AMBASSADOR WILLIAMSON SEEKS PORTUGUESE SUPPORT ON

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 002720

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017
TAGS: PREL PTER PO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WILLIAMSON SEEKS PORTUGUESE SUPPORT ON
GTMO DETAINEES

REF: VIENNA 2629

Classified By: POLITICAL/ECONOMIC COUNSELOR MATT HARRINGTON FOR REASONS
1.4 (B) AND (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (S/NF) Ambassador Williamson (S/WCI) met on October 10
with senior MFA leadership to seek Portuguese agreement to
accept some Guantanamo detainees. He emphasized that
Portuguese acceptance of even a limited number of individuals
as a humanitarian gesture might provide cover for other EU
Member States to follow suit and help us make progress toward
a shared goal -- closure of Guantanamo. The Foreign
Ministry's legal advisor, Luis Tavares, underlined the legal
challenges this request posed for Portugal but underlined
that it would be political will, not legal issues, that would
drive Portugal's decision on this issue. FM Amado's
diplomatic advisor underlined the great sensitivity of this
issue for Portugal's leadership (given lingering distrust in
some quarters over whether the government was honest in
responding to questions about CIA overflights and
renditions),but he said the GOP would like to be able to
help us close Guantanamo. The Portuguese side made no
commitments but appears genuinely inclined to help. End
Summary.


2. (S/NF) Ambassador Williamson met on October 10 with
Foreign Ministry legal advisor Luis Tavares; FM Amado's
diplomatic advisor Paulo Lourenco; and the legal advisor in
FM Amado's Cabinet, Isabel Moreira. Williamson was
accompanied by Ambassador Hoffman, the DCM, pol/econ
counselor, and S/WCI staffer Matt Lavine.

What We're Looking For
--------------


3. (S/NF) Williamson explained that the United States is
looking to resettle in third countries approximately 25
Guantanamo detainees from countries with problematic human
rights records, and is hoping close allies such as Portugal
will agree to accept at least some of the individuals. He
noted that he had just come from Vienna, where the
Chancellor's national security advisor had indicated
Austria's willingness to accept some detainees, if other
European governments agreed to do the same. The Austrian
official had said a decision by Portugal, as current EU
president, to accept some individuals would provide
necessary cover for Austria and perhaps other Member States
to follow suit. The Austrians told Williamson that their
Chancellor planned to raise this issue on the margins of the
informal EU heads of government meeting in Lisbon October
18-19.

Portuguese response
--------------


4. (S/NF) MFA legal advisor Luis Tavares said he would need
to discuss with FM Amado whether there is political will for
such an exercise while cautioning that Portugal's legal
framework would likely pose certain (unspecified)
difficulties. He noted that Portuguese law provides for
prosecution of those who commit crimes against humanity.
Ambassador Williamson replied that the individuals in
question had been assessed to pose a relatively low security
risk, so the U.S. would not request they be detained or
tried. He said the detainees could likely be treated
similarly to refugees or asylum seekers. Tavares said
Portugal would have to assess the individuals case-by-case,
and he asked for detailed biographic information on the
individuals in question. He noted the political implications
of our request and reiterated that he would need to discuss
the matter with the Foreign Minister. "This is a very
sensitive matter," he said.


5. (S/NF) Saying "we hope this is an issue on which we can
help," FM Amado's diplomatic advisor, Paulo Lourenco, asked
what role we envisioned for the EU. Did the U.S. intend to
collaborate with Europe in devising a common policy approach
on such matters, or was the United States primarily looking
to Europe to provide assistance in resettling detainees?
More the latter, Williamson replied. Acceptance of even a
small number of detainees by individual European countries as
a humanitarian gesture would help enormously. The
individuals in question cannot be sent back to their home
countries, because they are likely to be mistreated. That is
why we are looking to friends such as Portugal to help -- we
see this very much as a humanitarian effort. Some have

LISBON 00002720 002 OF 002


argued that, if a few EU Member States step forward, then it
might be easier for Europe as a whole to help, Williamson
noted. Any effort to devise a common EU approach, Lourenco
warned, would be risky. On one hand, a common EU-wide policy
on accepting detainees would provide cover for Member States
for which this is a sensitive issue domestically. On the
other hand, those very same Member States may block efforts
to secure agreement on a consensus approach because of those
domestic considerations.


6. (S/NF) FM Amado's legal advisor, Isabel Moreira, asked
why the detainees are not being resettled in the United
States. Williamson noted that some 150 detainees at
Guantanamo constitute a core group of "the worst of the
worst" with whom the United States is likely stuck, and who
will likely face some sort of judicial process. The United
States is already doing a lot by accepting responsibility for
dealing with these individuals. Other detainees, however,
are low risk and can be fairly easily integrated, and we are
hoping our friends agree to take them as a humanitarian
gesture. If Portugal is able to accept even one or two, it
would help us move toward closing Guantanamo -- something
Europe has demanded for some time -- and would receive a very
favorable reaction in the human rights community.


7. (S/NF) Tavares noted that EU legal advisors planned on
October 31 to share with John Bellinger a proposed legal
framework for a new transatlantic humanitarian policy. He
asked whether the Guantanamo request might be presented as a
piece of that package. Williamson replied that he had no
objection to doing so but expressed concern that changing the
legal framework would take time, and we prefer not to keep
the GTMO detainees in abeyance in the meantime. Tavares
pressed, saying it might be useful "from the European
perspective" if the two processes were linked.


8. (S/NF) Lourenco said the Portuguese delegation had taken
"very good note of your comments." He thought it was a good
idea for the Austrian Chancellor to raise the issue on the
margins of the informal European heads of government meeting
in Lisbon October 18-19. He underlined, however, that this
remains an "enormously sensitive issue" for Portugal and
other Member States. Everyone wants Guantanamo to be closed,
because it has been an irritant in the transatlantic
relationship. The humanitarian argument is a powerful one,
he said. He said he would let the Prime Minister's office
know the issue might come up at the heads of government
gathering.


9. (S/NF) In conclusion, Lourenco said it would be a good
thing if the EU worked with the United States in closing
Guantanamo. Working toward that end, however, would reopen
old wounds and public criticisms, so we have to be very
careful how we do it, he said. Williamson promised to share
biographic information on the detainees which would make
clear the kinds of people we are talking about.

Comment
--------------


10. (S/NF) This is indeed a difficult political issue for
the Portuguese government, which has been been criticized
(unjustifiably so, in our view) by a crusading
Euro-parliamentarian for not being forthright in addressing
accusations involving alleged CIA overflights and renditions.
Nonetheless, we believe they want to be helpful. Both
Tavares and Lourenco stressed several times they consider
this more a political issue than a legal one, implying that
the lawyers will find a way to support whatever decision the
political leadership makes. Subsequent to this meeting, we
shared detailed bio information on the detainees provided by
S/WCI, and Ambassador Hoffman will press FM Amado for a
positive decision in a one-on-one lunch on October 24.


11. (S/NF) Lourenco told us subsequently that the Austrians
did not raise this issue on the margins of the informal
European Council summit in Lisbon October 18-19.


12. (U) Ambassador Williamson cleared this cable.


Hoffman