What Others Are Saying |
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"If you're going to wrap this under the banner of military justice, then it needs to be a fair trial, what's taking place now, I would call neither military nor justice."
"I don't know how else the creeping rot of the commissions and the politics that fostered and continued to surround them could be exposed to the curative powers of the sunlight . . . . our enemies deserve nothing less than what we would expect from them were the situations reversed. More than anything, I hope we can rediscover some of our American values."
"I think one of the problems with this case is the reason people don't have compassion for Omar Khadr, but have compassion for people like me. (It) has to do with how removed it is from people's lives. It's easy for people here to say, `Oh we forgive child soldiers,' because it's not affecting them directly. But you can't say that one person's life is more valuable. So, if a 15-year-old kid in Sierra Leone, in Congo, in Uganda, in Liberia, if they kill somebody and shoot somebody in the war it's fine, but as soon as that kid kills an American soldier or ... they are no longer a child soldier, they are a terrorist."
"It's difficult to imagine how anything resembling justice can come out of Guantanamo Bay.. . . Within the international community, Canada is viewed as gullible for allowing one its citizens to be processed by an illegal tribunal system at Guantanamo, and as hypocritical for quietly acceding to the first ever child-soldier war-crimes prosecution. . . .This government must act now, as all of our allies have done already, to bring its citizen home. Otherwise, we are abetting an affront to human rights and international law."
"I hope that we could comply with whatever is agreed to by the Canadian government. And then, I think, is the time to move forward with addressing that issue."
"This is not the time to be silent, but for voices to be heard. One cannot be complicit with violations of the rule of law. Omar Khadr, a child victim, should now be afforded the justice denied him all these years, however unpopular and unpalatable his case may appear to be."
"The US would never tolerate this kind of treatment for an American, yet the Canadian government continues to agree with the US view that it's good enough for a Canadian."
"We consider that any child associated with an armed conflict is a victim and should be treated as such. As a minor at the time of the events, Mr. Khadr must therefore be given a special treatment, a point on which there is a universal consensus"
"Consistent with its commitment to the rule of law, international juvenile justice standards, and the rehabilitation of former child soldiers, Canada should formally request that unless the US government will prosecute Khadr in accordance with international juvenile justice and fair trial standards, the United States should promptly release Khadr and repatriate him to Canada for rehabilitation. Canada has been a global leader in addressing children and armed conflict, and the need for rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers. It cannot credibly maintain its leadership position and continue to turn a blind eye to the continued violations by the United States of the rights of a Canadian citizen, particularly given his special status as a former child soldier. It is time for Canada to intercede."
"Despite the controversy surrounding Mr. Khadr and his family, who are well-known for terrorist connections and anti-western rhetoric, there is no justification for the Canadian government's failure to demand forcefully and publicly, as other U.S. allies have, that his human rights be fully protected, including the right to a fair trial. Our government's failure to make this public request, and its failure to demand that Guantanamo Bay be shut down immediately, sends a very worrying message to the rest of world about where Canada stands on human rights and international law."
"Mr. Martin wishes he had pushed to move Omar Khadr to Canada to face justice. While most countries have repatriated accused terrorists from Guantanamo Bay to face justice at home, Mr. Khadr, who was 15 at the time of his alleged crime, awaits trial by a U.S. military tribunal. "If you don't protect your civil liberties you give the terrorists victory," Mr. Martin said."
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