US pressures Merkel to accept Guantanamo group

[Eugene]

US pressures Merkel to accept Guantanamo group

Reuters
Friday, April 14, 2006; 10:08 AM

BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. government wants to deport a group of Chinese Muslims held
at the Guantanamo prison camp to Germany and is pressuring Chancellor Angela Merkel
to take in the ethnic Uighurs, a newspaper reported on Friday.

The German daily Die Welt quoted diplomatic sources saying Merkel's government has resisted
the U.S. pressure to accept the 15 Uighurs from the restive, predominantly Muslim region
of Xinjiang in China's northwest.

<snip>

The men, who oppose China's Communist rule, are from the region that was known as East
Turkestan until it was annexed by the Manchu Empire in 1884. Its Uighur inhabitants, a Muslim
Turkic people, want more autonomy; some want independence.

<snip>

The German government has resisted the U.S. pressure so far, the daily said, because it does
not want to put strains on its relations with China and fears accepting the Uighurs would
be seen in Beijing as a hostile act.

<snip>

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041400596.html

[stepnw1f]

1. My Family in Deutschland

will be irrate if she gives in.

[lovuian]

2. I think Merkel is getting wary of being the Bush buddy

since Busceloni just lost his election...

[Tempest]

3. Why doesn't Bush bring them to the U.S.?

If I were Merkel, I'd put Bush on the spot and ask him why the U.S. doesn't take them in.

[peacetalksforall]

4. Is this ironic or not? Doesn't want to put strain on relations?

"...because it does not want to put strains on its relations with China and fears accepting the Uighurs would be seen in Beijing as a hostile act."

Germany is afraid of putting strains on relations with China, but the U.S. PNAC didn't have any fear about putting strains on our relations with China? That's what is implied by deduction.

Or is China our financier, putting pressure on us?

Notice the trend here - the U.S. was always the one to put pressure on another country - sounds like China already rules or as our debt minder, gets to call some shots?

[Supersedeas]

5. when rendition has run its course