GTMO DETAINEES: AUSTRIA SEES "RATHER BLEAK"

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 002759 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR S/WCI E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2022 TAGS: PTER PINS PHUM PREL AU SUBJECT: GTMO DETAINEES: AUSTRIA SEES "RATHER BLEAK" SITUATION IN EU REF: VIENNA 2629 Classified By: DCM Scott Kilner. Reasons: 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) DCM and Econ/Pol Counselor met 11/5 with Austrian Chancellor Gusenbauer's diplomatic advisor, Bernhard Wrabetz, to review Austrian thinking on accepting GTMO detainees. Wrabetz had accompanied Chancellor Gusenbauer to the EU Summit in Lisbon on October 18-19, on the margins of which both the Chancellor and Wrabetz had several conversations with counterparts on the issue. ¶2. (C) Wrabetz' overall assessment was that the prospects for winning agreement in the next six months from a substantial number of EU states to accept GTMO detainees were "rather bleak." He reported that Gusenbauer had very briefly spoken with Portuguese Prime Minister Socrates, who was not forward leaning. The Austrians had thought the Portuguese might use their EU Presidency to encourage acceptance of detainees but, Wrabetz said, this did not appear to be the case. The Danes told him flat out that they would not accept any detainees. The Swedes also said no, noting in the course of the conversation that they were taking in more Iraqi refugees than the U.S. The Germans were likewise not willing to take any detainees. ¶3. (C) Wrabetz did say that he thought there was some degree of sympathy for the U.S. request among heads of state, but that they faced strong opposition from their Interior Ministries. He also noted that, in the particular case of the U.S. request that Austria or Germany consider taking Uighurs, neither country was willing to further damage its relations with China - already under a cloud due to visits from the Dalai Lama. In addition, the increasingly sharp domestic politial debate in Austria over immigration and asylum policy, and the need to reach agreement with provincial (i.e., Laender) leaders in Austria and Germanyboth countries on taking detainees were problematic factors. Wrabetz speculated that a European country with a strong single party government and not facing elections for several years might, from the domestic political perspective, be a good candidate for the U.S. to approach. ¶4. (C) Comment: Wrabetz' negative assessment, coupled with Foreign Minister Plassnik's firm opposition to taking any Guantanamo detainees, regrettably signals that any window of opportunity for support from Austria on this issue has all but closed for the time being. End Comment. McCaw