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sabotabbyI feel that I shouldn't let today's news about Maher Arar pass without comment. At some point, I hope to read the Arar Commission's report (but it's 362 pages so it might be awhile). That is, I hope to read the bits of the report that the government is making public. According to CBC's Current this morning, there is no way to tell what has been cut out in the name of "national security"—every asterisk could represent one sentence or a hundred pages. We just don't know.
Don't get me wrong. The fact that Arar has been cleared is a good thing (but was there any doubt in the mind of any intelligent and decent Canadian?). And short of extreme asshaberdashery on the part of the PM, he'll likely be compensated (but how do you compensate someone for being jailed and tortured?). It may send a wake-up call to a few law-abiding folks who still believe that if you don't have anything to hide, if you play by the rules, if you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.
But.
I listened today to Justice O'Connor's words, thanking Arar for his patience during what must have been a "frustrating" time. Being beaten, confined to a tiny lightless cell, and being hung upside-down is certainly frustrating.
The summary of the recommendations indicates that they basically tell the RCMP and CSIS to do a better job, to be more careful before they deport people to countries where they might be tortured, especially if the evidence of wrongdoing is sketchy. They don't, as far as I can tell, recommend an absolute ban on deporting anyone to countries (including the U.S.) where torture is practiced. Nowhere do I see the indication of the following:
• Arar's ordeal is not a bug in the system, but a feature.
• That one outrageous miscarriage of justice was discovered does not guarantee that it is the only one, or that such miscarriages will inevitably be discovered. On the contrary, the very fact that this has come to light suggests that there are more of these cases than we tinfoil-hatted activists even realized.
• As long as the Canadian government insists on keeping close ties with the Americans, these problems will only deepen.
Arar was freed, his story publicized, and his name cleared because his wife, Monia Mazigh, rallied for support and didn't give up. She's an admirable woman, a true fighter. How many other victims are out there but don't have people like Mazigh to speak up for them?
This is the War on Terror. Don't forget.
EDIT: The Canadian Arab Federation has released a statement.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2006
Arar Report Exposes Pattern of Racial Profiling Against Arabs and Muslims in Canada
The Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) commends Justice Dennis O'Connor for his comprehensive report on Canada's role in Maher Arar's deportation by the American authorities to Syria. CAF is alarmed and disturbed by the findings of this report which portray the RCMP as an inexperienced police force. It further holds the RCMP accountable for carelessly passing erroneous information to American officials both before, and after, Arar's detention in the U.S. on September 26, 2002.
CAF asks the government to promptly implement Justice O'Connor's recommendations and promptly undertake the following actions:
1. Clear Maher Arar, his courageous wife Mania Mazigh, and their family of any wrongdoing;
2. Compensate Maher Arar commensurate with the immense suffering he underwent while in detention in the U.S. and also while jailed in Syria;
3. Ensure that other victims identified in the report, namely Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maat,i and Muayyed Nureddin, receive justice by conducting a public inquiry into their cases; and
4. With respect to National Security issues, protect the Arab and Muslim communities by preventing Canadian security agencies from engaging in racial profiling via the provision of proper training and the implementation of clearly defined policies and procedures regarding the sharing of information.
"The report is an eloquent list of incompetence, mistakes and deliberate wrongdoing, resulting in the abuses and inhuman treatments suffered by Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin. Those responsible should be held accountable" , says Khaled Mouammar, CAF National President.
CAF also urges the Canadian government to send a formal diplomatic objection to the governments of the United States and Syria for their treatment of Maher Arar.
For more information, please contact:
Mohamed Boudjenane
Executive Director
Email: ed @ caf.ca
Tel.: 416-889-6764
Don't get me wrong. The fact that Arar has been cleared is a good thing (but was there any doubt in the mind of any intelligent and decent Canadian?). And short of extreme asshaberdashery on the part of the PM, he'll likely be compensated (but how do you compensate someone for being jailed and tortured?). It may send a wake-up call to a few law-abiding folks who still believe that if you don't have anything to hide, if you play by the rules, if you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.
But.
I listened today to Justice O'Connor's words, thanking Arar for his patience during what must have been a "frustrating" time. Being beaten, confined to a tiny lightless cell, and being hung upside-down is certainly frustrating.
The summary of the recommendations indicates that they basically tell the RCMP and CSIS to do a better job, to be more careful before they deport people to countries where they might be tortured, especially if the evidence of wrongdoing is sketchy. They don't, as far as I can tell, recommend an absolute ban on deporting anyone to countries (including the U.S.) where torture is practiced. Nowhere do I see the indication of the following:
• Arar's ordeal is not a bug in the system, but a feature.
• That one outrageous miscarriage of justice was discovered does not guarantee that it is the only one, or that such miscarriages will inevitably be discovered. On the contrary, the very fact that this has come to light suggests that there are more of these cases than we tinfoil-hatted activists even realized.
• As long as the Canadian government insists on keeping close ties with the Americans, these problems will only deepen.
Arar was freed, his story publicized, and his name cleared because his wife, Monia Mazigh, rallied for support and didn't give up. She's an admirable woman, a true fighter. How many other victims are out there but don't have people like Mazigh to speak up for them?
This is the War on Terror. Don't forget.
EDIT: The Canadian Arab Federation has released a statement.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2006
Arar Report Exposes Pattern of Racial Profiling Against Arabs and Muslims in Canada
The Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) commends Justice Dennis O'Connor for his comprehensive report on Canada's role in Maher Arar's deportation by the American authorities to Syria. CAF is alarmed and disturbed by the findings of this report which portray the RCMP as an inexperienced police force. It further holds the RCMP accountable for carelessly passing erroneous information to American officials both before, and after, Arar's detention in the U.S. on September 26, 2002.
CAF asks the government to promptly implement Justice O'Connor's recommendations and promptly undertake the following actions:
1. Clear Maher Arar, his courageous wife Mania Mazigh, and their family of any wrongdoing;
2. Compensate Maher Arar commensurate with the immense suffering he underwent while in detention in the U.S. and also while jailed in Syria;
3. Ensure that other victims identified in the report, namely Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maat,i and Muayyed Nureddin, receive justice by conducting a public inquiry into their cases; and
4. With respect to National Security issues, protect the Arab and Muslim communities by preventing Canadian security agencies from engaging in racial profiling via the provision of proper training and the implementation of clearly defined policies and procedures regarding the sharing of information.
"The report is an eloquent list of incompetence, mistakes and deliberate wrongdoing, resulting in the abuses and inhuman treatments suffered by Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin. Those responsible should be held accountable" , says Khaled Mouammar, CAF National President.
CAF also urges the Canadian government to send a formal diplomatic objection to the governments of the United States and Syria for their treatment of Maher Arar.
For more information, please contact:
Mohamed Boudjenane
Executive Director
Email: ed @ caf.ca
Tel.: 416-889-6764
