There are different views within the Government about whether Ireland has a role to play, writes Mary Fitzgerald, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
SEVEN YEARS ago this week, the Bush administration released the first pictures of what would become one of the most powerful and controversial symbols of its so-called "war on terror" - the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay.
Those initial photographs showed shackled detainees wearing goggles as they arrived at the newly-opened facility. More images would follow - men in bright orange jumpsuits sitting in small wire cages or kneeling in lines with their heads bowed.
Tomorrow is the seventh anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo and several human rights organisations will mark the occasion by calling on US president-elect Barack Obama to announce a date for its closure soon after he takes office later this month.
Obama has indicated on several occasions that he considers the closing down of Guantánamo a priority and one that should be addressed in the early stages of his administration.
Shutting down the detention centre presents several dilemmas for the incoming president, not least the question of what to do with the 50 or so exonerated detainees who remain at the camp because they cannot be returned to their countries of origin due to the risk of torture or other mistreatment. These inmates come from countries with abysmal human rights records, such as China, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Uzbekistan.
If the exonerated detainees were resettled, US officials believe, the closure of Guantánamo would be within sight, with some suggesting the remaining detainees could be transferred to prisons in the US.
It has long been expected that the incoming administration will turn to Europe to find a way out of the quandary, pressing EU member states to accept the detainees for resettlement.
Already the issue has been the focus of debate within Europe. Last month, Portuguese foreign minister Luis Amado said Portugal was willing to take in Guantánamo inmates that have been cleared for release.
In a letter to his counterparts in other European capitals, Amado urged other member states to do the same, arguing that the EU should "send a clear signal of our willingness to help the US government resolve this problem".
While the issue of Ireland accepting detainees has yet to come before Cabinet, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin believes Ireland should follow the example of Portugal and other countries such as Germany and Switzerland which have indicated their willingness to resettle inmates.
"My view is that it would be the logical sequential consequence of our arguing for the closure of Guantánamo," he told The Irish Times. "No proposition has come on the table formally from the US administration yet, but clearly the prospect of that happening down the road is a very real one.
"From our perspective, no one is talking about terrorists or anything like that coming to EU countries. We're talking about non-combatants, people who clearly have no history of any terrorist activity."
The Minister will discuss the issue with fellow EU foreign ministers at the next meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council at the end of the month.
Asked if he thought the resettlement of detainees in Ireland might be a difficult sell politically, the Minister replied: "It depends on how it is positioned and how it is presented. I think myths can be built up around this very quickly . . . It would have to be on a case-by-case basis because there are legitimate concerns in terms of the issue as well, and one has to acknowledge that."
There is some resistance to the proposal within the Department of Justice, with Minister Dermot Ahern stating in the Dáil recently that the resettlement of exonerated detainees was not being considered.
The difference in opinion between the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Justice is mirrored in several other EU countries where foreign ministries have highlighted the issue as a relatively easy means of gaining favour with the Obama administration, while justice ministries are more wary of the prospect of accepting former Guantánamo inmates.
Some EU states, such as the Netherlands and Sweden, have ruled out accepting any detainees.
"If they are not to be tried but cannot return to their own countries, it is first and foremost the responsibility of the country which arrested and imprisoned them, the United States," a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said last month.
Denmark, Poland and Spain have reacted coolly to the prospect of accepting detainees for resettlement, while other countries such as France and Germany have indicated that while they are not opposed to the idea, they would prefer if the EU adopted a common position on the matter.
Amnesty International's Irish section has been lobbying the Government to take in at least one inmate.
"Ireland has a role to play in closing Guantánamo," said Amnesty's Colm O'Gorman.
"There is space here for Ireland to show moral leadership by accepting Oybek Jabbarov, a Guantánamo detainee who has expressed a wish to relocate here, and by working to agree a common EU position on cleared detainees.
"Minister Micheál Martin has acknowledged that accepting cleared prisoners is a logical follow-through from the Government's position that Guantánamo be closed.
"We now need to see these courageous words put into action."