http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/2002/01/29/FFXVJR05ZWC.html


Rumsfeld plays it tough on prisoners


By GAY ALCORN
UNITED STATES CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON
Tuesday 29 January 2002

US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld
yesterday ruled out classifying any of the 158 prisoners being held in Cuba, including
Australian David Hicks, as prisoners of war.

He said there was no ambiguity about their legal status, contradicting the view of Secretary of State Colin Powell, who wants a special tribunal to clarify whether some of the captives deserve protection under the Geneva Convention.

Mr Rumsfeld said it was a "hypothetical question at this time" whether Adelaide-born Hicks, accused of fighting with the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, would return home to face trial.

"I am not aware of any country that has contacted us and said they wanted the opportunity to try nationals from their country," he said.

The Australian Government has said it wants Hicks to be tried in Australia, but it has not decided what offences, if any, he has committed.

Australian officials have not visited Hicks in the prison at Guantanamo Bay, unlike the British Government, which sent representatives to meet three of its nationals. Sweden and Yemen have also requested access to their citizens.

The prisoners who, the US says, are dangerous terrorists belonging to al Qaeda or the Taliban, come from 25 countries. The US administration is yet to decide their future or to identify all countries represented.

Asked about recent comments by British Foreign Secretary Jack Shaw that Britain wanted its nationals to face trial at home, Mr Rumsfeld indicated that foreigners from friendly countries might be allowed to return home, but said that repatriations would not be automatic. Officials expect the US to interrogate the prisoners for months before deciding their future.

Mr Rumsfeld said the US would "look at the process" when foreign governments requested repatriation and would consider factors including whether the foreign country would share intelligence with America. "There certainly are some countries that support terrorists, that I doubt we would be willing to do that (allow prisoners to return home)."

Mr Rumsfeld, visiting the Camp X-Ray prison, revealed a deep split within the administration about how to deal with the detainees, none of whom have been charged with a crime.

He dismissed suggestions that some of the captives might deserve prisoner-of-war status as "loose talk" and based on a "misunderstanding" of the Geneva Convention. Mr Rumsfeld called the captives "unlawful combatants", which gives them no rights under the convention.

Mr Powell reportedly wants the detainees protected under the Geneva Convention and for the administration to consider that some may be prisoners of war.

Mr Rumsfeld rejected the suggestion, which is supported by human rights groups and many European governments.

"There are no ambiguities in this case," he said. The detainees were "not POWs, they will not be determined to be POWs. These are among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the earth."

Mr Rumsfeld said Taliban soldiers, who fought for the former regime in Afghanistan, were indistinguishable from al Qaeda terrorists.

The issue is important because PoWs are only obliged to give name, rank and serial number and the whole point of Camp X-Ray is to interrogate detainees without lawyers.

Mr Rumsfeld said the detainees were selected to go to Cuba because they were considered "particularly useful from an information stand-point".