A rchive Date
[ 30-04-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Britain ]
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[http://canoe.ca/CNEWSAttack0204/29_brits-ap.html
Brits not turning over captives to U.S.
By TODD PITMAN-- The Associated Press
Monday, April 29, 2002
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - British forces will give most al-Qaida or Taliban fighters they capture to Afghanistan's interim government - not the United States - after granting them special status denied to U.S.-held captives, British military officials said Monday.
Some exceptions could be made, however, particularly if Osama bin Laden or one of his top lieutenants falls into British hands, said the officials, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity at Bagram air base, north of the capital Kabul.
The fate of enemy fighters captured during joint U.S.-British operations would be left up to the highest person on the chain of command, the officials said.
U.S. military spokesman Maj. Bryan Hilferty said how the British decide to treat captured fighters is "up to the British government."
"The British are great partners in the war against terror and we're not going to tell them exactly what to do. We're happy with their contribution," Hilferty said.
U.S., British and Afghan soldiers have been scouring the rugged terrain of eastern Afghanistan in search of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters. Often they find weapons caches, documents and other materials left behind when enemy forces fled the area.
British combat troops, who only recently began arriving, have yet to capture any enemy troops or be confronted with classifying al-Qaida detainees. British troop strength at Bagram is expected to reach 1,700 by month's end.
In London, a spokesman for Britain's Ministry of Defense confirmed the policy.
"Our forces in Afghanistan are not structured to handle large numbers of detainees," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity. \
Asked if British forces would hand over senior al-Qaida figures to the U.S. commanders, the London spokesman said it was unlikely bin Laden or other senior figures would be captured by members of the coalition acting independently and that such a key arrest would undoubtedly have U.S. involvement anyway.
At issue is the U.S. refusal to grant formal prisoner-of-war status to captives it is holding from Afghanistan, including the Taliban fighters and members of al-Qaida, the network of chief Sept. 11 terror suspect bin Laden.
The United States regards the captives as "unlawful combatants," and has refused to accede to demands from other governments and international rights organizations to accord them POW status, meaning their captivity would be governed by international rules.
"We believe it is not clear whether they are legal or illegal combatants, whereas the U.S. has taken the view that they are illegal combatants," said one British official at Bagram.
He said legal combatants were defined roughly as soldiers who belong to a recognized state military and carry their arms openly.
"Our perception is that they are fighting on behalf of the Taliban regime and therefore they should be repatriated into the custody of the current Afghan regime," of Hamid Karzai, the official said.
In general, detainees captured by the British will be given prisoner of war status, the officials said.
Normally this would include a tribunal to determine the legal status of captured fighters, as spelled out by the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war, but the British contingent in Afghanistan does not have the resources for such a court, they said.
The United States is holding about 300 terrorist suspects, all flown in from Afghanistan, at its Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and a similar number in Afghanistan, most of them in the southern city of Kandahar and a smaller number at Bagram air base, north of the capital.
The Bush administration has refused to classify any of the Guantanamo detainees from 26 countries as POWs, saying they were fighting for an outlawed terrorist group and an unrecognized government.
By refusing to classify the Afghanistan captives as prisoners of war, the United States denies them a wide range of rights and privileges afforded to POWs under the Geneva Conventions. For example, POWs must be returned to their home country once the war is over.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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