Fed: MPs say Habib should not appear before Senate committee

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2005
Fed: MPs say Habib should not appear before Senate committee

CANBERRA, Feb 17 AAP - It would be inappropriate for former Guantanamo Bay detainee
Mamdouh Habib to appear in parliament to try to clear his name, MPs from both sides of
politics said today.

Mr Habib said yesterday he was prepared to appear before a Senate estimates hearing
to defend himself against allegations that he offered his services to al-Qaeda.

Government MP Peter Slipper said this was not necessary as Mr Habib already had ample
opportunity to clear his name.

"Mr Habib could well have given a press conference upon return to Australia to explain
the concerns that many people had about his whereabouts and his conduct," Mr Slipper told
reporters.

"He chose not to do so. That is of course a matter for him - we are a democracy.

"Nobody's compelled to do that but that certainly would have cleared the air and would
have possibly helped clear some of the speculation."

Opposition defence spokesman Robert McClelland said while the Senate was an inappropriate
forum for Mr Habib, he owed the public an explanation.

"The Senate shouldn't be used as a court of law - I would feel uncomfortable with that,"

Mr McClelland said.

"It's not a situation where there's legal representation - either for or against a
person who is accused - and I just think that's an unsafe procedure to follow.

"(But) I think he's got an obligation, quite frankly, to explain to the Australian
people what he was doing in Afghanistan in this particular time."

A Senate committee this week heard Mr Habib trained to be a mercenary for the terrorist
group al-Qaeda.

The claim came as ASIO and the Australian Federal Police dismissed Mr Habib's allegations
of torture, but confirmed he had been taken to Egypt after his capture in Pakistan in
2001.

AAP db/sb/maur/jlw

KEYWORD: HABIB SENATE

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