MELEKEOK, Palau -- Only a few of the Guantanamo detainees Palau has agreed to resettle have shown interest in moving to this remote Pacific nation, its government said Tuesday.
The 13 Turkic Muslims from far western China are concerned about the island nation's ability to provide for their safety, according to a government statement.
Palau made headlines earlier this month when it consented to U.S. President Barack Obama's request to take the Uighurs as part of plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. The men were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001, and the Pentagon determined last year that they were not "enemy combatants" _ but the men have been stuck in legal limbo since.
Palau sent a fact-finding team to the Guantanamo Bay detention center earlier this month to assess their needs. Five of the 13 Uighurs declined to meet with the delegation, the government said.
"All of the detainees interviewed had many questions regarding Palau, principally regarding Palau's ability to provide for their safety and regarding their ability to travel elsewhere in the future should they so desire," the government said in a statement issued after the team briefed top Palauan officials on their findings in a closed-door meeting.
Marhence Mardrangchar, a lawmaker who attended the meeting, said he was a bit surprised at the news.
"They've been in Guantanamo for many years," he said. "I thought they'd like to get away and maybe come to Palau."
He suggested the men may prefer to live in a larger country where they could access the media and bring attention to their cause.
"Being in Palau is being isolated," Mardrangchar said.
The president's top spokesman said the previous day that many of the Guantanamo detainees were concerned about Palau's proximity to their homeland _ although the islands lie deep in the Pacific Ocean, more than 1,700 miles (2,735 kilometers) southeast of the Chinese coast.
"They are concerned about security," said Ngiraibelas Tmetuchl, special assistant to President Johnson Toribiong, on Monday. "They asked, 'How are you going to defend us from China?'"
The Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurs), from China's far western region of Xinjiang, are considered separatists by Chinese authorities. The United States refuses to send them back to China because of concerns the men would be immediately arrested.
Palau is one of the world's smallest countries. It does not have diplomatic relations with China and instead has developed strong ties with Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory. The United States is responsible for Palau's security.
Only one Uighur expressed high interest in Palau, Tmetuchl said. He was so excited that he ignored the call to prayer during his interview with Palauan officials and instead wanted to know more about the country.
"If we had said, 'let's go,' he would've jumped on the plane," he said. "It sounds like he just wanted out (of Guantanamo Bay). And if out meant Palau, that's what he wanted."
The four-person team is now drafting a written resettlement proposal and its responses to the detainees' questions, the government said. The documents will be sent to U.S. officials and to the detainees or their attorneys.
The president had requested a public briefing Tuesday, but Congressional leaders opted for a private session, Tmetuchl said.
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