“Why are they obsessed with the issue, why do they want to crucify me,” the president asked.
“I have a question for our two good senators: what have they done for the people of Palau,” the president said.
The president described the two senators like dogs which try to constantly bite slippers when there is nothing left for them to chew.
In a letter earlier to former State Minister Sandra Pierantozzi and Attorney General Ernestine Rengiil , the two senators stated that the resettlement of the Uighurs continue to be an issue of utmost concern to our people and questions persist that need review and responses for both your office.
The two senators wanted to be informed on the legal status of the Uighurs under the current immigration law.
The two senators also questioned the funding given by the U.S. to Palau to house the Uighurs.
One of the questions,that the two lawmakers want answered is whether bidding requirements were applicable in the expenditure of public funds.
The letter also noted whether the decision to house the Uighur’s at Sen.Joel Toribiong’s commercial building followed all laws or whether there existed any conflicts of interest in making such a decision.
The president said that the unspoken factor in taking the Uighurs is the ongoing review.
“Do they think we would have had a successful Compact Review, had I rejected the United States request for the Uighurs? Imagine had I said no. Let go this moot issue and move forward,” Toribiong stated.
He said that prior to the arrival of the Uighurs, the government has a difficult time finding a location to house them.
He said that due to the stigma attached to the Uighurs, there was an apprehension from the community about accepting him in their neighborhood.
He said that he had no choice but to put them at her brother’s commercial building stating that as a president it was his fiduciary duties to make such decision.
He also noted that the U.S. government is keeping tab on how the money for the Uighur resettlement are being sent.
“It’s a dead issue, why do they continuously question it. I like to know their motives,” the president said.
In a separate interview, Sen. Whipps said that they are not against the Uighurs but only wanted the president to follow what he promised which is to respond to pending questions they had since November 2009.
“We want details. We just wanted to make sure that the government are following the process,” Whipps said.
Palau is providing temporary shelter to the six former Guantanamo Bay detainees since November.
Palau agreed in June to take up to a dozen Uighurs who were captured during the US-led war in Afghanistan but not later classified as “enemy combatants”.
