As the evidence of the Conservative cover-up on the Afghan detainee issue continues to mount, Liberal MPs called on the government to stop stonewalling and meet opposition demands to call witnesses to Parliament’s Afghanistan committee, release all unedited documents, and call a public inquiry.
“Enough is enough – it’s time to come clean and respect the will of Parliament,” said Liberal Defence Critic Ujjal Dosanjh. “MPs voted for an independent public inquiry and for the government to release all unredacted documentation.”
Liberals cautioned against government delay tactics to prevent Defence Minister Peter MacKay from appearing before the Afghanistan committee this week.
“Canadians have had enough stalling and stonewalling from this government – and won’t take kindly to more procedural games,” said Mr. Dosanjh. “We’re calling on Minister MacKay to be as open and honourable as Chief of Defence Staff General Walter Natynczyk – and the Afghanistan committee chair has had ample notice to call him as a witness.”
Liberal MP Bryon Wilfert, Vice Chair of the Special Standing Committee on Afghanistan, said immediate accountability from our top solider and the minister responsible is all the more critical given the latest documents released over the weekend that prove the nonsense of Conservative claims that they withheld or blacked out portions of documents out of concern for ‘national security.’
“Covering-up what the government knew about torture is not a matter of national security,” said Mr. Wilfert. “This has nothing to do with national security concerns, and everything to do with concealing what they knew and when they knew it in an attempt at political damage control.”
Further revelations in the media today from diplomatic memos show that the former Kandahar governor accused of torturing Afghans could have been removed from his position much earlier had the Canadian government acted. Instead, they defended Asadullah Khalid, and he remained in his position for two more years as a result. (Canadian Press, Dec. 14, 2009)
“All of these facts point to very legitimate reasons why we need a full public inquiry, with thorough examination of witnesses and full documentation,” Mr. Wilfert said.
Mr. Dosanjh said MPs are still mulling over their options if the government refuses to comply, including the use of a Speakers’ warrant to compel the RCMP to forcefully obtain the documents.
“Parliament has the capacity to deal with sensitive information in a responsible manner, in a way that will not harm our national security or our soldiers on the ground, and we are prepared to work out an arrangement that is mindful of true national security,” said Mr. Dosanjh.
