Conservatives Fail to Provide Accountability on Afghanistan Mission
Op-Ed
by Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic
Canadians
are demanding answers from the Stephen Harper Conservative government
about treatment of the detainees in Afghanistan.
The
government – from the Prime Minister on down – has been engaging in
deception, misinformation and cover-up. Particularly in the last few
weeks, the evidence against their conduct has been so damning that every
day brings a new version of the ‘truth’ in the House of Commons.
Every
time Prime Minister Harper, Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor, Public
Safety Minister Stockwell Day, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and
any number of their parliamentary secretaries stand up in the House of
Commons and deny the allegations of torture, they are hiding the truth.
Every
time they claim ignorance of the evidence, or contradict top military
officials, international organizations and the media, or choose to
deliberately hide the truth from Canadians, they are being negligent in
their responsibilities to honour global treaties and protect our men and
women overseas.
While it has
become obvious that Mr. O’Connor must resign due to his incompetence on
this file, the buck does not stop there.
We learned
the government was aware of the reality of Afghan prisons and chose to
hide the truth from Canadians, and their deception has begun to unravel.
They denied
the existence of a report on the state of Afghan prisons authored by
Canadian diplomats. Then the
report was made public.
They denied
the presence of torture and human rights abuses in Afghan jails; then
media reports provided numerous accounts of instances of torture and
abuse.
The
diplomats’ report contained blacked-out sections when it was given to
the Globe and Mail; then it was revealed that the blacked-out sections
contained information confirming the existence in Afghanistan of torture
and abuse.
Now the
Information Commissioner is investigating why such critical sections of
the report were censored when they presented no threat to national
security.
The
government claimed there was no evidence Afghan authorities are blocking
access to prisons, but days earlier the head of the human rights
commission in Kandahar said that while they legally have permission to
visit prisoners, the Afghan authorities “don't allow it.” (Canadian
Press, April 24, 2007)
The Defence
Minister then suddenly announced a new detainee-monitoring agreement had
been reached, to the surprise of Mr. MacKay and Canada’s Chief of
Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier. The next day, the Prime Minister said no
such deal had been concluded.
Then they
changed tactics and claimed Correctional Services Canada officials have
been monitoring detainees all along. Officials in Canada and Afghanistan
contradicted these claims, clarifying that these two officials were there
to conduct training and improve prison conditions, not to monitor
detainees.
In fact, one
of those officials, when asked about allegations of abuse, responded that
she was “not naive enough to think those circumstances don't happen.”
(Globe and Mail, April 27, 2007)
Finally,
we learn that Mr. MacKay’s office was copied on a letter from Human
Rights Watch five months ago that reported on allegations of torture of
detainees. The letter states:
“…credible
observers reported that local authorities in Herat, Helmand, and other
locations routinely tortured and abused detainees. Torture and abuse
consisted of pulling out fingernails and toenails, burning with hot oil,
sexual humiliation and sodomy.”
When
will the deception end?
So
serious is the situation that even NATO leaders are now looking into the
allegations to see what can be done to improve the process of handing over
detainees.
And
yet this government continues to deny and cover up.
What is
truly galling to Canadians is the government’s continued
“you’re-either-with-us-or-against-us” defence when anyone dares
question them about this matter.
The purpose
of respecting the Geneva Convention – the international treaty that
governs how NATO forces treat suspected war criminals – is to live up to
our international obligations and as well to protect Canadian soldiers who
are serving in Afghanistan.
By making
sure the Convention is abided by, we are ensuring that our troops, who
have behaved admirably, are protected from accusations of war crimes.
To
say this government is missing the point would be an understatement. They
simply do not understand that telling the truth is in the best interest of
our soldiers serving in Afghanistan, and in the best interest of our
international reputation as a fair, democratic, and peace-loving nation.
Instead,
they stand up and accuse those who ask the questions of being unpatriotic.
This
is outrageous and completely unacceptable.
We
cannot relent as long as this damning deception continues.
We must continue to demand answers and accountability from this
government.
