Omar Khadr’s return long overdue

Khadr needs to be rehabilitated as a child soldier, not a "war criminal."

by Bill Tieleman

Canada’s Omar Khadr a child soldier, not “war criminal” and should be rehabilitated, not punished further.

Omar Khadr is a Canadian citizen and a child soldier whose rights have been summarily denied, despite international law.

– Dr. Samantha Nutt, War Child Canada

Omar Khadr has finally returned from the notorious Guantanamo Bay  prison to Canada, where he needs to be rehabilitated as a former child soldier, not wrongly called a “war criminal” and further punished.

This travesty of justice is the shameful responsibility of both Canadian and American governments, who used Khadr’s tragic case for crass political purposes instead of treating him like other child soldiers around the world.

And yet despite being rightfully criticized by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others, the Conservative government is still intent on making Khadr’s miserable life even worse.

Toronto-born Khadr needs maximum rehabilitation, not maximum-security incarceration in Ontario’s Millhaven prison.

So here are the facts, rather than ongoing Tory spin.

Khadr was a 15-year-old Canadian pressed into the role of child soldier in Afghanistan by his al-Qaeda member father to fight US troops.

Khadr was severely wounded and captured in a July 2002 firefight and held responsible for US Army Sgt Christopher Speer’s death.

Conservative Public Safety Minister Vic Toews described Khadr on Saturday as a “known supporter of the al-Qaida terrorist network and a convicted terrorist.”

Regardless of Khadr’s actions, he meets all criteria to be recognized as a child soldier — not a “terrorist”.  As Amnesty International states: “ International law prohibits the participation in armed conflict of children aged under 18.”  But both the Conservative and former Liberal governments refused to meet our international obligations.

“Canada’s role has been a disgrace,” Amnesty’s Canadian Secretary-General Alex Neve has written.

Khadr’s lawyer, John Norris, says he doesn’t “understand why the government continues to demonize Omar.” That’s easy — demonizing appeals to some Conservative voters.

However, the world recognizes that child soldiers are pawns of adults, evilly used to carry out terrible atrocities that scar them forever.

Khadr may or may not still harbour views abhorrent to Canadians — and having been confined and abused in Guantanamo would make anyone twisted.

But Canada’s moral and legal obligation is to help Khadr leave his child soldier past behind and let this troubled young man have a chance to lead a peaceful, productive life.

Even war-torn countries have rehabilitated child soldiers.  Why shouldn't Canada do the same?

 

© Copyright 2012 Bill Tieleman, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca