The saga of the five Uighur's moved to Albania from Guantanamo rumbles on. The Toronto Star reported on an interview with Argita Totozani, Albania's National Commissioner for Refugees. According to the paper, Totozani said that the Albanian government did not intend to grant asylum to the men.
"Their future is not here," she said. "There is not a Uighur community (here). They don't speak any Albanian ... There is no integration possibility for them here. We realized their future is not in Albania." Totozani also suggested that the men might be resettled in Canada: "I've heard they have relatives in Canada. There is a good community in Canada for Uighurs."
The Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that there was any plan to transfer the men, insisting that the process of granting political asylum was continuing and that the authorities were working to integrate the men into Albanian society.
According to one of the local papers, Gazeta Shqiptare, Totozani has now been sacked. In an interview with the paper she said that she had been misquoted, claiming that it was the lawyers for the five men who wanted to have them resettled in Canada.
Meanwhile, the Chinese are still trying to persuade the Albanians to send the men back to China were they are considered terrorists. According to the local papers a high level delegation from China arrived recently for a three day visit. While the case of the Uighurs was not on the official agenda it was expected to be a key issue under discussion.
"Their future is not here," she said. "There is not a Uighur community (here). They don't speak any Albanian ... There is no integration possibility for them here. We realized their future is not in Albania." Totozani also suggested that the men might be resettled in Canada: "I've heard they have relatives in Canada. There is a good community in Canada for Uighurs."
The Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that there was any plan to transfer the men, insisting that the process of granting political asylum was continuing and that the authorities were working to integrate the men into Albanian society.
According to one of the local papers, Gazeta Shqiptare, Totozani has now been sacked. In an interview with the paper she said that she had been misquoted, claiming that it was the lawyers for the five men who wanted to have them resettled in Canada.
Meanwhile, the Chinese are still trying to persuade the Albanians to send the men back to China were they are considered terrorists. According to the local papers a high level delegation from China arrived recently for a three day visit. While the case of the Uighurs was not on the official agenda it was expected to be a key issue under discussion.
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