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The Berkeley city council, known for its forays into international affairs, has narrowly rejected a measure that would have welcomed freed Guantanamo Bay detainees to resettle in this California college town.

The resolution would have asked Congress to allow Guantanamo prisoners who have been cleared of wrongdoing to resettle in the U.S. — and invited "one or two" of them to live in Berkeley.

The measure lost in a 4-1 vote, with four abstentions, late Tuesday.

At least two other U.S. cities — Amherst and Leverett in Massachusetts — have approved similar resolutions aimed at clearing the way for Guantanamo detainees to come the U.S. after their release from the American detention facility in Cuba.

"These men have suffered immensely," said Cynthia Papermaster, who heads Berkeley No More Guantanamos. "It's the right thing for all U.S. citizens to say, 'We're sorry for what happened to you. If you want to come here, we have a place for you.'"

Papermaster, a Berkeley resident who asked the council's Peace and Justice Commission to consider the measure, said former detainees would be sponsored by volunteers and nonprofit groups, and no city money would be used to support them.

City Manager Phil Kamlarz recommended that the council take no action, saying "federal law explicitly prohibits the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States."

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