underway, to
reevaluate all 241 GTMO detainees. Each individual will be
categorized as cleared for transfer, cleared for release, or
able to be prosecuted. Of those cleared for transfer or
release, an estimated 50-60, from countries such as China,
Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Uzbekistan, will not be
transferred home due to humane treatment concerns. It is
detainees from within this group, representing the lowest
threat level, that the USG hopes to resettle in Europe.
Williamson noted that this was critical if the USG was to be
successful in closing GTMO, in that it would need the help of
friends and allies who would be willing to accept some of the
detainees. He added that the GOS would be able to review
files on any detainees it considers for resettlement, and
could also visit Guantanamo to conduct interviews. In
response to a question from Avello, Williamson said that the
USG will not provide legal documents for detainees, allowing
countries to confer status (i.e., citizenship, asylum, legal
residency with work permit) as they deem appropriate under
their own laws.

4. (S//NF) The Ambassador also detailed security concerns
regarding the 99 Yemeni detainees in custody whom the USG
hoped to transfer to Saudi Arabia's rehabilitation program.
GOS officials agreed that Sanaa is not in a position to
guarantee security, but did not suggest a possible role for
Spain in solving the Yemen issue.

5. (S//NF) Fernandez de la Pena stated that the GOS welcomed
USG efforts to close the GTMO detention facility, which the
GOS views as a "black hole" contrary to international law,
and looked forward to responses to the questions posed by the
recent EU delegation to Washington (REFTEL B). The
Ambassador indicated that these were being addressed by a US
interagency group and that written responses would soon be
forwarded to Brussels. At the urging of the GOS
representatives, Williamson provided generalized oral
responses to the most pertinent questions affecting GOS
decision-making, but noted again that definitive answers
would be forthcoming. Fernandez de la Pena said the GOS
"position of principle" is to take a "positive, constructive
approach to the issue." However, he cited a number of legal
and security-related concerns. The Spanish Supreme Court in
2006 overturned a six-year sentence by Spain's National Court

MADRID 00000351 002.2 OF 003


against former GTMO detainee Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed,
claiming that evidence collected during his interrogation at
GTMO was inadmissible. The ruling later became a precedent
which prevented another former detainee, Lahcen Ikassrien,
from being prosecuted in Spanish courts (REFTEL C). Citing
reports from GOS security services, Fernandez de la Pena
said, these same individuals are "not resting quietly at
home." In addition, he expressed concern that civil lawsuits
and criminal investigations could be initiated pursuant to
the country's universal jurisdiction laws. The free movement
afforded by the Schengen Zone also posed a problem.
Fernandez de la Pena noted that the mitigating domestic
security risks would be less challenging given the robust
intelligence capacity developed by Spain over 40 years
combating Basque terrorism and, more recently, radical
Islamic terrorism. This same experience though, makes the
GOS very cautious about incurring the extra security risks
inherent in accepting GTMO detainees for resettlement.

6. (S//NF) Williamson acknowledged GOS security concerns, but
noted that the group of detainees now being discussed were at
a lower threat level. The USG was not requesting that
countries detain or prosecute these detainees, nor were we
suggesting the imposition of robust security measures. It
would be up to each country to take whatever steps, if any,
it felt necessary to mitigate risks. With respect to
Schengen concerns, the Ambassador highlighted that both EU
officials and lawyers for the detainees agreed that voluntary
restrictions could be used to limit movement of transferees
to within the Schengen country accepting them, and he noted
that the EU was looking at other measures to assuage concerns
about unfettered movement.

//Timeframe and U.S. Detainee Acceptance//

7. (S//NF) Regarding timeframe, Williamson indicated that the
USG hoped an EU framework facilitating member state
acceptance of detainees would be completed during the Czech
Presidency of the EU. On U.S. acceptance of detainees,
Williamson said it was one of many policy decisions under
consideration. He elaborated that the USG will end up taking
the most dangerous detainees and would likely bear
responsibility for them for years to come, since many in this
group would ultimately be prosecuted and imprisoned. Friends
and allies were being approached to resettle those who pose
less of a threat. Positive signals had been received from
France, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal, Switzerland,
Belgium and Italy. Upon hearing that USG negotiations with
some of these European countries were much further advanced,
Fernandez de la Pena seemed slightly concerned that Spain was
behind the curve in engaging the USG on negotiations on this
issue.

//Home Countries' Responses to Detainees' Resettlement
Elsewhere//

8. (S//NF) Fernandez de la Pena inquired whether any
countries of origin had protested their citizens being
resettled elsewhere. Williamson acknowledged this was an
issue with the Chinese Uighers. At the same time, Beijing
did not downgrade relations nor recall its Ambassador when
Albania took 5 Uigher detainees and there were no serious
trade ramifications. Nevertheless, Williamson pointed out
that the USG could not predict future reactions. Fernandez
de la Pena voiced concern that by taking another country's
nationals the GOS was implicitly calling the home country a
human rights violator, which could have diplomatic
ramifications. The Ambassador said that so far this had not
been the case, and he pointed out that most of the countries
involved had raised no objections to their nationals being
re-settled elsewhere.

//Comment//

9. (S//NF) The Embassy was pleased to see that that the MFA
arranged an interagency discussion on the detainee issue.
While Foreign Minister Moratinos has publicly voiced GOS
support for accepting GTMO detainees, the issue is far from
unanimous in Spain. Several opposition parties in parliament
- where Zapatero's Socialists have an increasingly fragile

MADRID 00000351 003.2 OF 003


minority government - have expressed concerns about how a
prospective resettlement might take place, while there are
also judicial questions about how this might occur within
Spanish law and reservations by some on security implications
for Spain. Nevertheless, the GOS representatives expressed
appreciation for the explanations provided by Ambassador
Williamson and indicated that these were extremely helpful
for GOS decision-making. Going forward, it may be possible
to take advantage of possible GOS concerns that it is at the
rear of the pack in terms of EU countries engaging with the
U.S. on detainee issues.

10. (SBU) Ambassador Williamson did not discuss ways in which
Spain could support development of an EU framework, but will
soon meet with the Spanish Ambassador to Washington to
follow-up.

11. (U) This cable was cleared by Ambassador Williamson.
CHACON
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