The newly elected leader of the Liberal Democrats, Britain's third-largest political party, began his first full day in the post Friday by criticizing the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Menzies Campbell was elected leader by his party Thursday on a platform to tackle government secrecy and defend personal liberty.
``I am determined to continue to demand from (Prime Minister) Tony Blair clear answers to some serious questions: What steps has he taken to close down the camp, and what representations has he made to secure the release of detainees? Both Parliament and the public need to know,'' Campbell told The Associated Press. All nine British citizens who were detained at Guantanamo were released in 2004 and 2005. Six British residents who hold other citizenship remain among some 490 prisoners captured in Afghanistan and suspected of membership in al-Qaida or the ousted Taliban. Only a handful have been charged since the camp opened in January 2001.
Blair recently called the camp an ``anomaly'' that should be closed, but also said critics should remember the circumstances under which it was opened - in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Campbell, 64, told the BBC that the prison was doing ``enormous damage to the reputation of the U.S. and those who are associated with it, particularly throughout the Middle East.'' ``Yet again, this issue will be raised in capitals throughout the Middle East, and perhaps most importantly in the streets of these Arab capitals. It makes the task of the coalition forces in Iraq yet more difficult,'' Campbell said. more
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5661792,00.html
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