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O 272113Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0095
INFO ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000906 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MOPS AF CA
SUBJECT: CANADIAN OFFICIALS DENY AFGHAN ABUSE CLAIMS 
 
REF: OTTAWA 890 
 
(SBU) Summary: The Canadian government continues to try to contain 
the furor provoked by diplomat Richard Colvin's allegations on 
November 18 that Canadian defense personnel in Afghanistan 
transferred Afghan prisoners to Afghan authorities in 2006 and 2007 
despite misgivings they would be tortured or subject to abuse. 
(reftel).  Former senior military and civilian officials 
responsible for Afghan policy have emphatically refuted Colvin's 
allegations.  The issue has dominated this week's political and 
media coverage, and an early poll suggests that 51% of respondents 
believed that detainees were likely abused.  The government has 
flatly rejected claims of a "cover up" of torture allegations and 
is resisting calls for a public inquiry.  End summary 
 
 
 
FORMER GENERALS FIGHT BACK 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) On November 25, retired Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) 
Gen. Rick Hillier, retired Lt. Col. Michel Gauthier (Commander of 
the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 2006 and 2007), and 
Major-General David Fraser (the first Canadian commander in 
Kandahar) appeared before the House of Commons Special Committee on 
Canada's Mission to Afghanistan (AFGH).  Hillier said that he was 
eager to testify after "hearing myself described as both a liar and 
negligent in my duties" in the wake of Richard Colvin's testimony. 
All three generals said they were aware of problems in Afghan 
prisons, and conceded that Canada's prisoner transfer arrangements 
before May 2007 "were not perfect." However, Hillier insisted that 
military officials tried to seek a balance between unsubstantiated 
reports and specific documented instances of abuse, all the while 
engaging a violent insurgency.  He rejected Richard Colvin's claims 
that likely all detainees faced abuse and torture as "ludicrous" 
and lacking in substance.  Hillier admitted that he did not read 
Colvin's reports in 2006 and 2007, but had reviewed them since, and 
the early reports contained " nothing about abuse, nothing about 
torture, or anything else that would have caught my attention or 
the attention of others."  He stated, "There was simply nothing 
there." 
 
 
 
COLVIN NOT "MUZZLED" 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) On November 26, former Associate Deputy Minister (Under 
Secretary-equivalent) of Foreign Affairs for Afghanistan policy 
David Mulroney defended his record before the AFGH.  Colvin had 
alleged that Mulroney specifically had warned him not to put his 
concerns over torture in writing.  Mulroney flew in from Beijing, 
where he is currently Canada's ambassador, despite the fact that 
the AFGH had not called him as a witness and that the embassy in 
Beijing is in final preparations for a high-profile first visit by 
PM Stephen Harper to China from December 2 to 6. 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) Mulroney firmly denied that the Canadian government ignored 
Richard Colvin's reports.  He confirmed that Canadian officials had 
a "very widespread and credible understanding that there were lots 
of problems" in the Afghan justice system, prisons, police, "and 
throughout the Afghan system."  He conceded that the logistical and 
military challenges of the new mission in Kandahar meant it took 
time for the Canadian government to grapple with the problem of how 
to monitor detainees.  However, he insisted that the Canadian 
government had no specific evidence of torture, and had moved to 
address concerns in the May 2007 revised transfer arrangement.  He 
admitted that Canada did not know the fate of detainees before May 
¶2007.  Mulroney dismissed as "speculation" Colvin's claim that all 
detainees transferred by Canadian Forces were likely tortured.  He 
denied that he had attempted to suppress Colvin's reports, 
insisting that "the view that I muzzled him or any other official 
is wrong." 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) Mulroney said that he did not recall briefing PM Harper on 
the detainee issue when he served as Harper's Foreign Policy 
Advisor in 2006.  He confirmed that when he moved to the Foreign 
Affairs Department in 2007 as the senior coordinator for the 
Afghanistan mission, he briefed then-Foreign Affairs Minister Peter 
MacKay (now Defense Minister) on the issue.  Separately, Richard 
Colvin confirmed on November 25 that he had emailed copies of his 
reports alleging abuse of Afghan detainees through secure channels 
 
to MacKay's office on at least two occasions in May and June 2006. 
 
 
 
 
LET THE AFGH DO ITS WORK 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) The opposition parties on the AFGH have demanded access to 
all government documents relevant to the possible torture of Afghan 
detainees, including Colvin's reports.  On November 24, PM Harper 
and Defence Minister MacKay pledged to provide "all 
legally-available" documents to the AFGH, although MacKay would not 
say when they would be released.  They will first have to be vetted 
to comply with disclosure rules under the Canada Evidence Act, the 
National Defence Act, and for national security information. MacKay 
confirmed that the papers would include documents generated by the 
previous Liberal government.  The opposition parties, together with 
Amnesty International Canada, insist that the only way to clear up 
the contradictions in the two versions of the story is for the 
government to call a public inquiry.  However, the government 
spokesperson said Prime Minister Harper favors allowing the AFGH to 
complete its work. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) The detainee issue has consumed the daily parliamentary 
Question Period, but both PM Harper and Liberal leader Michael 
Ignatieff have largely absented themselves from the debate.  Harper 
skipped Question Period on November 23 -- his first day back after 
a trip to Singapore (APEC) and India -- to accept a lacrosse jersey 
from Canada's National Men's Field Lacrosse Team.  Ignatieff' did 
not appear in Question Period until November 23, leaving foreign 
affairs critic Bob Rae to take the lead. 
 
 
 
PUBLIC  TRACTION? 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) There are no polls so far to gauge whether the Colvin 
allegations have eroded Conservative support.  However, a 
Harris-Decima poll released November 25 (after Colvin's testimony, 
but before the generals and David Mulroney contradicted him) 
suggested that 51% of respondents believed Colvin's statements that 
prisoners handed over by Canadian soldiers to Afghan authorities 
were likely abused and that the government knew of the problem. 
Twenty-five percent believed the government's assertion that the 
claims were flimsy.  The Conservatives' tone has shifted away from 
attacking Colvin's personal credibility to steps it has taken to 
address concerns.  On November 23, Foreign Affairs Minister 
Lawrence Cannon said that Colvin had the right to make his 
allegations public, referencing whistleblower legislation the 
Conservatives had themselves put in place: "Mr. Colvin has 
exercised his prerogative in that regard and, in this case, his 
allegations are not proven.  The parliamentary committee [AFGH] is 
working, so we'll wait until the parliamentary committee has 
completed its findings."  The Canadian government issued a 
statement on November 23 confirming it had temporarily halted the 
transfer of detainees to Afghan prisons three times in 2009 due to 
concerns of maltreatment and hindered Canadian access to 
facilities. 
 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Two conflicting versions of the detainee issue are now in 
the public domain, both as yet unsubstantiated by documentary 
evidence.  The government has thus far successfully deflected calls 
for a public inquiry, and a scheduled parliamentary recess from 
December 11 to January 25 will likely slow political momentum 
toward a broader investigation. The government's proposed release 
of documentary evidence relating to the former Liberal government's 
handling of the detainee issue is also likely to temper the 
official opposition's ability to torque this issue. 
JACOBSON