The Uighurs have been found new jobs in the private sector for when they leave Port Royal Golf Course, according to Premier Ewart Brown.

He issued a joint statement with Labour Minister David Burch yesterday afternoon, in which he said Government had been "diligently working" to find employment for the former Guantánamo Bay prisoners since they were made redundant from the Southampton course.

But neither the Premier nor Senator Burch addressed questions posed on Tuesday by The Royal Gazette about the employment rights of the four men.

They have yet to reveal if Khalil Mamut, Abdulla Abdulqadir, Ablikim Turahun and Salahidin Abdulahad have been afforded a special status which gives them different employment rights to other foreigners.

Nor have they outlined the details of Government's responsibilities under the secret deal Dr. Brown struck with the US in June 2009, when he agreed to give them refuge on the Island.

The Uighurs were given jobs at Government-owned Port Royal soon after arriving here but have lost them due to "budget constraints".

Dr. Brown said in his statement: "Success has been achieved and we are pleased to announce that the Uighurs have secured employment in the private sector. Since the employment IS in the private sector we shall not release the name of the employer."

Sen. Burch said: "These gentlemen have 17 days of guaranteed employment left on their current contract. We have been aware of their circumstances long before it made it into the public domain."

Both Ministers were given the opportunity on Tuesday to say whether Government was helping the Uighurs find new jobs but did not do so.

The joint statement from the two Ministers criticised this newspaper's subsequent coverage of the story, with Sen. Burch claiming an editorial in yesterday's edition should be "treated with the contempt it so richly deserves".

Richard Horseman, the Uighurs' lawyer, said he had no comment on yesterday's announcement.

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