SYDNEY (AFP) — The Australian government on Saturday formally rejected a US request to help resettle former detainees of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
"The request received in December 2008 has been denied," Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters, citing national security considerations.
Gillard said the government on Saturday advised President George W. Bush's administration that it could not agree to a request -- the second such from Washington -- to help relocate inmates from the Cuban prison.
"We assess on a case by case basis, we assess against our national security criteria and our immigration criteria," she said.
"Against that very stringent set of circumstances these case by case assessments failed the test and we have advised the US administration of that."
Gillard, however, emphasised that Australia remained open to future US requests, and would assess resettlement cases on their merits.
"We will consider any future requests on a case by case basis against these stringent criteria for both national security and immigration," she said.
With president-elect Barack Obama vowing to shut the Cuban facility once in office, the issue is likely to be revisited.
Australia's rejection followed warnings from a top US general about the risks of taking in freed "war on terror" detainees.
"About 30 of them have been captured or killed, or are known to be back on the battlefield," Major General John Altenburg told The Weekend Australian newspaper.
"These are people who were released because they thought they weren't dangerous. To me, it's a fair comment to say 'we don't want these people. Now we've got the burden of watching them and we don't know whether they're dangerous or not'."
Australia was one of several nations approached about resettling some 60 inmates no longer considered a threat by US authorities.
Britain has said it would consider US resettlement requests on a case-by-case basis.
If sent to their home countries some Guantanamo inmates could be arrested and face torture or lengthy incarceration and need to be resettled elsewhere.
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