David Miliband Calls Hillary Clinton to Voice Anger over Guantánamo Inmates' Transfer to Bermuda
THE TELEGRAPH: A high-level transatlantic row has broken out over the Obama administration's failure to consult Britain over the transfer of four Guantánamo Bay inmates to Bermuda.

Bermuda has agreed to take in four Guantanamo Bay detainees. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
David Miliband has telephoned Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, to express the government's disappointment at the deal.

British officials were informed the four Chinese Uighurs were heading to the United Kingdom's oldest dependency only as they boarded their plane for Bermuda on Wednesday night.

A British diplomat said: "The Foreign Secretary registered his surprise. It was a regrettable mistake. Bermuda, the UK and the US now need to work together to fix it and make sure it doesn't happen again."

A senior State Department official said this diplomatic understatement masked a real anger over the Obama administration's oversight among British officials, telling ABC News: "They're pissed". >>> By Toby Harnden in Washington | Friday, June 12, 2009

Chinese Muslims Trigger Public Backlash in Palau
THE INDEPENDENT: The tiny Pacific nation of Palau's decision to allow 13 Chinese Muslims from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to resettle there has sparked anger among islanders who fear for the safety of the tranquil tourist haven.

The US government determined last year that the Chinese Muslims, or Uighurs, were not enemy combatants and should be released from the US military prison in Cuba. China has objected to their resettlement, calling the men "terrorist suspects" and demanding they be sent home.

The US has said it fears the men would be executed if they were returned to China.

Palau President Johnson Toribiong explained his decision to grant the Uighurs entry as traditional hospitality, but public opinion has appeared overwhelmingly negative. Some complained Friday that the government failed to consult the people.

"I totally disagree" with allowing the Uighurs onto Palau, Natalia Baulis, a 30-year-old mother of two, told The Associated Press by telephone.

"It's good to be humanitarian and all, but still these people ... to me are scary," she said.

The Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurs) have been in custody since they were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001.

Fermin Nariang, editor of the Palau newspaper Island Times, said he had been stopped in the streets of the capital, Koror, by residents venting their anger. >>> Associated Press | Friday, June 12, 2009