Canada to hand any war captives to U.S.

 


SubHead:   Backbenchers protest: Eggleton tells MPs to remember the real issue: Sept. 11

Author:     Sheldon Alberts

  OTTAWA - Canadian troops will hand over any enemy fighters they 
capture to the Americans, Art Eggleton said yesterday, 
dismissing concerns from Liberal backbenchers about the 
treatment of Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners by the U.S. 
military.

  At a joint meeting of the foreign affairs and defence 
committees, Liberals Marlene Jennings and John Godfrey 
challenged Canada's policy after Mr. Eggleton, the Minister of 
National Defence, said he is satisfied the United States is 
treating prisoners humanely and in accordance with international 
law.

  Mr. Eggleton warned the Liberal MPs they should not forget the 
horror of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks when considering the 
plight of Taliban or al-Qaeda prisoners.

  "These are people that inflicted terrible death and pain on 
people on this continent, at the World Trade Center in New York 
and in Washington," he told reporters. "These are people who are 
part of a terrorist movement that is a threat to the security 
and safety of Canadians, Americans and other people in the 
world. They should be brought to justice. Let's remember that."

  The official death toll from the Sept. 11 attacks stands at 
3,122, including 25 Canadians.

  Next month, a battle group of 750 Canadian troops will join U.S. 
forces in Afghanistan. Their mission includes hunting down any 
remaining Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

  "We do not have detention facilities and our intent would be to 
turn them over," Mr. Eggleton said.

  "I have no reason to believe that they have not been treated 
fairly, but it is up to the International Red Cross to determine 
that."

  Mr. Godfrey, a Toronto MP, accused the Americans of violating 
international law by blindfolding and shackling prisoners who 
were transferred this week from a detention centre in Kandahar 
to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

  Mr. Godfrey said, "When I see those hooded prisoners being put 
on planes to Cuba, I say to myself, 'Would we allow that, if 
Canadian troops were taken?' "

  "The lack of respect for the human person, I can't believe that, 
under any convention, that the Americans haven't already 
violated international law by treating people this way," Mr. 
Godfrey told Mr. Eggleton. "They are still human beings, and 
before we commit -- before we approve of this -- we have got to 
sort this out."

  Ms. Jennings, a Montreal MP, demanded assurances that Canadian 
soldiers will not turn over any prisoners unless the U.S. 
guarantees they will not face the death penalty.

  Human rights groups have criticized the U.S. military's 
treatment of prisoners captured during its current cleanup 
operation in southern Afghanistan.

  The U.S. commanders consider the prisoners to be "unlawful 
combatants" as opposed to prisoners of war, a distinction that 
allows the U.S. to provide different treatment under 
international law.

  Mr. Eggleton said there is no evidence U.S. authorities have 
failed to provide humane care, and he said U.S. commanders have 
assured Canada they will follow international law.

  "Do I believe that they are following the Geneva Convention? 
Yes."

  Yesterday, a Red Cross team arrived at the Guantanamo Bay 
detention centre to inspect the conditions of the 110 Taliban 
and al-Qaeda prisoners being held there. Canadian officials met 
with the Red Cross inspectors this week in Ottawa.

  "If there were serious problems that they had with the treatment 
of detainees by authorities, we didn't hear it from the 
International Red Cross. Quite the contrary," said James Wright, 
a senior Foreign Affairs official.

  About 40 members of Canada's special forces unit, known as Joint 
Task Force 2 -- are already operating with U.S. troops in 
Afghanistan. About two dozen members of a Canadian 
reconnaissance team arrived in Kandahar on Sunday in advance of 
next month's deployment of the 750-member battle group from the 
3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

  JTF-2 members have not yet taken any prisoners in Afghanistan 
but they have been on missions in which prisoners were taken, 
Mr. Eggleton said.

  U.S. military officials say they are being "guided" by the 
Geneva Convention.

  Still, Mr. Eggleton said Canada wants further clarification on 
how the tribunals that judge the prisoners will comply with 
international law. He wants this information before the main 
contingent of Canadian soldiers arrives in Afghanistan in 
mid-February.

  One possible policy, he said, would be for Canadian troops 
operating with members of the U.S. 101st Airborne Regiment to 
simply defer to the Americans when prisoners are being taken.

  Mr. Godfrey said it is unacceptable for Canada to allow any 
ambiguity in policy toward the U.S. treatment of prisoners.

  "I don't think we can turn a blind eye or outsource our moral 
obligations," Mr. Godfrey said.



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