Afghanistan

Politicians are noisy people. They demand attention and grab all the media time they can get. It’s part of the job, and media that cover them take it in stride and don’t think a lot about the demands. It’s part of the job.

I rarely get surprised or upset anymore, but something happened on the federal level the last few days that has me wrestling with anger. Gut anger. Disgust. Don’t know what the words are kind of anger. I mentioned it to a friend at dinner tonight and I could feel my anger and sorrow rising again so I said so and changed the subject.

When Defense Minister Gordon O’Connor went to Afghanistan after the International Red Cross contradicted his assertions the ICRC was monitoring Afghan prisoners taken by Canadian troops, the internal radar didn’t go off.

The Globe and Mail, March 8, 2007.

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed Wednesday that it has no role in monitoring the Canada-Afghanistan detainee-transfer agreement, in direct contradiction to assurances Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor has made to the House of Commons.

The Red Cross also said that it would never divulge to Ottawa any abuses it might identify in Afghan prisons.

“We were informed of the agreement, but we are not a party to it and we are not monitoring the implementation of it,” Simon Schorno, a spokesman for the ICRC, said in an interview.

In his most explicit statement to the House of Commons on May 31, Mr. O’Connor said: “The Red Cross or the Red Crescent is responsible to supervise their treatment once the prisoners are in the hands of the Afghan authorities. If there is something wrong with their treatment, the Red Cross or Red Crescent would inform us and we would take action.”

The Globe and Mail, March 19, 2007.
The Defense Minister apologized, I had the TV on, saw him do so, and I actually believed him.

Afghan independent human rights commission (AIHRC) will inform Canada of abuses, Mr. O’Connor said. Afghanistan’s president and AIHRC’s top officials have assured him of that during a visit to Afghanistan last week, he said.

Defence Department officials have said that the agreement builds on a technical arrangement signed in  December 2005 by Afghanistan’s defence minister.

Good thing most Canadians aren’t as gullible and as stupid as I am.  The anger surfaced when Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Prime Minister Stephen Harper started their dance in the House and on the lecture circuit. There are I believe about 18 complaints being investigated. Stephen Harper:

“I think what’s disgraceful is to simply accept the allegations of what some Taliban suspects say at face value,” he said. “That’s not appropriate.”

Stockwell Day reacting to a Dion suggestion prisoners be sent to Canada in a speech to counter-terrorism workers. National Post, April 25, 2007

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day denounced Afghanistan’s Taliban forces yesterday as murderous torturers and said Canadian troops will continue to transfer detainees to Afghan authorities.

“We want the Taliban to stay in Afghanistan? We are going to insist that their human rights are respected, but we don’t want them to come here,”

…once in power the Taliban wielded “unbridled force.”

“[They had] no understanding of the rule of law, no understanding of the need for an independent judiciary, certainly no understanding of the democratic process where people can choose their leadership,” he said.

“These people have no compunction about machine-gunning, mowing down little children. They have no compunction about decapitating or hanging elderly women. They have no compunction about the most vicious types of torture you can imagine.”

What was and what currently is may not be much different. We have no proof any of our efforts are building roads, schools, killing the enemy, providing security, safety or fulfilling aspects of the NATO commitment Canada made. 

To make these remarks in the House, to posture on the world stage, dismiss our troops efforts, to tar and blame people we naively believe we are attempting to help, to dismiss the reality innocent people are caught in war, to deny the lack of oversight at key government levels, to use lives as partisan points, to equivocate, to lie…

There is more.
Canadians learn the Afghan independent human rights commission is not permitted in prisons. The Globe and Mail received a heavily edited report that: ”the Canadian embassy in Kabul warned the Conservative government last year about Afghanistan’s poor human-rights record and allegations of torture within that country’s justice system.”

After first denying the report existed, the government released it to the Globe through Access of Information with the damning elements removed. Mr. Harper and Mr. O’Connor have repeatedly told Commons that they were unaware that insurgents, captured by Canadians, were allegedly abused in Afghan jails.

Human rights and war don’t belong in the same sentence, but we must commit to them being in the same sentence. Canadian troops are killing and being killed in a country that has been at war for 29 years. Abuses abound. That we as a country would be party to ‘it’s not our problem’ is not acceptable.

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Canada we would not watch the repatriation of our troops, Canadian military families stood up and said no sir. There will be a camera at Trenton if we request it. These are Canada’s sons and daughters.

And we have watched. 54 have come home.

They gave their lives.
They have turned over prisoners expecting the chain of command will honor their commitment. They have been lied to. We have been lied to. And it must stop. If we cannot help and teach Afghanis to stop torturing, if we cannot protect the lives of those we turn over, if we cannot trust the government of Canada to do this…

I am so angry.
Canadians are angry.
Media is covering this.
Blogs are covering this.
And the comments are piling up.

This report that did not exist on human rights performance…
It exists. Partially blacked out. We can read it. We will read it. And we will tell the government of Canada this breach of trust, this wilful dishonesty, this sorry disrepute of our troops, our goals, this pathetic oversight of Afghan lives, this deal with the devil, this shame toward those who serve, this poor governance, this compunction for lies…will stop.

I am so angry.

Bring yourself up to speed.
Contact your MP.
Contact Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor.
Contact Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
Contact the Prime Minister’s Office.
Contact the Afghanistan Embassy.