HAMILTON, Bermuda – Congressman Bill Delahunt, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee, is scheduled to visit Bermuda Friday to meet the four Uighur men previously detained at Guantanamo Bay. Congressman Delahunt will also meet with senior Bermuda government officials.
Earlier this week Premier Dr. Ewart Brown received a letter from Rep. Delahunt which explained the Congressman’s committee hearings on the Uighur detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee determined the men were “cleared for release by the American government as early as 2003” and the Bush Administration was improperly slow to declassify them as “non-enemy combatants”.
U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt
The letter also applauded the Premier for making “the right decision” and commended Bermuda for being a “friend of the United States”.
The letter was signed by Chairman Delahunt and the subcommittee’s ranking member Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.
“This is the 400th year of our friendship with the United States and I will welcome Congressman Delahunt in that spirit,” Premier Brown said. “We very much welcome his expert viewpoint on this subject and I look forward to talking with the Congressman about Bermuda’s commitment to this humanitarian gesture.”
