Handling of Afghan prisoners covered up: report

[Spazito]

The testimony of a Canadian diplomat before a parliamentary committee Wednesday is likely to provide disturbing information about the government's handling of Afghan detainees, CBC News has learned.

The testimony of diplomat Richard Colvin is expected to provide details of what sources describe as an "unusual system" that saw Afghan detainees transferred to Afghan prisons, with little care about the conditions there.

snip

According to a report Tuesday by The Canadian Press, it was at about this time that Canadian diplomats in Afghanistan were ordered to hold back information in their reports to Ottawa about the handling of detainees.

snip

The sources spoke under the condition of anonymity. The sources told the news agency there was a fear that graphic reports, even in censored form, could be uncovered by opposition parties and the media through access-to-information laws, leading to revelations that would further erode already-tenuous public support for the Afghan mission.

more

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/11/17/canada-afghan-prisoner017.html

The Opposition parties better hammer this one hard, force a FULL investigation into 'what did they know and when did they know it' re Harper, McKay et al.

[HeresyLives]

1. Testimony shown on CBC, CPAC.

This is bad, really bad.

[Spazito]

2. Yes, it is very bad, I agree...

The gross inaction on the part of the government AND the DOD on this is appalling, imo. The deliberate concealment of the situation behind, as Mr. Colvin put it, "walls of secrecy" is despicable but, given both the current government and the previous leadership of Hillier at the DOD, I can't say I am shocked. I only hope ALL the Opposition parties act in concert to get to the FULL truth on this matter.

[CHIMO]

3. Canada handed over innocent Afghans to torture,

All of the prisoners Canada handed over to Afghanistan's notorious intelligence service in 2006-07 were tortured and many of them were likely innocent, a federal official has testified.

Intelligence officer Richard Colvin, a former diplomat in Afghanistan, testified before a special House of Commons committee Wednesday.

He told MPs that captives taken by Canadian troops and handed over to the Afghans were subjected to beatings and electric shocks in 2006 and early 2007.

“According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured,” he said in his opening statement.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-handed-over-innocent-afghans-to-torture-diplomat/article1368631/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-handed-over-innocent-afghans-to-torture-diplomat/article1368631/
The Canadian Press

Canada ignored torture warnings: Diplomat
OTTAWA – A former senior Canadian diplomat in Afghanistan has levelled bombshell allegations suggesting the military knowingly handed detainees to Afghan authorities who allowed them to be tortured.

Richard Colvin, now an intelligence officer at the Canadian embassy in Washington, said Canada took six times as many detainees as coalition partners from Britain and the Netherlands, had no way to track their whereabouts, and ignored warnings they were being tortured with electrical cables, extreme temperatures, knives and sexual abuse.

Colvin made the allegations while testifying today before a special House of Commons committee on Afghanistan.

Warnings first delivered in spring 2006 were ignored by senior Canadian Forces and government officials for a year until newspaper reports brought the allegations of mistreatment to light. After that, Colvin said, diplomats were instructed not to keep written records of any talk of torture by their higher-ups in Ottawa.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/727642--canada-ignored-torture-warnings-diplomat?bn=1





Pictures are worth a 1000 words. Perhaps voices are woth 100 words.
http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/
Click on part one for Nov. 18, 2009

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=190x27814
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=190x27805

If Iggy is just visiting then he can just let this pass. If he is interested, then he can create a "rat pack" to dig into this. Enough is enough. Either one has a policy and principles or they chew everything off, broken up into particles that they can win.

Obama health care style or Trudeau principles? Iggy and the Liberals have to choose.
If they don't side with principles then we need another party founded and exhibiting principles.

[HeresyLives]

4. Half a century building a reputation

as Peace-keepers, honest brokers, and generally decent progressive people concerned about the environment, poverty and everything else.

It took only 4 years of Harper to make us a joke in the world, and war criminals to boot.

[CHIMO]

5. Yes

But I remember Pearson making a speech to many people at college, and his eyes seemed to look at me.
A few weeks later, when everyone was scared of bombs, I went to a rally with my mom. Again, out of thousands, his eyes seemed to find me. It is a continual struggle.

Pearsons' persona and principles continue.
Everyone has hope.

[HeresyLives]

6. What the hell does that mean?

[CHIMO]

7. It Means Exactly

What I stated.

It is up to you and everyone to make the environment acceptable.

[HeresyLives]

8. It doesn't 'state' anything.

It's some gibberish about how you imagined Pearson was looking at you.

And it's not up to me to make any 'environment' acceptable.

Unlike you, I don't vote Conservative.

[arikara]

9. Its appalling. We shouldn't be there

and unfortunately the Liberals wouldn't take us out anymore than Obama has taken the yanks out. Our liberal MP has always come out in favour of Canada's participation. Iggy was for the war before he was against it. They are all appalling.

[Bragi]

10. And yet people do nothing in response

So here we have it: we are commiting war crimes abroad in the service of the American empire.

And yet, is the government going to resign because of this? Has there even been a single visible protest on the streets over this travesty?

Nope and nope. And that's why we're fucked. The right wing has taken over without even a fight from our lazy, complacent citizenry.

Maybe we deserve to be what we have apparently become: a country that figures war crimes commited in our name aren't worth getting excited about.

- B