"The country is no better than terrorists"... Romeo Dallaire
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'Child soldier' Khadr needs protection, Dallaire says
OMAR EL AKKAD
Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press
May 13, 2008 at 4:10 PM EDT
OTTAWA — If Canada doesn't act to protect human rights in the case of Omar Khadr, the country is no better than terrorists, Liberal Senator Romeo Dallaire told a parliamentary subcommittee Tuesday.
The former general, one of the most high-profile personalities to speak out in favour of bringing the detained Canadian home from Guantanamo Bay, told MPs that Mr. Khadr is a victim, a child soldier who should be rehabilitated and re-integrated into society and not tried before what he calls an illegal court.
Mr. Dallaire, whose troubling experiences during the 1994 Rwanda genocide helped make him an outspoken advocate of human rights, said the Khadr case points out a moral equivalence among Canada, the United States and al-Qaeda.
The United States is ignoring its own laws in prosecuting Mr. Khadr and Canada is betraying itself by not fighting for Mr. Khadr's return home, he said.
Motion denied to free Khadr because of age
“The minute you start playing with human rights, with conventions, with civil liberties, in order to say that you're doing it to protect yourself and you are going against those rights and conventions, you are no better than the guy who doesn't believe in them at all,” he said.
That prompted a heated exchange with Conservative MP Jason Kenney, who asked Mr. Dallaire if what he meant was that Canada's failure to act to protect Mr. Khadr was equivalent to recent al-Qaeda atrocities in Iraq.
“Is it your testimony that al-Qaeda strapping up a 14-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome and sending her into a pet market to be remotely detonated is the moral equivalent to Canada's not making extraordinary political efforts for a transfer of Omar Khadr to this country?” he asked. “Is that your position?”
Dallaire was adamant.
“If you want a black and white, and I'm only too prepared to give it to you, Absolutely,” he said. “You're either with the law or not with the law. You're either guilty or you're not.”
Mr. Kenney then challenged Mr. Dallaire on his earlier assertion that he became aware of Mr. Khadr's case a year ago. Until that point, he said, he had mistakenly thought Canada was in the middle of working out a deal with the Pentagon to bring Mr. Khadr home.
Mr. Kenney implied that the former general only took up the cause when the Conservatives came to power.
Mr. Dallaire addressed MPs Tuesday along with David Crane, a law professor and former war crimes prosecutor with expertise in African child soldier recruitment.
Dr. Crane told stories of African children who volunteered to be soldiers because the only other option was death. While Dr. Crane did not speak specifically about Mr. Khadr in his opening remarks, he stressed that child soldiers cannot be held fully accountable for their actions.
As a war crimes prosecutor in Africa, Dr. Crane chose not to bring charges against soldiers under the age of 18, he said.
Mr. Dallaire said that Mr. Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured by American forces in Afghanistan in 2002, was a child soldier at the time, and should have been treated as such.
Mr. Khadr, now 21, has been detained in Guantanamo Bay for six years. He faces multiple charges in connection to a 2002 afghan firefight in which an American soldier was killed. One of those charges is murder, and if convicted, Mr. Khadr could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Mr. Dallaire said that it is very clear Mr. Khadr was a child soldier at the time of his capture, “unless you don't want to see it.”
Mr. Dallaire also challenged the Conservative government's claim that it cannot interfere while Mr. Khadr is faces a legal procedure in Guantanamo Bay.
“The President of the United States wants to close the place down,” he said.
The legal system in Guantanamo Bay, he added, is “flawed, illegal and we are letting it happen.”
Mr. Dallaire echoed the sentiments of myriad politicians, legal groups and human rights groups calling for Mr. Khadr's repatriation. While all three opposition groups agree the detained Canadian should be brought home, the Conservative government has so far refused to act on the case, as did the previous Liberal government.
In response to virtually every public question about the Omar Khadr case, the Conservatives have repeated three talking points: Mr. Khadr faces serious charges, the government has been assured he is being treated humanely, and any effort to act on his case while he is still before the courts would be “premature.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080513.wkhadr_dallaire0513/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview
OMAR EL AKKAD
Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press
May 13, 2008 at 4:10 PM EDT
OTTAWA — If Canada doesn't act to protect human rights in the case of Omar Khadr, the country is no better than terrorists, Liberal Senator Romeo Dallaire told a parliamentary subcommittee Tuesday.
The former general, one of the most high-profile personalities to speak out in favour of bringing the detained Canadian home from Guantanamo Bay, told MPs that Mr. Khadr is a victim, a child soldier who should be rehabilitated and re-integrated into society and not tried before what he calls an illegal court.
Mr. Dallaire, whose troubling experiences during the 1994 Rwanda genocide helped make him an outspoken advocate of human rights, said the Khadr case points out a moral equivalence among Canada, the United States and al-Qaeda.
The United States is ignoring its own laws in prosecuting Mr. Khadr and Canada is betraying itself by not fighting for Mr. Khadr's return home, he said.
Motion denied to free Khadr because of age
“The minute you start playing with human rights, with conventions, with civil liberties, in order to say that you're doing it to protect yourself and you are going against those rights and conventions, you are no better than the guy who doesn't believe in them at all,” he said.
That prompted a heated exchange with Conservative MP Jason Kenney, who asked Mr. Dallaire if what he meant was that Canada's failure to act to protect Mr. Khadr was equivalent to recent al-Qaeda atrocities in Iraq.
“Is it your testimony that al-Qaeda strapping up a 14-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome and sending her into a pet market to be remotely detonated is the moral equivalent to Canada's not making extraordinary political efforts for a transfer of Omar Khadr to this country?” he asked. “Is that your position?”
Dallaire was adamant.
“If you want a black and white, and I'm only too prepared to give it to you, Absolutely,” he said. “You're either with the law or not with the law. You're either guilty or you're not.”
Mr. Kenney then challenged Mr. Dallaire on his earlier assertion that he became aware of Mr. Khadr's case a year ago. Until that point, he said, he had mistakenly thought Canada was in the middle of working out a deal with the Pentagon to bring Mr. Khadr home.
Mr. Kenney implied that the former general only took up the cause when the Conservatives came to power.
Mr. Dallaire addressed MPs Tuesday along with David Crane, a law professor and former war crimes prosecutor with expertise in African child soldier recruitment.
Dr. Crane told stories of African children who volunteered to be soldiers because the only other option was death. While Dr. Crane did not speak specifically about Mr. Khadr in his opening remarks, he stressed that child soldiers cannot be held fully accountable for their actions.
As a war crimes prosecutor in Africa, Dr. Crane chose not to bring charges against soldiers under the age of 18, he said.
Mr. Dallaire said that Mr. Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured by American forces in Afghanistan in 2002, was a child soldier at the time, and should have been treated as such.
Mr. Khadr, now 21, has been detained in Guantanamo Bay for six years. He faces multiple charges in connection to a 2002 afghan firefight in which an American soldier was killed. One of those charges is murder, and if convicted, Mr. Khadr could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Mr. Dallaire said that it is very clear Mr. Khadr was a child soldier at the time of his capture, “unless you don't want to see it.”
Mr. Dallaire also challenged the Conservative government's claim that it cannot interfere while Mr. Khadr is faces a legal procedure in Guantanamo Bay.
“The President of the United States wants to close the place down,” he said.
The legal system in Guantanamo Bay, he added, is “flawed, illegal and we are letting it happen.”
Mr. Dallaire echoed the sentiments of myriad politicians, legal groups and human rights groups calling for Mr. Khadr's repatriation. While all three opposition groups agree the detained Canadian should be brought home, the Conservative government has so far refused to act on the case, as did the previous Liberal government.
In response to virtually every public question about the Omar Khadr case, the Conservatives have repeated three talking points: Mr. Khadr faces serious charges, the government has been assured he is being treated humanely, and any effort to act on his case while he is still before the courts would be “premature.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080513.wkhadr_dallaire0513/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview
"L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers"
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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pretty sad situation to be in
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
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