The American people cherish the freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression. Ambassador André compliments the behavior of the Mauritanians who gathered at the embassy today to express their viewpoint on the issue of the two Mauritanian detainees at the Guantanamo facility. They expressed their views clearly and peacefully. Those views were heard and will be shared with senior officials in Washington, DC. The official policy of the United States government is to close the Guantanamo facility as soon as this can be accomplished in a responsible manner. To that end, since President Obama came to office in 2009, the United States government has released hundreds of detainees from the Guantanamo detention facility, while adding none. The Ambassador is in close contact with senior U.S. government officials and senior Mauritanian government officials about the two remaining Mauritanian detainees.
