Does Canada Hand Taliban Prisoners Over For Torture?
Mr. Harper promised the "serious allegations" would be examined by officials and followed up with Afghan authorities, "but what we will not do is bring the Taliban prisoners to Canada."
The Prime Minister also rejected calls by opposition MPs for the resignation of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor on grounds he had failed to put mechanisms in place to prevent prisoner abuse after previous appeals from politicians and human rights advocates.
The issue of alleged Canadian complicity in torture of Afghan prisoners is already the subject of a criminal investigation, a military board of inquiry and an investigation by the military complaints commission.
Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association are seeking a judicial review of the detainee transfer process in the courts.
National Post
Good show! It's nice to see a country on our continent where torture is not the status quo.
Posted by TomCat | 12:01 pm, April 24, 2007
As I don't claim to be even a novice in international law I was just pondering this:
Since we are not at war it would be impossible for us to hold them as prisoners of war, also for us to hold them prisoner without a mechanism to charge them with something would be illegal.
We remain as guest of the current government and would not refusing to transfer them to their rightful gaolers could also be a crime. To move them to Canada as Dion vacuously suggested would be a kin to kidnapping and forceable transport accross internation borders.
So we can't morally turn them over, we can't legally keep them.
That's my take anyways, screwed either way.
Posted by Anonymous | 12:29 pm, April 24, 2007
Sounds like Harper is taking a page from Dubya's book in his defense of Gordon O'Connor... do you think the next thing he'll say is that O'Connor is "doing a heck of a job"???
E
Posted by Women on the Verge | 5:43 pm, April 24, 2007
Just interchange 'O'connor' for 'Brownie' and you've got it!
hahaha I forgot all about, "and Brownie .... you're doin' a heck of a job"
Thanks E .. that made me laugh!
Posted by leftdog | 7:21 pm, April 24, 2007
Good morning all... Just thought I would point out the inner workings at that level.
The negotiations conduct WRT the agreement for prisoner hand over would not have been a Defense Minister job. The Defence Minister is too busy looking in at the DND and CF to bother with such things. Should he have known what was going on? Sure, but he has to trust advisors to fill him in on this.
There is a Minister responsible for talking about "foreign affairs" I can't remember his name... He/she would be the one responsible for such negotiations.
Also, these negotiations occured on the previous government's watch.
Anger is directed at the wrong people on this. Yes the current government and a slew of others should wear this, but where is the anger that should be directed at the "masterminds" of this debacle?
Posted by Anonymous | 10:27 pm, April 24, 2007
Well, after yesterday's performance in the House, well, I say "Hang 'em high!" just out of spite. I am somewhat disappointed in the performance I saw.
I do not beleive that going after the Minister of Defence is correct (as I state above), but that does not mean that I beleive no sin has occured, as some in the house clearly do.
Nice thing about a democracy, is we should see more of this in the future from the opposition parties, and that is a good thing.
Posted by Anonymous | 9:42 am, April 25, 2007
Canada is like the stupid wannabe kid who wants to show how tough he is so he picks on poor little kids.Leave the poor country alone!What business do you have over there?What does it benefit you?Who are you protecting?Karzai and his corrupted gang?The drug dealers?Or that shepherd who converted to Christianity so that he gets some media attention and money who later turned out to be mentally ill?Most Afghans don't like the Taliban.That's true.But they sure as Hell prefer to be under Taliban control than some foreigners who don't even like them.You think you're brave arresting children just because they were a battle zone and sending them to Guantanamo?Or bomb some village from a plane 15 km above?The Taliban are beating the crap out of you anyway,and it's only a matter of time until little Stevy is kicked out just like Bush.
Posted by Anonymous | 5:02 pm, March 23, 2009