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BRUSSELS : US President Barack Obama's call to suspend trials of "war on terror" suspects at Guantanamo raised hopes worldwide that the prison could be closed soon, but not all welcomed the idea of repatriating ex-inmates.
EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot hailed Obama's request to prosecutors as a step toward shutting the facility, which has been plagued by accusations of torture and become a symbol of US excesses.
"I am delighted that one of the first acts of President Obama has been to turn the page on this sad episode of Guantanamo prison," Barrot said in a statement.
He also stressed that the fight against terrorism," must be a main priority for the United States and Europe... but always with total respect for human rights."
Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos noted that closing Guantanamo was a move "which Spain and Europe have demanded on numerous occasions."
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero added that the Spanish government would give strong support to the new administration. Zapatero had a frosty relationship with George W. Bush after withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq in March 2004.
While Madrid expressed a willingness to cooperate with Washington on the 250 men still being held at the US naval base on Cuba, Berlin insisted the disputed detention camp was America's problem to clean up.
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble commented that "creating Guantanamo was a mistake in the first place and any prisoners who had not been charged should be freed.
"America must deal with the consequences... Those who come from countries to which they cannot return due to the human rights situation will just have to remain in the US," he told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.
"I see no reason why someone who is supposed to be too dangerous for America should have to be taken in by an EU country.
Switzerland said it was ready to consider granting asylum to detainees to "contribute to resolving the problem of Guantanamo" but that it would need to study the legal and security implications first.
Obama, sworn in as the new US leader on Tuesday, asked judges to suspend current trials even before formally ordering the closure of the prison camp, set up after the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Military judges ruled later Wednesday to suspend the trial of five alleged September 11 attack plotters and a Canadian accused of killing a US soldier in Afghanistan for 120 days following the President's request.
The special military tribunals for Guantanamo inmates were established in 2006 by former president George W. Bush's administration to try terror suspects under separate rules from regular civilian or military courts.
The United Nations' special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, called Obama's decision "very positive."
"The investigation will now determine to what extent these military courts meet international standards in regard to human rights. From my point of view, the answer is clear: they don't," Nowak said.
Human rights group Amnesty International also denounced the special tribunals and called for Guantanamo prisoners to be tried within the US federal justice system.
"The move to suspend military commission trials at Guantanamo is a step in the right direction, but must be promptly cemented into a permanent abandonment of these unfair proceedings," London-based Amnesty said in a statement.
While there was little official comment from governments in the Muslim world, leaders from Islamist political parties in Pakistan called Obama's action a good move and welcomed his pledge to seek a "new way forward" with Muslims.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said only that it was eager to have the five Pakistanis being held in Guantanamo sent home.
In Afghanistan, the office of President Hamid Karzai declined comment but reiterated calls to close the prison.
Around 800 detainees have gone through Guantanamo, including 520 transferred to other countries to be held or released. Sixty have been cleared for release or transfer, but their home countries have been reluctant to take them.
In Paris, lawyer Paul-Albert Iweins, who represents five ex-Guantanamo detainees in France, welcomed Obama's decision.
"I am happy to see that the president of the United States is applying international law and is returning to standards recognised by legal experts all over the world."
- AFP /ls
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