Switzerland to take Uyghur pair from Gitmo

Last Wednesday, CNN's Terry Frieden, wrote about two brothers of Uyghur (also spelt "Uighur") descent who have been released from Guantanamo prison. According to the Uyghur American Association (UAA), Bahtiyar Mahmud and Arkin Mahmud will be released to Switzerland to live and work. The decision has been lauded by Uyghur communities and activists. In a released statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said that they are "grateful to the Swiss Government and the Cantons of Jura and Geneva for assisting our efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay." The Uyghurs came to Guantanamo Bay when  they were capture by Pakistani forces in 2001 in Afghanistan and handed over "to the U.S. on suspicion of having conducted terrorist training," according to the article. The Mahmuds made headlines in The Mahmuds prompted headlines last November when unlike six other Uyghurs, they they refused an offer to go free and settle in Palau. As for the other Uyghurs in Gitmo, five remain at the prison while four others were released to Bermuda in June 2009. The Chinese government which has long had tensions with the Uyghur community, which is an ethnic minority in China, has demanded the return of the Uyghur detainees.

A scene from the Uyghur landscape in China.

This "extraordinary humanitarian gesture" is significant because it sheds light on the international dynamics of internal ethnic tension. Although the Chinese government is active in its insistence that the detainees be returned to them, in actuality China has a very small presence in this exchange. Although the Uyghur conflict originates in NW China, there are three other countries that play important roles in the case of the Mahmud brothers -- Pakistan, the United States, and Switzerland. The Mahmud case is also important in terms of citizen-state relations and the legitmacy of government. The Uyghur-state relations take a new turn here, as the detainees move to a new country, where there is not a government opressing their religion/culture as in China, but also where there is no cultural precedent to guide them. The fact that more than a few Uyghurs were wrongfully kept in Gitmo, even after having been cleared, is proof of the problems of the international prison system. Furthermore, the human rights situation with the Uyghurs has begun to receive more international attention, casting shadows on the legitimacy of the Chinese government. What will transpire between the Swiss and Chinese governments in the wake of this decision remains to be seen; the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it will "certainly affect Sino-Swiss relations," but its too early to predict the validity of any threats.

Guantanamo Bay

Read more:

     on this blog...

BBC Q&A: China and Uighers

Uighurs returned to China 'disappear' says rights group

      and elsewhere...
About the Uyghurs (UAA)

Uighur Resentment at Bejjing Rule (BBC)

Bahtiyar Mahmud

Arkin Mahmud

 

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Article Source:

Frieden, Terry. "Switzerland to take Uyghur pair from Gitmo - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Cable News Network, 3 Feb. 2010. Web. 08 Feb. 2010. .

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