Uygur Detainees: Canberra Caught in Diplomatic Vice

The US has asked Australia to resettle a small group of Uighurs that, though released from prison, remain at Guantanamo Bay. They were captured in Afghanistan during the US sweep against the Taliban, but no proof of their involvement as terrorists has been found. As a result, the Uighurs, a minority group within China, have become a diplomatic hot potato as Beijing has asked Australia not to resettle them. This is not the first time China has exerted pressure with respect to resettling the Uighurs who have periodically opposed Beijing’s rule. In 2006, the US transferred some Uighur detainees to Albania to avoid sending them back to China where they would have met harsh punishment as ‘terrorists’. Many expect Beijing to begin extradition proceedings if the Uighurs were to be resettled in Australia. But international law experts assert that Australia would not be required to extradite the Uighurs since they would be classified as refugees. As the diplomatic chess game enfolds, the Uighur saga shows how confusing the distinction between terrorist and nationalist has become in the war on terror. – YaleGlobal