Cover thy ass – the mantra of numerous Canadian governments, be they Liberal or Conservative. While the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien can be applauded for Canada’s refusal to support the invasion of Iraq, it shouldn’t be overlooked that his government was in power when the RCMP and CSIS sold Maher Arar down the river to placate US intelligence concerns. With regards to the current government, its embarrassing refusal to call a spade a spade with regards to the detention facility at Guantanamo is equally telling, not to mention its unwillingness to seriously address the case of Omar Khadr.

A Canadian diplomatic manual was recently leaked, the contents of which place the United States and Israel on a watch list of nations where prisoners face the risk of torture as well as classifying some American interrogation techniques as torture. As one might imagine, it caused quite the stir.

Our government, being the faithful lapdogs that they are, has since assured both the United States and Israel that their inclusion was a mistake, and that the manual is to be rewritten. Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier – his tongue firmly up both of their ass’s – conveyed in a recent written statement…

“I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department’s torture awareness training. It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies.”

Given that a Canadian was instrumental in the creation of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, this is indeed an embarrassment.

“Under the heading, “Possible Torture/Abuse Cases,” the manual lists Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Guantanamo Bay, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the U.S.

The document was accidentally released last week as part of the government’s disclosure in a legal challenge launched by Amnesty International, which is protesting against the actions of Canadian Forces in transferring detainees into Afghan custody where they say they have been tortured.

The inclusion of Guantanamo Bay in the training manual was especially embarrassing to the government because it has publicly stated that Canada accepts assurances that the U.S. treats detainees humanely despite the international outcry over abuse at the prison. Toronto-born Omar Khadr is now the only Western detainee remaining in Guantanamo and Canada the only ally of the U.S. who has not denounced the prison.

Amnesty’s Canadian secretary general said yesterday he was disappointed by Bernier’s statement.

“To see now that they’re pulling back and clearly the motivation for that is not that there’s been some reassessment of the human rights records of those countries, but rather only the concern that we don’t want to embarrass close allies. That’s disturbing,” Alex Neve said yesterday.”

‘Disturbing’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.

More Of The Same

From the CBC…

“A B.C. civil rights organization says it has obtained federal government documents that detail reports of torture of detainees in Afghanistan after Canadian troops handed them over to Afghan authorities.

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association says it obtained the heavily censored documents as part of its court case in conjunction with Amnesty International demanding that the Canadian military stop the transfer of prisoners.

The association said the documents, made available on its website on Monday, are an exchange between diplomatic and Foreign Affairs Department personnel who visited various facilities in Afghanistan.

The diplomatic communiqués — marked “secret” — disclose that Canadian officials were aware that the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) engaged in forms of torture of prisoners after they were transferred into NDS custody, the rights group said.

The documents contain summaries of interviews with detainees, who report being whipped with cables, shocked with electricity and beaten unconscious while in Afghan custody. One detainee interviewed showed fresh welts on his body, then led Canadian investigators to discover a hidden electrical cable and rubber hose he said was used to strike him.

Dates and other key information on the documents have been blacked out, making it difficult to determine the time frame of the exchange. The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday that the reports were filed six months after the Canadian government put in place what it said was an improved transfer agreement with Afghan authorities to monitor detainee treatment.”

Six months. Now that’s expediency.