By Gurmukh Singh, IANS
Toronto : Imagine a close US ally putting it on a human rights watch list! Canada is under fire for listing the US and Israel as human rights abusers and torturers of prisoners on its manual for training diplomats.
Shockingly, the US and Israel – its closest allies – have been listed alongside Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Syria on the manual.
The matter came to light last week when it was inadvertently released to lawyers challenging treatment of Afghan detainees by Canadian troops amid reports that they are being handed over to the Americans.
Embarrassed by the disclosure, Ottawa has apologised and order a review of the manual.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said: “I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department’s torture awareness training. It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies.”
He said he has directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten. “The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As such, it does not convey the government’s views or positions,” Bernier said.
Israeli ambassador Alan Baker was furious and lodged a strong protest with the government, demanding removal of Israel’s name from the list.
Baker said he was outraged by the inclusion of his country’s name.
“Because it’s simply not true. Israel doesn’t engage in torture. It’s prohibited by Israeli law. Whoever had written this manual simply didn’t know, or was misguided, or didn’t understand,” he said.
US ambassador David Wilkins said it was absurd and “offensive” to club his country with Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Syria for human rights violations.
Wilkins, a close friend of President Bush, said: “For us to be on a list like that is just ridiculous. Quite frankly, it’s absurd.”
The manual to train diplomats about human rights violations was introduced two years ago after the Maher Arar affair embarrassed Canada.
Arar, a Canadian of Syrian origin, was arrested by the Americans in transit in New York in 2002.
On the basis of wrong information by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) about his alleged Al Qaeda connections, the Americans handed him over to Syria where he was jailed and tortured for one year.
A public inquiry later found him innocent, earning $10.5 million in compensation for Arar and a rebuke for the RCMP.