Politically Charged: Canada – a war criminal?
The transfer of Afghan prisoners or
Taliban suspects to Afghan jails by the
Canadian military may have led to torture;
and Canada may have known about it.
The House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa has the guns out, safety off and fingers on the trigger. Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin sparked the heated finger- pointing with his testimony to a special Commons committee that Canada's Afghan detainees, transferred to the Afghan government, may have been tortured “According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured. For the interrogators in Kandahar, it was standard operating procedure,” said Colvin. He says he sent numerous reports to then Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, who now sits as the Minister of Defence.
The Conservative government immediately denied having any knowledge of the possibility of torture and told the Parliamentary committee they hadn't received any reports from Colvin. Minister MacKay, through his parliamentary secretary, questioned the credibility of Colvin's testimony saying: “[It] seemed dramatic, but under questioning it was revealed to be flimsy, inconsistent, unreliable… [He] did not come across as credible.”
Colvin was stationed in Afghanistan for 17 months. He says most of the transferred suspects were likely innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time. “In other words, we detained and handed over for severe torture a lot of innocent people,” he said. A report from the U.S. State Department concludes that Afghan torture tactics include “pulling out fingernails and toenails, burning with hot oil, beatings, sexual humiliation and sodomy.” If Canada is found to be sending its prisoners to be tortured, it could be found guilty to assisting in a war crime. According to the Geneva Convention (yes, it does exist) countries must ensure their detainees are cared for in a humane fashion.
Through the Access to Information Act, media outlets such as CBC and The Globe & Mail uncovered suggestions that the government did have an idea that torture was possible and did receive Mr. Colvin's reports; the first on May 26, 2006 and the second on June 2, 2006. The reports didn't carry the word “torture” in them though which has people doubting Colvin's testimony. Former Chief of Defence in Afghanistan, Rick Hillier has also testified at the Commons committee. He feels Colvin's testimony carries no weight calling allegations of torture on Canadian transferees “ludicrous.”
London Conservative Member of Parliament, Ed Holder, feels the government acted properly given the circumstances and feels calls for an inquiry are unnecessary as he says: “What's the purpose of the committee for, if not for the very purpose of discovering the truth.” London NDP M.P. Irene Mathyssen feels there should be an inquiry as she says the government has been dodging this issue for far too long. London Liberal M.P. Glen Pearson agrees with Minister MacKay in that: “There is no proven single case of torture,” but, he does feel there may be some merit to Colvin's testimony.
To throw another group in the mix, Colvin reports the Red Cross isn't happy with how Canada is handling its detainee situation. In his reports, the Red Cross is “angry” and “frustrated” that the Canadian Forces wouldn't notify its monitors of detainee transfers for between two and eight days. The Red Cross blames this on shoddy record-keeping.
Now there is a Canadian monitoring system over its prisoners which aims to safeguard its prisoners from the notorious reputation Afghan prisons have. The Dutch and British forces have expressed interest in building their own prisons due to their reservations over Afghan prisons. Maybe this monitoring system will work for Canada and Canadians can keep their reputation as peacekeepers and not carry the stain of torture.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
The House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa has the guns out, safety off and fingers on the trigger. Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin sparked the heated finger- pointing with his testimony to a special Commons committee that Canada's Afghan detainees, transferred to the Afghan government, may have been tortured “According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured. For the interrogators in Kandahar, it was standard operating procedure,” said Colvin. He says he sent numerous reports to then Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, who now sits as the Minister of Defence.
The Conservative government immediately denied having any knowledge of the possibility of torture and told the Parliamentary committee they hadn't received any reports from Colvin. Minister MacKay, through his parliamentary secretary, questioned the credibility of Colvin's testimony saying: “[It] seemed dramatic, but under questioning it was revealed to be flimsy, inconsistent, unreliable… [He] did not come across as credible.”
Colvin was stationed in Afghanistan for 17 months. He says most of the transferred suspects were likely innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time. “In other words, we detained and handed over for severe torture a lot of innocent people,” he said. A report from the U.S. State Department concludes that Afghan torture tactics include “pulling out fingernails and toenails, burning with hot oil, beatings, sexual humiliation and sodomy.” If Canada is found to be sending its prisoners to be tortured, it could be found guilty to assisting in a war crime. According to the Geneva Convention (yes, it does exist) countries must ensure their detainees are cared for in a humane fashion.
Through the Access to Information Act, media outlets such as CBC and The Globe & Mail uncovered suggestions that the government did have an idea that torture was possible and did receive Mr. Colvin's reports; the first on May 26, 2006 and the second on June 2, 2006. The reports didn't carry the word “torture” in them though which has people doubting Colvin's testimony. Former Chief of Defence in Afghanistan, Rick Hillier has also testified at the Commons committee. He feels Colvin's testimony carries no weight calling allegations of torture on Canadian transferees “ludicrous.”
London Conservative Member of Parliament, Ed Holder, feels the government acted properly given the circumstances and feels calls for an inquiry are unnecessary as he says: “What's the purpose of the committee for, if not for the very purpose of discovering the truth.” London NDP M.P. Irene Mathyssen feels there should be an inquiry as she says the government has been dodging this issue for far too long. London Liberal M.P. Glen Pearson agrees with Minister MacKay in that: “There is no proven single case of torture,” but, he does feel there may be some merit to Colvin's testimony.
To throw another group in the mix, Colvin reports the Red Cross isn't happy with how Canada is handling its detainee situation. In his reports, the Red Cross is “angry” and “frustrated” that the Canadian Forces wouldn't notify its monitors of detainee transfers for between two and eight days. The Red Cross blames this on shoddy record-keeping.
Now there is a Canadian monitoring system over its prisoners which aims to safeguard its prisoners from the notorious reputation Afghan prisons have. The Dutch and British forces have expressed interest in building their own prisons due to their reservations over Afghan prisons. Maybe this monitoring system will work for Canada and Canadians can keep their reputation as peacekeepers and not carry the stain of torture.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
