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Bermuda leader survives non-confidence vote after taking Guantanamo Uighurs

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown Saturday survived a vote of no confidence by Bermuda's lower house of parliament, the House of Assembly, which was seen as an attempt to punish Brown for accepting four Uighur Guantanamo detainees to the Atlantic island nation last week. The resolution, proposed by members of the opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) was rejected 22-10, with all members of Brown's own Progressive Labour Party (PLP) voting against it. During a 14-hour debate members of the UBP criticized Brown's actions, calling him undemocratic, while members of the PLP demanded that Brown apologize for accepting the detainees without first consulting his cabinet colleagues, the island's UK-appointed governor Richard Gozney, or the British government in London. Although technically self-governing, Bermuda remains a British Overseas Territory with limited jurisdiction over its foreign and security affairs. Last week, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) criticized Brown for failing to consult with London before agreeing to take the four Uighurs. Brown allegedly considered accepting the Uighurs to be an immigration issue within domestic jurisdiction. A spokesperson for the FCO said Britain would nonetheless help the Bermudan government conduct a security assessment of the detainees.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on June 20, 2009 (boomark / email).