We don't want ex-Guantanamo detainees here – Catholic Bishops Conference

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference is vehemently kicking against the government of Ghana’s decision to provide shelter for two ex- Guantanamo detainees in the country.

The Catholic body believes that their stay in the country for two years may have serious consequences on the nation’s safety and security.

Last week, the government announced that it had agreed to accommodate the two former terror suspects, Mahmoud Omar Mohammed Bin Atef (36 years) and Khalid Shayk Mohammed (34 years), in Ghana.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference earlier in a statement, said considering their history, the two former prisoners - Mahmoud Bin Atef fought for Osama Bin Laden at one time, while Khalid Shayk Mohammed is known to have trained with the terrorist group, Al Qaeda - could pose a threat to Ghana.

The statement, signed by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, called on the government “to act responsibly and in the interest of the nation by sending these men back to wherever they came from.”

Speaking on the issue on Joy FM's Super Morning Show with Kojo Yankson Tuesday, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, who is also Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, said the former detainees are not welcomed here.

The process of bringing the ex-detainees, he said, was “done clandestinely” and wondered why they were not sent to the US or their own country if they have been cleared.

He noted that even though there are issues in Yemen, where the two ex-detainees originate, people are currently living there in spite of that.

“We know what is going on around the world. What these terrorist groups [are doing] causing trouble [in] Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Mali, recently in France and so on. Recently one of our own boys went to join ISIS. Why should we invite terrorists to come here when people elsewhere don’t want them,” Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu said.

He added that, if the Americans “claim that they are not terrorists we don’t want them here I mean why can’t they go to their own country. Why don’t the Americans take them?”

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela)