Editorial cartoon by Brian GableBrian Gable
The word "cover-up" is just on the tip of Alex Neve's tongue. But in a morning press conference, Amnesty International's Canadian chief wouldn't go as far to characterize the Afghan detainee situation as a government cover-up. Rather, he said the "secrecy" and "lack of transparency" around the transfer of Afghan detainees raises concerns of the "possibility of cover-up."
Mr. Neve and Grace Pastine of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association added their voices today to calls for a full public inquiry into the Afghan detainee torture controversy. The Liberals and the NDP demanded one last week. Clearly, the issue is not going away for the Tories.
The human-rights advocate said the only way to restore a sense of confidence for Canadians is to reveal all in a judicial probe. He also said it would certainly "bolster our voice in China," referring to the visit next week of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to China. Opposition critics say that Mr. Harper will have no credible platform from which to talk about human rights if Canada is in the midst of its own human rights controversy.
At the same time, Canadian Ambassador to China David Mulroney is returning to Canada. He wants to testify before the all-party Commons committee that is looking into the detainee issue. He was the Prime Minister's point man on Afghanistan at the time of the torture allegations. And last week, senior Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin, in his explosive testimony before the committee, named him as one of the government officials who told him to shut up about the issue.
Although Ambassador Mulroney wants his say, the opposition parties are hesitant to allow his testimony, arguing they will be giving Mr. Mulroney a public platform to dispute Mr. Colvin's charges before they have all the facts in hand. They want to see a number of government documents before questioning him.
This has led to a political firestorm on Parliament Hill. An email "Alerte-Info-Alert" from the PMO to all MPs this morning talks about the Mulroney testimony, arguing that the opposition is "playing games" and trying to block Mr. Mulroney's appearance at the committee.
(Editorial cartoon by Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)