Canada rejects asylum to Guantanamo detainees« Thread Started on Aug 16, 2007, 8:55am » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Canada rejects asylum to Guantanamo detaineesUpdated Thu. Aug. 16 2007 9:07 AM ETCanadian Pressread at source> http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/s ... nadaOTTAWA -- The Canadian government balked at several requests from Washington to provide asylum to men cleared for release from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, say newly released documents. The material, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, indicates the Bush administration asked Canada to accept detainees of Uighur decent from China's Xinjiang region who were deemed to be no threat to national security. The U.S. was not prepared to resettle the men in its own territory, but could not send them back to China for fear they would face persecution. Canada _ like other countries _ seemed ill at ease with taking on refugees to remedy a massive public-relations headache for its southern neighbour. Today, 17 of the men are still being held and live in isolation for 22 hours a day. "Canadian officials indicated to the U.S. delegation that the men would likely also be inadmissible under Canadian immigration law, requested the exact ground for ineligibility to enter U.S. territory,'' says a Foreign Affairs briefing note prepared about a meeting last May.