Georgia may host Guantanamo prisoners
Georgia may receive detainees of the US Guantanamo
Bay military prison camp, Georgian Rustavi 2 channel quoted The
Washington Post as saying on Saturday.
According to the article, which referred to sources in President Barack Obama`s administration, Washington ``has held positive talks with Tbilisi`` on the issue.
Irakli Sesiashvili, a Georgian expert on security issues, says that relocating the terror suspects to Georgia may pose a threat to the country.
``If the Georgian authorities and the US administration are indeed in talks on holding Guantanamo prisoners on Georgian soil, it turns out that this is a politically lucrative issue for the United States,`` he said.
Sesiashvili reminded that maintaining partnership with the U.S. lays a lot of commitment on Georgia, and the Guantanamo issue could be involved. However, the matter should not be addressed only on government level, and experts of relevant profile should be drawn to discussing it, the pundit said.
``The situation in Georgia is not gratifying as it is in terms of the country`s security, and stationing such a camp there would further complicate it. I would like to remind that a country hosting such a camp is a target for terrorists.``
After President Barack Obama`s taking office, the methods used by CIA investigators began to be severely criticized, as opponents of former President George Bush`s administration are demanding a probe into counter-terrorism practices that they consider as violating human rights and equate with torture. Under the most pounding criticism is the prison in the Guantanamo base where terror suspects are held. President Obama has pledged to shut the prison down, but a detailed plan for its closure has yet to be developed.
The Guantanamo prison opened in 2002 at the US naval base on Cuba and has been widely condemned by rights groups and foreign governments as failing to meet basic legal standards.
Zardusht Alizada, an Azerbaijani analyst, said running the Guantanamo base is tantamount to violation of human rights. ``It is high time this jail was closed.``
Alizada pointed out that Obama had vowed to shut Guantanamo as early as during his campaign for the November 2008 presidential election.
``But now, it is evident that this was just a trick,`` the pundit opined. ``The US authorities label innocent people as terrorists and jail them indefinitely. And now, they are moving the prisoners to Georgia to cover this up.``
Alizada believes that basing the prison in Georgia, Azerbaijan`s neighbor in the South Caucasus, along with disrupting the already precarious situation in the region, will deal a blow to the country`s image on the world stage.
``This could also question Georgia`s independence,`` Alizada added.
According to the article, which referred to sources in President Barack Obama`s administration, Washington ``has held positive talks with Tbilisi`` on the issue.
Irakli Sesiashvili, a Georgian expert on security issues, says that relocating the terror suspects to Georgia may pose a threat to the country.
``If the Georgian authorities and the US administration are indeed in talks on holding Guantanamo prisoners on Georgian soil, it turns out that this is a politically lucrative issue for the United States,`` he said.
Sesiashvili reminded that maintaining partnership with the U.S. lays a lot of commitment on Georgia, and the Guantanamo issue could be involved. However, the matter should not be addressed only on government level, and experts of relevant profile should be drawn to discussing it, the pundit said.
``The situation in Georgia is not gratifying as it is in terms of the country`s security, and stationing such a camp there would further complicate it. I would like to remind that a country hosting such a camp is a target for terrorists.``
After President Barack Obama`s taking office, the methods used by CIA investigators began to be severely criticized, as opponents of former President George Bush`s administration are demanding a probe into counter-terrorism practices that they consider as violating human rights and equate with torture. Under the most pounding criticism is the prison in the Guantanamo base where terror suspects are held. President Obama has pledged to shut the prison down, but a detailed plan for its closure has yet to be developed.
The Guantanamo prison opened in 2002 at the US naval base on Cuba and has been widely condemned by rights groups and foreign governments as failing to meet basic legal standards.
Zardusht Alizada, an Azerbaijani analyst, said running the Guantanamo base is tantamount to violation of human rights. ``It is high time this jail was closed.``
Alizada pointed out that Obama had vowed to shut Guantanamo as early as during his campaign for the November 2008 presidential election.
``But now, it is evident that this was just a trick,`` the pundit opined. ``The US authorities label innocent people as terrorists and jail them indefinitely. And now, they are moving the prisoners to Georgia to cover this up.``
Alizada believes that basing the prison in Georgia, Azerbaijan`s neighbor in the South Caucasus, along with disrupting the already precarious situation in the region, will deal a blow to the country`s image on the world stage.
``This could also question Georgia`s independence,`` Alizada added.
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