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Germany's Merkel says Guantanamo should be shut
By Karin Strohecker
Sat Jan 7, 10:34 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an interview published days before her first visit to the United States, said Washington should close its Guantanamo Bay prison camp and find other ways of dealing with terror suspects.
"An institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist in the longer term," Merkel said in an interview with the weekly magazine Der Spiegel published on Saturday. "Different ways and means must be found for dealing with these prisoners."
Merkel has vowed to repair ties with the United States, severely strained over the U.S.-led Iraq invasion, which her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder strongly opposed.
But there was no sign she would hesitate to speak out on issues where disagreement exists. Asked about her comments at a news conference later in the day, she said: "That's my opinion and my view and I'll say it elsewhere just as I have expressed it here."
She said she would not demand the immediate closure of the detention center when she meets U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday. "My talks with leaders of other countries don't consist of my expressing demands but of exchanging views," she said.
There is widespread skepticism in Germany about the way the United States is fighting its "war on terror," compounded by the recent scandal over the CIA's abduction and detention of German citizen Khaled el-Masri -- later acknowledged to be a mistake.
Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. detention center in Cuba denounced by human rights activists and many governments, is deeply unpopular in Germany.
Merkel told Der Spiegel she expected to speak to Bush about the fight against terrorism. "But I want to accentuate that our relationship with the U.S. will not be reduced to talking about fighting terrorism and the Iraq war," she added.
NO FRIENDSHIP WITH RUSSIA
She also commented on relation with Russia and the European Union. Merkel described relations with the United States as a "friendship," but said the term "strategic partnership" would be more fitting to describe Germany's ties with Moscow.
"I don't think we share as many of the same values yet with Russia as we do with the United States," she said. "But we have a huge interest in seeing Russia develop in a sensible way."
Merkel, who will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow days after her Washington trip, often criticized Schroeder when she was in opposition for forging "exclusive" ties with Russia at the expense of relations with smaller EU countries.
In the interview she said developments like the new law giving the Kremlin more control over non-governmental organizations worried her, while the recent row between Ukraine and Russia over gas prices, which has made Germans question their own heavy reliance on Russia for gas, had reinforced the need for stable relations.
"We need to do everything to save as much energy as possible and diversify our sources," she said, adding that Germany would avoid letting Russia be its only supplier.
Supplies to the 25-nation EU, which imports a quarter of its gas from Russia, were hit after Russian gas monopoly Gazprom cut deliveries to Ukraine on January 1 to push its demand for a fourfold price rise. The two neighbors reached a compromise 5-year supply deal earlier this week.
On the European Union, Merkel said the issue of the bloc's constitution could be tackled when Germany took over the EU presidency in 2007, though much groundwork was needed.
"We need to have an all-encompassing discussion again," Merkel said. "I think it would be good if Europe stayed with the thought of having a constitution. I will lobby for that."
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