French government asks Washington to drop charges against Khadr as Pentagon refuses UN access to trial

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French government asks Washington to drop charges against Khadr as Pentagon refuses UN access to trial

January 24, 2008
Posted by Stuart Trew

Stephen Harper's approval of the U.S. Military Commissions Act, under which Omar Khadr will be tried this May, is untenable. Despite our Prime Minister's best efforts to prop up Bush's kangaroo court for trying "illegal enemy combatants," the case for bringing the Canadian citizen home for a fair trial grows stronger each day.

As reported by the National Post today: "The Pentagon has nixed a bid to have a child-soldier expert from the United Nations attend an upcoming hearing for Omar Khadr... It has also refused permission for a leading French human rights jurist to attend the hearing, which will focus on arguments that international law on child soldiers proscribes Mr. Khadr's prosecution as a war criminal."

Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler, Mr. Khadr's lead military defence attorney, told the media that, "It's difficult to see how Prime Minister Harper can defend the military commission as an ‘appropriate judicial process' when the U.S. refuses to let the leading international experts watch.

"The prime minister has been talking about allowing the process to work," continued Kuebler, "but here you have the Department of Defence not letting the leading child soldier advocate in the world watch as the U.S. litigates this question of whether international law permits Omar's prosecution."

But maybe Harper's position isn't so strange.

Military Commission vs. Security Certificates
Beyond the fact that our Prime Minister is committed to a policy of security integration with the United States through the Security and Prosperity Partnership, there is also the issue of security certificates and Harper's attempt to reintroduce the process, which was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court a year ago this February, in Bill C-3, a law that could come back to the House for a second reading as early as next week.

Like Bush, Harper and previous Liberal governments have condoned the use of an unjust immigration process -- the security certificate -- to justify detaining terrorist suspects indefinitely, depriving them of the right to challenge the evidence against them, and forcing them to endure secret trials that Soviet Russia would have considered normal.

Harper cannot denounce the Military Commissions Act or demand that Khadr be returned to Canada for a fair trial when his government is trying to re-legislate a process that in effect mirrors questionable U.S. legal practices. It's another price of cooperation in the "war on terror."

Now if the Liberals were to change their mind and help put an end to C-3 when it comes back to the House for a second reading, Harper could conceivably add Canada's voice to a chorus of others demading a fair trial for Khadr and a recognition of his rights as a child soldier. (Khadr was 15 when U.S. forces aprehended him in Afghanistan.)

Unfortunately, the Liberals need convincing on this relatively clear-cut case of gross injustice. They have signalled that they are happy to support C-3 with a few cosmetic ammendments that they suggested during the committee stage last year. But it is almost guaranteed that no number of ammendments will make the security certificate constitutional.

A new law will only prolong the jail time of three men and the strict bail conditions of two others until another Charter challenge can be mounted.

To send an email to Dion or your MP urging them to vote no to Bill C-3 and the security certificate process, click hereto go to the Council of Canadians' Action Alert.

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