Three top Canadian generals, Rick Hillier (Retired Chief of Defence), Lt.-Gen. Michel Gauthier (Retired) and Maj.-Gen. David Fraser, who together commanded the Canadian forces in Afghanistan during the period under review by the House of Commons Afghanistan committee, have just given evidence to the committee.
Each denies having seen warnings of detainee torture in reports from 2006. Such warnings would have been raised to the attention of Gauthier in particular, who was briefed daily by experts who knew that detainee handling was a priority issue. In contrast, Richard Colvin said in earlier testimony that his reports warned that the detainees handed over by the Canadian soldiers to the Afghan officials in 2005 and 2006 were abused, tortured or at risk of torture. The opposition members of the committee have not seen the reports under discussion but were not able to delay proceedings in order to review them.
The generals indicated that the action in Afghanistan at the time was complex, fast-moving, and a war like Canada has not seen since the Second World War or Korea.
Hillier and Gauthier were surprised at Richard Colvin's testimony to the Committee last week. The generals said they did not know of Colvin's allegations that they had been warned of the torture risk until hearing his testimony last week. Hillier called the claims "ludicrous". While the generals refrained from personally attacking Colvin, they were unanimous and insistent that there was no report from Colvin in 2006 warning of a torture risk.
The witnesses today said the 2005 protocol for the handling of detainees had flaws, and has been replaced by a very good protocol.
One of the key reasons these proceedings are important is that if there was a breach of the Geneva Conventions, which set out rules for treating prisoners humanely, criminal proceedings against the Canadian military could conceivably follow. It would be a serious blow to Canada's international reputation, particularly as a peace-keeping nation.
When the committee broke today, some members indicated a desire to return and continue business in public today. However, they may have changed that plan, given the lateness of the hour.
on Hillier's testimony
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