Re: Liberal Senator Dallaire likens Canada to Al-Qaeda
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Posted by David Murrell on 05:53:26 2008/05/14
In Reply to:
Liberal Senator Dallaire likens Canada to Al-Qaeda posted by David Murrell
The National Post article written out in full...
Canada no better than al-Qaeda for neglecting Khadr: Dallaire
Amy Husser, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
OTTAWA -- The federal government's refusal to return Omar Khadr to Canada for trial should be likened to the terrorist activities that Mr. Khadr is alleged to have committed, Senator Romeo Dallaire said Tuesday.
Testifying before a parliamentary subcommittee on human rights, the Liberal senator said the United States -- and by association, Canada -- were ignoring international law by not recognizing Mr. Khadr as a child soldier. He argued the Canadian citizen was a victim who should have been swiftly rehabilitated and reintegrated into society instead of being tried in what he called an illegal court.
Mr. Dallaire is best known for leading the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, an experience that he said gave him expertise on child soldiers.
The senator said the United States "panicked" following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and began using unfair legal practices that made the superpower "no better than the other guy," referring to al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
"In panicking, [the U.S.] is doing exactly what the extremists and terrorists are doing. They don't want to play by the rules," testified Mr. Dallaire.
Conservative MP Jason Kenney later pushed Mr. Dallaire to clarify his position, asking if he considered U.S. and Canadian governments the "moral equivalent" of al-Qaeda, whose combatants engage in drastic tactics such as decapitation and suicide bombing.
"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? Is that your position?" Mr. Kenney asked.
"If you want a black and white, and I'm only prepared to give it to you. Absolutely," replied Mr. Dallaire. "You're either with the law or not with the law."
"My position is that 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 the fundamentals of those rights and conventions, you are no better than the guy who doesn't believe in them at all."
Mr. Dallaire also said he believed U.S. President George Bush would be "one of the happiest people on Earth" if he received a phone call asking for Mr. Khadr to return to Canada, because the president would like to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where the 21-year-old is being held.
Following Tuesday's Question Period, Mr. Kenney told reporters he found Mr. Dallaire's testimony disturbing.
"One can fairly and legitimately criticize all sorts of things about the United States and its legal approach to terrorism, but to actually and explicitly say that it's on the same moral plane as people who blow up children is bizarre and unacceptable," he said.
The Toronto-born Mr. Khadr was shot and captured by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002 for allegedly throwing a grenade that led to the death of an American soldier, Sgt. Christopher Speer. He was 15 at the time.
Now 21, Mr. Khadr has been held in Guantanamo for six years on five charges, including murder and conspiracy. If convicted, he could spend life in prison.
There has been pressure on the Canadian government to bring Khadr back to Canada, where his mother and some siblings still live. Very few details concerning his case have been released but the federal government insists he is being treated humanely.
Canwest News Service
National Post - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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