Support Our Troops

On May 15th, Amnesty International put out a call for bloggers to unite and post about human rights. I try to post my journal entries on Sundays so I am a few days late here. I think an initiative like this is important in that it encourages collective action. Sometimes activism can be fragmented in such a way that the true scale of an issue can be lost. People tend to flock to causes that are popular and in the news. If everyone were to focus on a single issue, the hype and buzz could generate more and more support and things could begin to change.

Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan has been controversial to say the least. Our troops’ deployment has polarized the country leaving very few Canadians sitting on the fence. While everyone may have a different opinion on what actions constitute “supporting our troops”, we are all deeply concerned for their safety and well-being.

In 2005, Canada and several other NATO allies entered into agreements to transfer detainees to Afghan custody even though the spectre of torture was obvious. After evidence surfaced that a transferred prisoner had been tortured, Canada ceased transferring detainees to Afghan custody in November 2007, and the Canadian government stated that transfers will only be resumed when it is possible to do so in “accordance with Canada’s international legal obligations.”

On February 29, 2008, the Canadian government announced that prisoner transfers to Afghan authorities had resumed. Amnesty International has serious concerns that much more reform is required of the Afghan prison system over the long-term before it can be guaranteed that Afghanistan has the capacity to meet its international human rights obligations.

Since we here in the west are supposedly involved in these conflicts to protect the rights and freedoms we hold so dear, should we not be supporting the men and women who are putting their lives on the line by demanding that the very rights and freedoms they are fighting for are exemplified by our country’s actions abroad? If not, then maybe it is time to question what we are fighting and dying for.

"Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free."
- HH The Dalai Lama (b. 1935)