Bermuda's premier survived a no-confidence vote Saturday aimed at punishing him for allowing four former Guantanamo prisoners to settle in the British island territory.
Parliament rejected the resolution in a 22-11 vote after 14 hours of debate that went through the night.
Opposition lawmakers accused Premier Ewart Brown of "autocratic" behavior for agreeing in secret with U.S. authorities to accept the men, ethnic Uighurs originally from western China, without consulting political leaders in Bermuda or the British government.
Kim Swan, leader of the opposition United Bermuda Party, told lawmakers that the resolution was not aimed at the government but only at Brown for causing an "international debacle" that has embarrassed the normally tranquil and prosperous island.
Brown said he accepted the Uighurs on humanitarian grounds and has said he believes the move has improved relations with the United States by helping to resolve a diplomatic headache.
U.S. authorities had determined the Uighurs were not terrorists and ordered their release, but they could not be sent back to China, where they might face persecution for their separatist beliefs, and other countries refused to accept them.
Source: AP News
