Rice to seek to defuse prison scandal in Europe

Rice to seek to defuse prison scandal in Europe: "Rice to seek to defuse prison scandal in Europe
Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:53 PM ET

By Saul Hudson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will seek to deflect growing European pressure over allegations that the CIA has been running secret prisons in the region on a trip to the continent next week.

Faced with European demands that the United States explain a newspaper report that secret detention centers to interrogate terrorism suspects were located in two unnamed east European countries, Rice intends to remind the Europeans that they are in a joint fight against an enemy that she says obeys no laws.

Her trip will include stops in Germany, Romania and at the EU headquarters Brussels.

'I think that the conversation will take place in the broader context of our common struggle against terrorism,' said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

'This is a struggle that all free countries, including the countries of Europe, share with us: how to deal with groups of people, individuals, that respect no law, that wear no uniform, that follow no regulations.'

Rice's planned approach on next week's trip matches the U.S. response to a weeks-old scandal that has fueled -- rather than defused -- concerns among European governments and the public.

Since The Washington Post reported this month that the CIA has held detainees in secret in eastern Europe, the Bush administration has refused to deny or confirm the allegation. Instead, it has repeatedly insisted it is waging a war on militants who act outside of the law.

The report has prompted new concern about America's tactics in its war on terrorism in Europe, already critical of U.S. prisoner abuse in Iraq and the detention of prisoners for years in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Human rights groups say incommunicado detention is illegal and often leads to torture.

SCANDAL TO CLOUD TRIP

Initially, Europe's reaction to the allegations was muted as governments waited for U.S. clarification of the report.

But Rice, who will also visit Ukraine, can expect to be dogged during her trip by questions over the prison allegations and over related investigations that the CIA transports suspects in secret using airports throughout Europe.

'We have received inquiries from Europe concerning these press reports,' McCormack said. 'We're going to do our best to answer these questions in as complete and forthright a manner as we possibly can.'

On Monday, an EU commissioner warned any European Union state that secretly hosted a prison faces loss of its voting rights and said Washington should punish any violations.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has identified one of Rice's stops, Romania, along with Poland, as one likely host of a secret prison. Both governments have denied the allegation.

Germany, where Rice will hold her first talks with the new chancellor, is also concerned about the scandal.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose first official visit to Washington starts on Monday, is expected to raise the issue, German officials said.

'I presume that the seriousness of these (accusations) is being recognized in Washington,' Steinmeier said at the United Nations."