Harper Should Follow Harper's Lead on Gitmo

By: Bob Rae

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Barack Obama's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, to review the work of military tribunals and to assess what to do with detainees has forced Stephen Harper's hand. Any questions to Conservative ministers over the last several years about Omar Khadr, the lone Canadian incarcerated in Guantanamo, have been met with a ritual response: "These are serious charges, we are following events closely, we have the same policy as the Martin government."

Defence Minister Peter MacKay's candid admission that Canada was "reassessing" its position in light of the Obama administration's stance showed a crack in the armour. But that message was immediately denied by the official spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office. And Stephen Harper dug himself even deeper into the trough when he opined on Sunday that Omar Khadr wasn't a "child soldier" since he wasn't in a real army.

Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was apparently recruited into a militant group associated with al-Qaeda at the age of 13, was arrested and detained at the age of 15 because of his role as an enemy combatant in armed conflict with American troops in Afghanistan. He was incarcerated at Guantanamo in 2002. In May, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada wrote that the conditions under which Omar Khadr was being detained "constituted a clear violation of fundamental human rights protected by international law." For its part, the U. S. Supreme Court has also made it clear that detainees at Guantanamo were denied their due process rights. There is substantial evidence that Mr. Khadr was subjected to coercive questioning and harsh treatment during his detention there.

The people of the United States condemned these excesses, and demanded that their government stop them. In the last election, both presidential candidates called for Guantanamo's closure. President Obama has been absolutely clear that his country has turned a corner, that security will be pursued with respect for the essential values Americans are fighting to protect. Within 48 hours of taking office, he suspended the unfair military commissions purporting to try Omar Khadr and others, and ordered Guantanamo closed within the year. The indications are obvious: This dark chapter in American history is coming to an end.

Prime Minister Harper seems determined to go down in history as the last defender of Guantanamo on the world stage. He is letting us down in the process. Canada was the first country to sign the Optional Protocol on child soldiers. The treaty still binds Canada, and we agreed at that time, among other things, that "armed groups that are distinct from the armed forces of a State cannot recruit or use in hostilities persons under the age of 18 years." Canada agreed to rehabilitate and reintegrate these children.

He is also missing the political boat. It is one thing to be narrowly ideological, it is quite another to be oblivious to the changing circumstances in foreign affairs. The Obama administration is telling the world that torture is wrong, that secret jails are wrong and that tribunals have to comply with constitutional principles. It is asking other countries for help in providing for the resettlement of detainees. Failing to read these signals from Washington is a serious political blunder that risks getting Ottawa off to a bad start in our relations with our most important ally.

President Obama has established a panel to advise him on how to resettle detainees and otherwise implement the order to close Guantanamo. Instead of pretending that none of this is happening, Canada should appoint a senior advisor to start negotiations right away to bring Omar Khadr back to Canada. The legal and moral reasons to do so have always been compelling. There is now also a political imperative to get it done--and quickly. - Bob Rae is the MP for Toronto Centre and Liberal foreign affairs critic.