Originally published by Royal Gazette,09 Feb 2011

By Ruth O’Kelly-Lynch

Former Guantanamo Bay detainees Ablikim Turahun, Salahidin Abdulahad, Abdulla Abdulqadir and Khalil Mamut.

the BritThe Uighurs will not be eligible for UK passports “at least for the next several years” according to a leaked US State Department cable.
The cable, one of 68 relating to Bermuda held by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, referenced a meeting between US Embassy officials in London and Tony Bates, the head of Bermuda and Caribbean section of the Overseas Territories Directorate, under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on

December 17, 2009. The meeting was held after ish Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC) between December 7 and 9 that year.
Also discussed was Bermuda’s crime level and independence for the British Overseas Territories (BOTs).
The cable states: “Bates raised two issues pertaining to Bermuda and specifically to the four former Guantanamo detainees who were resettled on the Island earlier this year. Bates first asked about a recent local Bermudan [sic] newspaper article that said that the Uighurs expected to get passports within a year based on comments from their lawyers and a US army general.
“Bates said the UK was “alarmed” at this report, but Poloff [Political Officer] assured Bates that no one in the USG [United States Government] had made any promises of passports for the Uighurs.
“Bates went on to say that the Uighurs were ineligible for refugee travel documents, ineligible for any sort of travel document that Bermuda might give them, and, at least for the next several years, ineligible for British passports that would accompany UK citizenship.
“He said that it appeared that the only passports they were eligible for were Chinese passports, but that there was, of course, no chance of them getting those.”
Mr Bates also told the US Embassy officer the Uighur issue did not come up during the OTCC meetings.
He added that former Premier Ewart Brown “has already heard [UK Under Secretary of State Chris] Bryant’s take on the issue plenty of times”.
The cable adds: “Bates said that the UK was waiting to see how the closing of Guantanamo Bay proceeded, but that as of now the UK plans to raise the Uighur resettlement issue with Ambassador Fried’s office via UK Embassy Washington at some point in January.”
Mr Bates also told the US officials the OTCC meetings were of “minimal significance”.
It adds: “Though there were some quite frank discussions, the debate never got heated on [sic] uncomfortable.”
Bermuda’s crime level was discussed as well as independence.
The cable states: “Bates said that an important part of the Council was the discussion on crime, which is a particular problem in Bermuda and in the Cayman Islands. Bermuda has requested foreign assistance in combating its crime problems, and the West Midlands police (which has experience battling gang-related crime) as well as the FBI and the Miami-Dade police department are scheduled to visit Bermuda to provide assistance and training.”
During the meeting the future of BOTs was discussed. Mr Bates emphasised the decision rests with the people, and not with the local government. He added the UK expects that independence must come through a referendum and the UK “would not stand in the way” if it was the will of the people.
In addition to this cable two others were released earlier this week. One expanded on sanctions against Iranian shipping companies which The Royal Gazette reported on last week. The other lists Bermuda as a BOT in an overview of the UK’s investment climate, but does not expand on the Island’s economy.
The latest batch brought the number of cables referencing Bermuda to eight.
In total there are 68 cables where Bermuda is mentioned. Twenty-seven of those came from the US Consulate in Bermuda.

Related websites: http://mirror.wikileaks.info, http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110204/NEWS/702049980 
To view the Uighur cable in full go to http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/12/09LONDON2857.html

http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110209/NEWS/702099914/1001