SPECIAL ENVOY DAN FRIED DISCUSSES GUANTANAMO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000742

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA, S/CT AND S/GC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2019
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV BE AF
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ENVOY DAN FRIED DISCUSSES GUANTANAMO
DETAINEES WITH BELGIAN OFFICIALS

REF: A. BRUSSELS 679

B. BRUSSELS 693

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Wayne Bush, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure (S/GC)
Daniel Fried met with a group of Belgian officials from the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA),Interior and Immigration
on May 19. The group was chaired by Axel Delvoie, Deputy
Director for Multilateral Affairs of the MFA. Fried informed
the Belgians about the ongoing Guantanamo detainee review
process and urged the Belgian government to indicate the
parameters (e.g., nationality, language) for detainees it
would be willing to consider for resettlement in Belgium.
Fried also addressed recent press articles on the U.S.
decision to modify the military commissions formed under the
previous administration, noting changes that provide greater
legal protections for defendants, and emphasizing the
importantance of retaining prosecutorial options. Delvoie
informed that the GOB is conducting an internal discussion on
the detainee resettlement issue. He expressed concern that
the USG is itself reluctant to release detainees into the
United States, and that resettled detainees may pose a
security threat to Belgium. However, he promised to respond
to Fried,s request for clarity on which detainees the GOB
would be willing to consider. In a later conversation with
Walter Stevens, chief of staff to the Foreign Minister, Fried
suggested that it might be a good idea for the GOB to
consider the Uighur detainees, who are generally considered
lower threat. End Summary.


2. (C) Fried stressed that the United States government is
working under a deadline imposed by President Obama to close
the Guantanamo detention facility by January 22, 2010. There
are currently 240 detainees whose case histories are under
review. The USG is evaluating which of the detainees it can
prosecute successfully and which can be cleared for
resettlement or repatriation. Fried emphasized that this
review also considers the danger detainees might pose to the
international community, and that the USG would not approve
an individual for transfer and release in cases where a
serious danger existed.


3. (C) Fried touched on the nationalities of some detainees
approved for transfer and release, highlighting the Uighurs
as a group that has been approved and who are likely some of
the lowest threat individuals still at Guantanamo. Fried
also mentioned Tunisians, Algerians, Syrians and Uzbeks as
groups the USG is considering for resettlement. Noting other
European efforts, Fried informed about his discussions just
that morning with officials from the European Commission and
Council, and the expected conclusion of a European Union
political umbrella for detainee resettlements by mid-June.


4. (C) Addressing information sharing, Fried offered that the
USG has and will provide European partners with
"substantially the same" information as USG decision-makers
use when determining whether to approve a detainee for
transfer and release. These information packets includes the
detainee,s biographic information, history, and factors that
are relevant to the individual,s security risk. Along with
this information, the USG is prepared to make facilitate
interviews with detainees for governments considering
resettlement.


5. (C) Delvoie began by noting Belgium,s enthusiasm for
closing Guantanamo. The GOB is currently undertaking an
internal dialogue about resettling detainees, and has a lot
of questions. For example, he raised the GOB perception that
Guantanamo is a U.S. responsibility and likewise was
interested in knowing which of the detainees will be released
in the United States. He expressed the GOB,s concern over
the USG's decision to continue with military commissions.
Additionally, he raised GOB worry over the security threats
posed by the detainees. Fried replied that the detainees are
not all the "worst of the worst" as they have been portrayed
in the past. Some indeed are hardened terrorists and some
are bad actors, like drug dealers, who made bad choices at a
young age and volunteered to fight. Most are basically foot
soldiers, not radicals. Fried emphasized that the USG
recognizes its responsibility. At the same time, the debate
in the United States over the detainees' fate is a difficult
one, and European help is important to the USG in that
dialogue. As for the military commissions, Fried highlighted
that the President has ordered reforms to address problems
and will be seeking authority for more reforms from the
Congress. However, the commissions are an important
prosecutorial tool to provide the USG options for addressing
complex cases.


BRUSSELS 00000742 002 OF 002



6. (C) Delvoie asked how the list of detainees offered to the
Belgians would be prepared. Fried explained that the USG
would first like to know the type of persons Belgium would be
willing to seriously consider for resettlement. After that,
the USG would provide appropriate files for review by the
GOB. Those files will paint a good picture of each
detainee,s nature based in the factual history of the
detainee,s background and acts. Highlighting the Uighurs
specifically, Fried noted that from those files one could
understand that the Uighurs are not a threat and should be
resettled. Delvoie replied that the decision on taking
detainees has not yet been taken by the GOB, but his
government wants to work with the USG. Delvoie promised to
get back to Special Envoy Fried and the Embassy with some
parameters and other information to begin consideration of
specific detainees for resettlement in Belgium.


7. (C) In a brief, separate meeting with Walter Stevens, the
chief of staff for Foreign Minister De Gucht, Fried gave a
synopsized recitation of the points he made with the large
group. He told Stevens that the USG's internal review of
Guantanamo detainees will be finished by mid-summer, but
there is already a group that has been approved for transfer
and release that the GOB could consider. Fried focused again
on the Uighur detainees as low threat individuals that would
make it easy for the GOB to handle from a security
perspective. Fried recognized the diplomatic problems with
China relating to
the Uighurs, but observed that if many EU members combine to
take these detainees, it will be difficult for China to take
effective action in retaliation. Fried noted that the GOB
could review information on the Uighurs immediately and that
it might be wise to move quickly to take them given their low
security risk.


8. (C) Stevens inquired about progress with the EU on a the
U.S.-EU joint statement on cooperation in closing Guantanamo,
and about the status of the military commissions. Fried said
that specific language is under discussion with the EU and
that we should be close to a text after member states review
what the EU Council and Commission present. The aim is to
complete work in conjunction with the EU internal
position by mid-June. Fried reiterated his comments to the
larger group in regard to military commissions.


9. (U) S/GC has cleared this telegram.

BUSH
.