Change to Come for Guantanamo Uighurs

The 17 Uighur Muslims currently held in Guantanamo still do not have hope for leaving until the change in administration in January. They have been held captive there since 2001. Several times they were found not guilty of committing crimes; however, they are being held at Guantanamo without any charges. These men are not believed to be dangerous by the United States government, but the government officials in Beijing insist that they are part of a separatist terrorist group and are a danger to society. The group of Uighurs cannot be returned to China because they could be tortured, and the United States constitution prohibits the release of prisoners into a place where they could be harmed. The government has made attempts at trying to persuade other countries to allow the men to resettle in their country. The other countries are afraid that China will punish them for accepting this group by cutting off the trade between the countries. China holds a lot of power over countries because of its ability to producer large quantities of goods for very little money. Some of the Americans working on this case are concerned about the same thing. However, most realize that China probably would not completely cut off trade, but the more likely scenario would be that China would put some type of limit on the trade allowed. Courts keep insisting that the men be released and president elect Barack Obama plans to close Guantanamo once in office, so the Uighurs should not have too much longer before their much waited release. Obama will likely have to release the Uighur men into the United States, unless there is another country that decides to allow them to move there.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1862567,00.html