Call, fax and e-mail the Prime Minister to demand Peter MacKay resign
Today we learned that not only did the Canadian government know about torture of Afghan detainees but that they actually defended their torturer in Kandahar:
A former governor of Kandahar who is accused of personally torturing Afghans might have been removed from office as far back as 2006 if Canadian officials hadn't defended him, according to diplomatic memos that have never been made public by the Canadian government.
The revelation about Asadullah Khalid, who stayed on as governor two years after concerns about his reputation were raised, opens up another embarrassing avenue of inquiry over Afghan prisoner abuse.
The new allegation is contained in a two-year-old report by Richard Colvin, the whistleblower foreign service officer. Colvin's disgust that Canada would support a "known human-rights abuser" was palpable and formed the most incendiary paragraphs of the report. References to Khalid were entirely blacked out in the version of the report publicly released to the Military Police Complaints Commission.
But an uncensored version of the end-of-mission report was shown for the first time to The Canadian Press on a confidential basis.
"As far as I know, Canada has never suggested to (President Hamid) Karzai that Asadullah be replaced," says the memo, dated Oct. 24, 2007.
"In the one meeting where the subject was discussed, in July 2006, it was the president who raised the issue; Canada defended the governor, thereby ensuring his continued tenure."
The uncensored report sheds further light on Colvin's testimony last month before a special House of Commons committee, where he stated the governor was considered a "bad actor" on human rights.
The Harper government needs to hear from you. Call to demand that Harper:
Contact the Prime Minister and his chief of staff:
Please let us know how they respond by sending us an e-mail at cpa@web.ca or by posting a report on the wall of the "Peter MacKay Must Resign" Facebook group.
For more background information please go here and here.
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