Gitmo inmate worry

US President Barack Obama has requested Europe to accept detainees in his bid to close the widely criticized jail in Cuba set up by his predecessor, George W. Bush, to house suspected militants captured abroad.

Latvia is among several European nations - including France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain - that in recent months have responded to Obama's request.

Latvia initially considered taking in three former inmates but reduced its offer to one.

The man, described as a former detainee, is reportedly an Uzbek who spent five years at Guantanamo after being detained in Afghanistan.

Latvia's foreign ministry said earlier this week the man would arrive within the next six months. At Guantanamo, US authorities had categorized him as someone who did not pose a threat to the public, the ministry said, and therefore 'cleared' him for release.

He would be considered for refugee status and provided with an apartment and a monthly allowance.

A close US ally

Latvia is a close US ally. The country's government says its decision was prompted at least in part as a gesture of thanks to the US which helped Latvia regain its independence from Russia in the early 1990s and become a NATO member.

"This is the case (where) the US government has asked a number of European countries to assist them. And, on the basis of our good relations, I think this is a matter of decision made between two very close partners," Latvian Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Riekstins said.

"And, if we look at our recent history of last two decades there were number of concrete cases when we have felt strong assistance and support from US administration. This is a way how we are reciprocating that support we have felt in previous years."

Misgivings among Latvians

But not everyone shares that view. Although the Latvian security services will be closely monitoring the newcomer, some local citizens are concerned.

One woman interviewed by Deutsche Welle asked: "Why can't he go back to Asia? That's where he comes from. Why should he come here? I don't understand this decision!"

Another woman said "this could endanger the citizens of Latvia. I don't believe that our authorities will manage to supervise him all of the time."

Another respondent told Deutsche Welle Latvia had come under diplomatic pressure. "I don't think we had any other options. Big brother asked us to do this. But it's certainly not good."

In fact, recent opinion polls show that one in three Latvians is concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks.

Zaneta Ozolina, a professor of international affairs at the University of Latvia said while international terrorism is high on the global news agenda Latvia's population always thought that terrorism was somewhere far outside their country.

"We have to be cautious, but we don't have to be afraid. So I think this Guantanamo detainee case probably changes .. if I can say ... (the) different grades now of fear and feelings about terrorism. It became closer," Ozolina told Deutsche Welle.

Official rebuffs terrorism fears

But the Latvian government insists that the detainee will not pose any terrorist threats to the country.

The former Latvian ambassador to the United States Ojars Kalnins said the move is a humanitarian gesture and is meant to demonstrate to its allies that Latvia is a reliable partner.

"We are responding to a particular request. I would hope that there wouldn't be future cases like this," Kalnins said.

"But I think Latvia indicated with this that we can be relied on to provide help in the form that we are able to offer it – whether it's the US, whether it's Europe. And, I think here we just demonstrated that we're open, we're willing, and can contribute something to collective security," he said.

Author: Gederts Gelzis(ipj)
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar