Guantanamo closure hailed

PARIS (AFP) - Barack Obama was widely hailed for moving to restore the US's "moral authority" Friday by ordering a halt to torture and the closure of Guantanamo prison, as its inmates became the focus of a tug of war.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called the decisions "extremely encouraging" while the Czech presidency of the European Union praised the move to close Guantanamo as "symbolic and practical."
Amnesty International chief Irene Khan said Obama's order was "an important step in the right direction" and would be "closing a dark chapter" in US history.
Human Rights Watch said Obama had taken "a major step toward restoring America's moral authority around the world."
"With the stroke of his pen, he effectively declared an end to the 'war on terror', as President George W. Bush had defined it, signalling to the world that the reach of the US government in battling its enemies will not be limitless," said an editorial in the Washington Post.
Beijing said the inmates were part of a terror group seeking an independent homeland in the northwest of the country.
"They should be handed over to China, which will handle the case by law," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.
While France, Portugal and Switzerland have already indicated that they would be willing to take in some of the prisoners, other European countries were decidedly cool on the idea.
Asked if Vienna could welcome prisoners, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger told national radio Oe1: "In my opinion the answer is clear: no.
"Whoever causes a problem should also solve it. If they're innocent citizens, there's no reason they shouldn't be given a future in the United States," he added.
Matthew Waxman of Columbia Law School in New York. "He'll need that goodwill to close Guantanamo because our allies will need to shoulder some responsibility," he said. Julia Hall, senior counter-terrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch, said it was vital that Europe responded to Obama's move by taking in prisoners who would face persecution back in their homeland.
Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday welcomed US President Barack Obama's pledge to close Guantanamo Bay as a good decision that will help build international support for the fight against terror.
"President Hamid Karzai welcomes the closing down of the Guantanamo prison," said a statement from the Afghan presidency read out by a spokesman.
"This good decision will help find support among the international community for the fight against terrorism and include more nations in this fight," Karzai was quoted as saying in the statement.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday hailed US President Barack Obama's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre within a year and ban torture.
Ban "joins the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in welcoming yesterday's executive orders by President Barack Obama" relating to Guantanamo and US interrogation practices, the UN chief's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said in a statement. The world body "has previously called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and is encouraged that President Obama has given the highest priority to ensuring respect for fundamental rights," the statement added.
On Thursday, Obama ordered the closure of the "war on terror" prison camp located in southeastern Cuba within a year and banned torture in a dramatic repudiation of the anti-terror policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush.