Most of us are proud of our country, even if on occasion we don't agree with those who are in charge. We're pleased when our country is recognised by the world's press; it makes us feel important by association. Coming from a country like Canada, of lesser importance on the world's stage, catching the eye of international media is even more of a treat.
But there are those occasions when you realize you need to be careful what you wish for, because it might just come true. Start thinking: how come the Americans get all the press coverage? But, the next thing you know, Canada has its very own prisoner scandal, just like the Americans in Iraq.
Obviously, that’s not quite what you were hoping for when you wanted to see your county's name above the centre-fold in Le Monde or other prestigious papers. But now we learn that in April, 2006 three captives held by Canadian soldiers were mistreated and that even now, nearly one year later, an investigation is ongoing into the whys and wherefores of the situation.
If that weren't enough to make you cringe, there is also the report that the Canadian army has been handing over prisoners to Afghanistan security forces without checking on what their eventual fate would be. According to Canadian law, any person in custody may not be turned over to a third party if there is a chance they will either face execution, torture, or any other cruel and unusual punishment not allowed by Canadian law.
When the issue was first raised in the House of Commons, Minister of Defence Gordon O'Connor denied there was any wrongdoing. He insisted that the International Red Cross was overseeing all prisoner transfers. But as of March 4 the Red Cross said they were doing no such thing.
Officials in the Defence Department claim that they signed a deal in which Canadian troops must notify the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the International Red Cross when they hand over a prisoner to the Afghan authorities. The Human Rights Commission is supposed to be monitoring the well-being of the troops once they are in the hands of the Afghan army.
This agreement is described as an extension of an undertaking that Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier signed back in December 2005 - agreeing that all prisoners Canada captured would be turned over to the Afghan army. That agreement had been widely condemned by human rights activists, because there had been no provisions made for monitoring by any rights body.
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