UPDATE ON ALGERIANS SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 001867

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2015
TAGS: PTER PREL KAWC AG
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON ALGERIANS SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE FROM
GUANTANAMO

REF: ALGIERS 1438

Classified By: Ambassador Richard W. Erdman,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) In an August 31 meeting on other issues, Ambassador
pressed FM Bedjaoui for an early, favorable response
conveying Algeria's readiness to accept the return of
Algerian nationals scheduled for release from Guantanamo.
Ambassador explained that the Embassy had raised this issue
with the Ministry on several occasions and that some of these
cases had dragged on for several months with no reply. The
response we always received was that the Algerian citizenship
of these individuals had to be confirmed before Algeria could
agree to receive them.


2. (C) Ambassador said we fully understood the need to verify
the citizenship of those involved and had already provided
information that should have enabled the GOA to confirm their
citizenship by now. But we have seen no sign that follow-up
action was being taken. As an international jurist and
judge, the Foreign Minister knew better than he (the
Ambassador) the international legal obligations of a state to
accept its own citizens. The delay was a bit odd, Ambassador
added, because Bedjaoui's predecessor, former FM Belkhadem,
had raised Guantanamo detention cases with Secretary Powell
during his November 2003 visit to Algiers. It was important
to act now, and positively, in order to avoid problems down
the line.


3. (C) Bedjaoui thanked Ambassador fro bringing this issue to
his attention and readily acknowledged the international
legal obligation of states to accept their own citizens.
Noting he had not been aware of the issue, he undertook to
ask his staff for all the data. " I have to face this problem
very soon. I don't want a bad result." Guantanamo, he
added, was a "heavy burden" for Algeria. On the one hand,
Algeria didn't like Guantanamo. But on the other hand, it
wasn't anxious to take these people back. "We have to be
consistent," he said, assuring that Algeria would of course
respect its international legal obligations.
ERDMAN