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Uighurs solution

May 1, 2011Dear Sir,It is shocking to read that Boston based lawyer, Sabin Willett, is asking the British Government and the Bermuda Government to break the law again. The four Uighurs were brought to Bermuda illegally by the former White House lawyer and a US State Department official, Daniel Fried, on a secret charter flight. In my opinion, former Premier Brown and former Minister Burch, no longer in office, originally broke the laws of both Bermuda and Britain by not receiving permission of the Bermuda parliament, the British Government and the Bermudian people to accept the prisoners.The four Guantánamo inmates are here working illegally, when Bermuda has a serious unemployed problem and when local employers cannot get their work permits renewed. Minister Dunkley describes the four Uighurs as “sadly ... pawns in a very sorry affair”. Whether or not the Uighurs are dangerous is irrelevant. The law is the law and lawyers should not encourage countries to break it. There are two practical solutions to the sad situation. The United States lawyer and State Department officials could charter the same plane that they brought the Uighurs here illegally and land them in the Detroit area that has a sizeable Uighur population. The four men could then “meet Muslim wives from their own culture” as their lawyer, Mr. Willett, says they wish to do. Or the Uighurs could apply for Chinese passports.NANCY VALENTINEWarwick