Soft on the Geneva Convention
Another quality Bush and Harper have in common is the way the words "Geneva Convention' stick in their throats.
They just don't get it. Mr. H.'s talking points about the Afghan detainees situation are pathetic: "we take this very seriously, they are only allegations, you guys are Taliban lovers and don't support our troops".
The most important new and constructive information on this topic was Gloria Galloway's quiet comment on Question Period: that soldiers are telling reporters that they are not comfortable handing the prisoners over to people they think will abuse them.
So, given Harper's absurd logic, our soldiers don't support themselves. The reality is that the only people out of sync with the Geneva Convention are Harper and his gang who couldn't possibly take a position of which Bush and his boy Rumsfeld wouldn't approve.
They just don't get it. Mr. H.'s talking points about the Afghan detainees situation are pathetic: "we take this very seriously, they are only allegations, you guys are Taliban lovers and don't support our troops".
The most important new and constructive information on this topic was Gloria Galloway's quiet comment on Question Period: that soldiers are telling reporters that they are not comfortable handing the prisoners over to people they think will abuse them.
So, given Harper's absurd logic, our soldiers don't support themselves. The reality is that the only people out of sync with the Geneva Convention are Harper and his gang who couldn't possibly take a position of which Bush and his boy Rumsfeld wouldn't approve.
posted by Susan at 8:25 AM
4 Comments:
..The reality is that the only people out of sync with the Geneva Convention are Harper and his gang..
Only 4 of the 30 ex-prisoners interviewed by the G&M were handed over by Canadians.
The Geneva convention does not apply to irregulars (guerillas/terrorists) who do not follow the conventional rules of war.
Why does everyone seem to think that the rights afforded to a regular prisoner of war, who fought in uniform under a nations flag, should be afforded to people who think it is acceptable to walk into a crowded civilian population, dressed as they are, and blow everyone to kingdom come?
This is Article 3 of GCIII:
"Article 3 describes minimal protections which must be adhered to by all individuals within a signatory's territory during an armed conflict not of an international character (regardless of citizenship or lack thereof): Noncombatants, combatants who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, including prohibition of outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment. The passing of sentences must also be pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. Article 3's protections exist even if one is not classified as a prisoner of war. Article 3 also states that parties to the internal conflict should endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of GCIII."
The key line here is: "Article 3's protections exist even if one is not classified as a prisoner of war."
Well said.
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