This is a crucial moment for all Canadians, one in which the morality of our nation will be tested. It is no secret that a Canadian played the lead role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, something that should make us, as a nation, extremely proud. But given information that has come to light this year about the transfer of detainees into the hands of known torturers in Afghanistan debases not only our ability to feel proud of the integral role played by Canadians in the drafting of the Declaration, but presents us with a very crucial decision to make. Is our involvement in Afghanistan worth the debasement of our beliefs? And if so, then are we prepared, as a nation of compassionate and selfless people, to abandon our principles because of it?
Recently the Globe & Mail published a piece by Graeme Smith that detailed human rights abuses committed by Afghan authorities on detainees after the Canadian military transferred them to their authority. The report details horrible accounts by detainees at the hands of Afghan authorities…
“None of the abuse was inflicted by Canadians, and most Afghans captured — even those who clearly sympathized with the Taliban — praised the Canadian soldiers for their politeness, their gentle handling of captives and their comfortable detention facility.â€?
That, of course, reflects what the standards of this nation are all about. Unfortunately, when there are others prepared to get their hands bloody, the compassionate resonance of this paragraph is quickly erased…
“Mahmad Gul, 33, an impoverished farmer, said he was interrogated for three days in May of 2006, without any meals, at Zhari District Centre, a small town west of Kandahar city.
His tormentors were the Afghan police, he said, but the Canadian soldiers who visited him between beatings had surely heard his screams.
“The Canadians told me, ‘Give them real information, or they will do more bad things to you,’ ” Mr. Gul said.â€?
If that is accurate, if Canadians did indeed have contact with him during that time, knowing what was happening, after he had been in Canadian custody and transferred to Afghan authorities which then tortured him, then that is, without question, or even the possibility of arguing the fact, a breach of international law, human rights laws, and actually constitutes war crimes. It should also be noted that, unlike other foreign militaries operating in Afghanistan, Canada has not ratified an agreement that requires them to check up on those they have handed over to Afghan authorities.
According to both Michael Byers and Amir Attaran, two of the most noted legal experts in Canada with regards to human rights and international law…
“Under international law, you are prohibited from transferring to torture. You are prohibited from facilitating torture in any way,� said Mr. Byers, who teaches international law and politics at the University of British Columbia.
“We’re not simply speaking about the criminal responsibility of individual Canadian soldiers. We’re speaking also of command responsibility, of criminal responsibility that continues up the chain of command, to any superior officer who knew of the risk of torture and who ordered or allowed our soldiers to transfer detainees nevertheless,â€? he said.
Of course, like a host of others, we can simply choose to disregard both international and human rights laws under the auspices of the The War On Terror and continue to be complicit in the transfer of detainees into the hands of torturers. It should also not be overlooked that this is not the first instance of our complicity. Canadian authorities basically did the exact same thing to Maher Arar.
Gul’s ordeal was, in comparison to others interviewed by Graeme, a walk in the park. During the two months that he was detained the ‘worst’ that happened was that an interrogator “punched out the teeth on the left side of his mouth�. So what of others who weren’t as ‘lucky’ as Gul?
According to Graeme, who has agreed to answer questions about the matter from Globe readers…
“Other survivors describe more grisly horrors. At times they pointed to Afghan soldiers or police officers as their abusers, but the worst stories came from Afghans who endured captivity in the cramped basement cells underneath the NDS headquarters in Kandahar.
Most of those held by the NDS for an extended time said they were whipped with electrical cables, usually a bundle of wires about the length of an arm. Some said the whipping was so painful that they fell unconscious.
Interrogators also jammed cloth between the teeth of some detainees, who described hearing the sound of a hand-crank generator and feeling the hot flush of electricity coursing through their muscles, seizing them with spasms.
Another man said the police hung him by his ankles for eight days of beating. Still another said he panicked as interrogators put a plastic bag over his head and squeezed his windpipe.
Torturers also used cold as a weapon, according to detainees who complained of being stripped half-naked and forced to stand through winter nights when temperatures in Kandahar drop below freezing.
The men who survived these ordeals often seem like broken husks. They tell their stories with quiet voices and trembling hands. They can’t sleep, they complain of chronic pain and they forget the simplest things, such as remembering to pull down their pants when they use the toilet.
After interrogation, the NDS often sends Taliban suspects to Sarpoza prison, on the western edge of the city. Detainees who arrive at the facility’s tall metal gates are occasionally so badly impaired that they’re incapable of caring for themselves properly and prison officials and fellow inmates complain that they’re left with the chores of washing, dressing, and feeding them.â€?
Perhaps, rather than retaining the position of Defense Minister, Mr. O’Connor might consider resigning and traveling to Sarpoza prison to help take care of those that have been so affected by torture that they have been turned into little more that paralytics. Better yet, perhaps Mr. Hillier can carry his luggage.
Let’s also not forget that in February of this year it was announced that an inquiry by the The Military Police Complaints Commission into the “alleged mistreatment of prisoners in Afghanistan involving the Canadian military� was being undertaken.
Where are our voices? When do we, as people that believe in the rule of law and decency, stand up and start asking point-blank questions about this? Because the truth is that if we don’t, it will continue, and will, whether you want to believe it or not, irrevocably damage this country.
This is not a discussion that can be dismissed by claiming that by making an entry such as this that I do not support our troops. I am so utterly sick and tired of the limited intelligence employed by those that actually believe that there isn’t a differentiation between the role of soldiers placed in a situation because of policy and policy itself.
Canadians, like others, like to wax sentimental about the greatness of democratic freedoms. That said, make no mistake that the complicity of our government in such affairs does not just ultimately rest with those in office, but by those that voted to put them there, and even those that didn’t that refuse to stand up and demand they be held accountable. For if we are not to believe that that is the reality of true democracy, that there exists a disconnect between our elected officials and the general public, and that we cannot ultimately be held accountable for policies that lead to the torture of others – then we are hypocrites and our entire way of life a fraud.
If you feel powerless, if you feel like there is nothing that can be done, allow me to suggest a few options. The first is to write your Member of Parliament about this issue, as well as those of that hold positions within the cabinet and The Prime Minister himself.
Members Of Parliament
You can find a complete list of the members of Parliament by visiting the official House Of Commons Membership page. Simply use the navigation on the website to find the link to the website of your MP.
The Cabinet
For a complete list of the members of Prime Minister Harper’s cabinet, visit the The Office Of The Prime Minister’s website. If you click on the name of a cabinet member you will be able to discover their riding and then refer to the afore mentioned Members page to contact them.
Of particular importance in this regard are the following:
- Minister of National Defence, The Honourable Gordon O’Connor.
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay.
The Prime Minister
To contact the Prime Minister’s office directly, you can email Mr. Harper by clicking here. Likewise, you can contact the Prime Minister’s office by mail at the following address…
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Action
Though it might sound simple, or even pointless to some, I want to suggest something. If you look at the photograph at the top of this page you will notice that it features my hand with the words Out Now written on it. I would like to encourage everyone to follow suit. Even further, post your own hand on your blog, encourage others to do the same, and even fax pictures of your hand to the Prime Minister’s office, the fax number being 613-941-6900.
If you are unable to use a fax, you can always email a picture of your hand or send one in by mail.
Please also conduct yourselves with the utmost maturity. Agree with them or not, these are Right Honourable members of Parliament and should thus be addressed as such. Do not, under any circumstances, abandon the platitudes of civil discourse as it accomplishes nothing but the degradation of your position.
This is, by no means, a solution, and certainly not something that is going to change policy immediately, but is a way for those who feel they are powerless to begin to make themselves heard. I hope that you will join me.
