DOD GC HAYNES MEETS ON GUANTANAMO WITH BELGIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 002401 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA 1 MARK, ADDRESSEE) SIPDIS NOFORN SECDEF PASS OGC MR. HAYNES E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2012 TAGS: PREL PTER BE SUBJECT: DOD GC HAYNES MEETS ON GUANTANAMO WITH BELGIAN SENATOR LIZIN Classified By: DCM William Imbrie, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NOFORN) SUMMARY. On July 20, 2007, DOD General Counsel William J. Haynes II and Belgian Senator Anne-Marie Lizin discussed the way ahead for finding recipient countries for the 80 internees still incarcerated at Guantanamo naval base. Lizin reported that the new French government, specifically Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, was interested in engaging on the issue, for example, with Algeria. Haynes thanked Lizin for her efforts and inquired what she saw as next steps. She said that an international &umbrella8 needed to be identified that could work on the issue discreetly, and suggested the IOM because it will have an American DG. She suggested that USG seek other recipients for individuals than those of their birth or citizenship, for example Bahrain or Qatar. Lizin provided updates to Haynes and to Pol/MilOff from Paris on July 24 on Kouchner,s desire to proceed carefully and only with Elysee involvement. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) In a meeting in the Belgian Senate on July 20, 2007, DOD General Counsel William J. Haynes II and Belgian Senator Anne-Marie Lizin discussed next steps on finding recipient countries for the 80 internees still incarcerated at Guantanamo naval base. Ambassador Fox and pol/mil officer Koch participated ¶3. (C/NOFORN) Haynes and Lizin exchanged updates on the issue of finding host countries for detainees at Guantanamo Naval Base. Lizin said that she had raised the matter twice with the new French government and reported that both FM Bernard Kouchner and presidential foreign policy advisor (and former AMB to the U.S. Jean-David Levitte) were very interested. Algeria was one country that had been mentioned. In the meantime, at the July 26 OSCE meeting in Vienna she would be able to address the issue only informally on the sidelines. Finding an Umbrella -------------- ¶4. (C/NOFORN) Haynes thanked Lizin for her efforts on Guantanamo and inquired what she saw as next steps. She said those would be determined by US judicial decisions on the internees, but suggested that it was important to find an &umbrella8 organization that could work on the issue internationally. In particular, she focused on the International Organization for Migration (IOM),in that an American, William Swing, had been nominated to become its next head. ¶5. (C/NOFORN) Lizin urged the U.S. to look beyond the birth or citizenship identity of a detainee in seeking a place a recipient nation. She talked about a detainee from the Sudan who was a cameraman for Doha- based Al Jazeera network during a royal Qatari visit to Waziristan when the Pakistanis arrested him and turned him over to the U.S. She said she had heard about him from Qatar,s ambassador (NFI) to Belgium who called the man a &personal friend8 who had houses in both Qatar and Bahrain. Lizin suggested that the U.S. intervene with the governments of Qatar and/or Bahrain on his and other detainees, behalves. Follow-up from France -------------- ¶6. (C/NOFORN) Lizin called embassy Tuesday July 24 from Paris on her way into and again after a meeting with FM Kouchner. In the second call, she reported that Kouchner was &extremely prudent8 and would need the agreement of the Elysee to proceed. She said that Kouchner had suggested instead an unspecified joint &European action8 on Guantanamo resettlement, with which she disagreed. &The broader the involvement on this, the less chance of success,8 Lizin observed to PolMilOff. Lizin also spoke with Haynes after her meeting with Kouchner; they agreed that more groundwork needed to be done before moving ahead and to remain in touch to that end. She advised that she would send a more detailed report to Haynes. ¶7. (U) GC Haynes has not reviewed this message. IMBRIE .