Germans Want Merkel to Press Bush on Prison Camp Closure

Hubertus Heil, secretary general of the Social Democrats (SPD) -- the party in the ruling coalition with Merkel's conservatives -- said it was not enough for the chancellor to make vague public calls for the prison camp's closure. He was referring to an interview she gave in January before visiting President Bush in Washington.

"We expect the chancellor to discuss Guantanamo Bay (during the visit) just as she has done in interviews," Heil told reporters on Monday.

"We don't just want big announcements about closing Guantanamo, we want to know concretely when this will happen," he said.

He added that the prison camp in Cuba cannot be a permanent solution, as terror suspects are being held there without being charged.

"Obligation to help Bush close Guantanamo"

Claudia Roth of the opposition Green Party agreed with Heil. On Monday, Roth said that Merkel had an obligation to help Bush close Guantanamo, adding that the country could also accept some of the prisoners. "Germany shoud say it is prepared to take in Guantanamo detainees," Roth told the Berliner Zeitung daily.

The German branch of the human rights organization Amnesty International likewise demanded that Merkel be pro-active in discussing Guantanamo.

"If President Bush wants to accuse the prisoners of something, then he should do it in the United States in a proper court," Barbara Lochbihler, Secretary General of Amnesty International Germany told the Berliner Zeitung.

Merkel said during an interview with RTL television on Monday that she had mentioned Guantanamo each time she met with Bush. She has not said, however, whether she will discuss the issue during the upcoming visit.

Instead, Merkel pointed to statements President Bush made in Vienna in late June. He said then that he wanted to eventually shut the prison and send inmates back to their home countries.

Last month, Bush suffered a major blow when the US Supreme Court deemed as illegal the military tribunal system set up by his administration to try Guantanamo prisoners.

Roughly 450 foreign terrorism suspects, most of them captured in Afghanistan during the US invasion that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, are being held as enemy combatants at the Guantanamo camp in Cuba.

Merkel also said that she is able to discuss problems and controversial issues with the president. She said she believed that was good for Germany, Europe and for the US.

Merkel: "Seeing eastern Germany helps complete picture of Germany"

Bush is due to arrive in Merkel's constituency, Stralsund, in eastern Germany late Wednesday and will spend Thursday meeting with her and others who spent time living behind the Iron Curtain.

Merkel said she planned to discuss the Iran nuclear conflict, North Korea, trade talks and energy policy with Bush during his visit.

In addition, she said she hoped Bush would leave with an impression of how German reunification -- which took place during his father's presidency -- affected people in ex-communist eastern Germany.

"I believe this can help complete the picture of Germany," Merkel said.