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01/08/2006:

"Merkel Urges Guantanamo Closing"

BERLIN, Jan. 7 -- 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 terrorism suspects.

"An institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist in the longer term," Merkel said in an interview published Saturday in the weekly magazine Der Spiegel. "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 invasion of Iraq, 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."
washingtonpost.com