SPAIN: S/WCI ENGAGES GOS ON ACCEPTING GTMO DETAINEES

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000351



NOFORN

SIPDIS



FOR EUR/WE, NEA, S/WCI, INR

PASS TO NSC FOR RASMUSSEN, BRADLEY



E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2034

TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PHUM, MOPS, KAWK, KISL, KPAO, SP

SUBJECT: SPAIN: S/WCI ENGAGES GOS ON ACCEPTING GTMO

DETAINEES



REF: A. STATE 20757

B. SECSTATE 31088

C. 06 MADRID 2657



MADRID 00000351 001.2 OF 003





Classified By: ADCM William H. Duncan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)



1. (S//NF) SUMMARY: As part of a 10-nation visit through the

Middle East and Europe, S/WCI Ambassador-at-Large Clint

Williamson on March 23 met an inter-ministerial group of

Spanish officials for discussions on the status of Guantanamo

Bay (GTMO) detainees and the prospect of the GOS accepting

some of them for resettlement. The meeting was the first

in-depth bilateral discussion on the issue and took place

after Secretary Clinton's February 24 meeting in Washington

with Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos (See REFTEL A),

in which he confirmed GOS openness to accepting GTMO

detainees. END SUMMARY.



2. (C//NF) The GOS delegation was led by four Directors

General (DGs) - Assistant Secretary equivalent - from three

ministries: Luis Felipe Fernandez de la Pena, MFA DG for

non-EU Europe and North America; Miguel Angel de Frutos, MFA

DG for Consular Affairs and Assistance; Arturo Avello, the

Ministry of Interior's DG for International Relations and

Immigration; and Aurora Mejia, the Ministry of Justice's DG

for International Judicial Cooperation. Fernandez de la Pena

will accompany Deputy Foreign Minister Angel Lossada to

Washington April 6-7.



//Efforts to Close Guantanamo and the Possible Role of the

GOS//



3. (S//F) Ambassador Williamson noted the high priority

placed by the new Administration on closing Guantanamo within

one year, and explained the January 22 Executive Order signed

by President Obama on his second day in office. The order

called for a DOJ-led review process, currently underway, to

reevaluate all 241 GTMO detainees. Each individual will be

categorized as cleared for transfer, cleared for release, or

able to be prosecuted. Of those cleared for transfer or

release, an estimated 50-60, from countries such as China,

Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Uzbekistan, will not be

transferred home due to humane treatment concerns. It is

detainees from within this group, representing the lowest

threat level, that the USG hopes to resettle in Europe.

Williamson noted that this was critical if the USG was to be

successful in closing GTMO, in that it would need the help of

friends and allies who would be willing to accept some of the

detainees. He added that the GOS would be able to review

files on any detainees it considers for resettlement, and

could also visit Guantanamo to conduct interviews. In

response to a question from Avello, Williamson said that the

USG will not provide legal documents for detainees, allowing

countries to confer status (i.e., citizenship, asylum, legal

residency with work permit) as they deem appropriate under

their own laws.



4. (S//NF) The Ambassador also detailed security concerns

regarding the 99 Yemeni detainees in custody whom the USG

hoped to transfer to Saudi Arabia's rehabilitation program.

GOS officials agreed that Sanaa is not in a position to

guarantee security, but did not suggest a possible role for

Spain in solving the Yemen issue.



5. (S//NF) Fernandez de la Pena stated that the GOS welcomed

USG efforts to close the GTMO detention facility, which the

GOS views as a "black hole" contrary to international law,

and looked forward to responses to the questions posed by the

recent EU delegation to Washington (REFTEL B). The

Ambassador indicated that these were being addressed by a US

interagency group and that written responses would soon be

forwarded to Brussels. At the urging of the GOS

representatives, Williamson provided generalized oral

responses to the most pertinent questions affecting GOS

decision-making, but noted again that definitive answers

would be forthcoming. Fernandez de la Pena said the GOS

"position of principle" is to take a "positive, constructive

approach to the issue." However, he cited a number of legal

and security-related concerns. The Spanish Supreme Court in

2006 overturned a six-year sentence by Spain's National Court



MADRID 00000351 002.2 OF 003





against former GTMO detainee Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed,

claiming that evidence collected during his interrogation at

GTMO was inadmissible. The ruling later became a precedent

which prevented another former detainee, Lahcen Ikassrien,

from being prosecuted in Spanish courts (REFTEL C). Citing

reports from GOS security services, Fernandez de la Pena

said, these same individuals are "not resting quietly at

home." In addition, he expressed concern that civil lawsuits

and criminal investigations could be initiated pursuant to

the country's universal jurisdiction laws. The free movement

afforded by the Schengen Zone also posed a problem.

Fernandez de la Pena noted that the mitigating domestic

security risks would be less challenging given the robust

intelligence capacity developed by Spain over 40 years

combating Basque terrorism and, more recently, radical

Islamic terrorism. This same experience though, makes the

GOS very cautious about incurring the extra security risks

inherent in accepting GTMO detainees for resettlement.



6. (S//NF) Williamson acknowledged GOS security concerns, but

noted that the group of detainees now being discussed were at

a lower threat level. The USG was not requesting that

countries detain or prosecute these detainees, nor were we

suggesting the imposition of robust security measures. It

would be up to each country to take whatever steps, if any,

it felt necessary to mitigate risks. With respect to

Schengen concerns, the Ambassador highlighted that both EU

officials and lawyers for the detainees agreed that voluntary

restrictions could be used to limit movement of transferees

to within the Schengen country accepting them, and he noted

that the EU was looking at other measures to assuage concerns

about unfettered movement.



//Timeframe and U.S. Detainee Acceptance//



7. (S//NF) Regarding timeframe, Williamson indicated that the

USG hoped an EU framework facilitating member state

acceptance of detainees would be completed during the Czech

Presidency of the EU. On U.S. acceptance of detainees,

Williamson said it was one of many policy decisions under

consideration. He elaborated that the USG will end up taking

the most dangerous detainees and would likely bear

responsibility for them for years to come, since many in this

group would ultimately be prosecuted and imprisoned. Friends

and allies were being approached to resettle those who pose

less of a threat. Positive signals had been received from

France, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal, Switzerland,

Belgium and Italy. Upon hearing that USG negotiations with

some of these European countries were much further advanced,

Fernandez de la Pena seemed slightly concerned that Spain was

behind the curve in engaging the USG on negotiations on this

issue.



//Home Countries' Responses to Detainees' Resettlement

Elsewhere//



8. (S//NF) Fernandez de la Pena inquired whether any

countries of origin had protested their citizens being

resettled elsewhere. Williamson acknowledged this was an

issue with the Chinese Uighers. At the same time, Beijing

did not downgrade relations nor recall its Ambassador when

Albania took 5 Uigher detainees and there were no serious

trade ramifications. Nevertheless, Williamson pointed out

that the USG could not predict future reactions. Fernandez

de la Pena voiced concern that by taking another country's

nationals the GOS was implicitly calling the home country a

human rights violator, which could have diplomatic

ramifications. The Ambassador said that so far this had not

been the case, and he pointed out that most of the countries

involved had raised no objections to their nationals being

re-settled elsewhere.



//Comment//



9. (S//NF) The Embassy was pleased to see that that the MFA

arranged an interagency discussion on the detainee issue.

While Foreign Minister Moratinos has publicly voiced GOS

support for accepting GTMO detainees, the issue is far from

unanimous in Spain. Several opposition parties in parliament

- where Zapatero's Socialists have an increasingly fragile



MADRID 00000351 003.2 OF 003





minority government - have expressed concerns about how a

prospective resettlement might take place, while there are

also judicial questions about how this might occur within

Spanish law and reservations by some on security implications

for Spain. Nevertheless, the GOS representatives expressed

appreciation for the explanations provided by Ambassador

Williamson and indicated that these were extremely helpful

for GOS decision-making. Going forward, it may be possible

to take advantage of possible GOS concerns that it is at the

rear of the pack in terms of EU countries engaging with the

U.S. on detainee issues.



10. (SBU) Ambassador Williamson did not discuss ways in which

Spain could support development of an EU framework, but will

soon meet with the Spanish Ambassador to Washington to

follow-up.



11. (U) This cable was cleared by Ambassador Williamson.

CHACON