Australian government rejects US plea on Guantanamo inmates

Melbourne: Australia declined a US request to help resettle former inmates of the Guantanamo Bay, Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Saturday.

The US plea was rejected in the light of national security concerns and immigration considerations, Gillard said, adding it was the second such request from US authorities.

"The resettlement requests have been considered on a case by case basis," Gillard said. They "had not met our stringent national security and immigration criteria."

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has asked his staff to draw up a plan for closing Guantanamo should President-elect Barack Obama order a shutdown after he takes office on January 20.

A spokeswoman for Julia Gillard last month said Australia may accept individual detainees subject to legal criteria and their specific cases.

"We will consider any future requests on a case-by-case basis against the stringent criteria," Gillard said.

"Each request that the Australian government has received about resettlement for Guantanamo Bay detainees has been received from the Bush administration," she said.