Khun_Kong Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Link Not that this guy had any choice. This kind of shit infuriates me so much, because the basis of US as good guys is WE DON'T DO OR CONDONE THIS SHIT. Unfortunately, under Fearless Leader, we do. But, no worries, he was not only of Syrian descent, but he was Canadian. This kind of crap could never happen to real Amerikkkans, could it? I mean, citizens would be arrested after evidence was gathered, brought to trial, shown the evidence, have attorneys and be granted their day in court, right? Dream on white boy. Notable points: "Arar said his case has forced some Canadians to question their relationship to the United States, noting U.S. authorities declined to participate in Canada's federal inquiry." And the guy can't get removed from the no-fly list, because "The U.S. government has repeatedly insisted it has reasons to leave the 37-year-old on its watchlists.". Yeah, like a huge fuckin' lawsuit. Not that that would make much difference. But maybe some officials being personally brought up on charges would have some effect. Hope the guy doesn't try to pass through the US again. How about this bit ... "U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, on Wednesday chastised Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day for continuing to press Washington on the Arar matter. "It's a little presumptuous of him to say who the United States can and cannot allow into our country," Wilkins said." And now you know what we do to unwanted stop-over travelers. Did this friggin' asshole miss the point or what? This case represents everything wrong with these secret, extra-judicial proceedings. Amerikkka bashing? You bet. ********************************************* OTTAWA, Canada (AP) -- Canada's prime minister apologized to Maher Arar on Friday and announced the government would compensate him C$10.5 million (US$8.9 million) for its role in his deportation from the U.S. to Syria, where he was tortured while held in prison for nearly a year. Prime Minister Stephen Harper again called on the U.S. government to remove the Ottawa telecoms engineer from any of its no-fly or terrorist watchlists and reiterated that Ottawa would keep pressing Washington to clear Arar's name. "We think the evidence is absolutely clear and that the United States should in good faith remove Mr. Arar from the list," Harper told a news conference in Ottawa. "We don't intend to either change or drop our position." The U.S. government has repeatedly insisted it has reasons to leave the 37-year-old on its watchlists. The issue has grown into an unpleasant diplomatic row between the world's largest trading partners and closest allies. The Syrian-born Arar, who moved to Canada with his family when he was 17, is the best-known case of rendition, a practice in which the U.S. government sends foreign terror suspects to third countries for interrogation. Arar thanked the Canadian government at a news conference Friday. "The struggle to clear my name has been long and hard; my kids have suffered silently and I feel that I owe them a lot," said Arar, who also thanked Canadians for standing by him. (Watch Arar tell of family's heartache Video) "Without the support of the Canadian people, I may never have come home and I would not have been able to stay strong and push for the truth," he said. A 'terrible ordeal' Arar was detained at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport in 2002 during a stopover on his way home to Canada from a vacation with his family in Tunisia. He said he was chained and shackled by U.S. authorities for 11 days during interrogation and then flown to Syria, where he was tortured and forced to make false confessions. He was released 10 months later, with Syrian officials saying they had no reason to hold him further. "On behalf of the government of Canada, I want to extend a full apology to you and Monia as well as your family for the role played by Canadian officials in the terrible ordeal that you experienced in 2002 and 2003," Harper said. Arar and his wife, Monia Mazigh, and their young son and daughter now live in Kamloops, British Columbia. "I sincerely hope that these words and actions will assist you and your family in your efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives," Harper said, adding the compensation package would also pay for his estimated $1 million in legal fees. Arar was exonerated last September after a two-year public inquiry led by Associate Chief Justice of Ontario Dennis O'Connor. It found that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police wrongly labeled Arar as an Islamic fundamentalist and passed misleading and inaccurate information to U.S. authorities, which very likely led to Arar's arrest and deportation. The report pointed out that Arar's inability to find work since his return from Syria has had a devastating economic and psychological impact on him and his family. O'Connor urged the RCMP to usher in a raft of policy changes on information sharing, training and monitoring of security probes. In the aftermath, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned over his handling of the file. Cross-border tensions The U.S. District Court of Appeals last February dismissed Arar's lawsuit against U.S. government officials, ruling the deportation of the dual Syrian-Canadian citizen was protected on national security grounds. His attorneys with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights filed an appeal in December. "We are grateful that the Canadian government has had the humanity to try to right the terrible wrong that was done to Maher," CCR Attorney Maria LaHood said in a statement Friday. "We still hope the U.S. government will follow Canada's lead." The new Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, earlier this month publicly scolded U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for refusing to explain why the United States had sent a Canadian citizen to Syria. "The Canadian government now has taken several steps to accept responsibility for its role in sending Mr. Arar to Syria, where he was tortured," Leahy said in a statement Friday. "The question remains why, even if there were reasons to consider him suspicious, the U.S. government shipped him to Syria where he was tortured, instead of to Canada for investigation or prosecution." He said the U.S. Justice Department intended to respond to his demands next week. U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, on Wednesday chastised Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day for continuing to press Washington on the Arar matter. "It's a little presumptuous of him to say who the United States can and cannot allow into our country," Wilkins said. In a recent letter to Day, U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff and Gonzales said U.S. files on Arar indicate the decision to keep Arar on watchlists is "appropriate." "Our conclusion in this regard is supported by information developed by U.S. law enforcement agencies that is independent of that provided to us by Canada with regard to Mr. Arar," the letter said, adding that they wished to thank Canada for its cooperation in fighting terrorism. Arar said his case has forced some Canadians to question their relationship to the United States, noting U.S. authorities declined to participate in Canada's federal inquiry. "It's a question that touches all Canadians," Arar said. "Can we really trust the Americans to be our partners in the fight against terrorism?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Wow.... I remember when this happened. There were reports that he was deep shitted. Nobody knew where he was. Some people were pissed off but most could give a shit to what happened to him. By the way, weren't the Russian communist noted for doing shit like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 << It found that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police wrongly labeled Arar as an Islamic fundamentalist and passed misleading and inaccurate information to U.S. authorities, which very likely led to Arar's arrest and deportation. >> Here are the folks who started it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted January 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 << It found that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police wrongly labeled Arar as an Islamic fundamentalist and passed misleading and inaccurate information to U.S. authorities, which very likely led to Arar's arrest and deportation. >> Here are the folks who started it all. That's right, I remember the story now. It was something about how the Canadians used their extraordinarily strong influence over the US to force the US to SEND A MAN TO SYRIA TO BE TORTURED! Amerikkka: defenseless against the will of the Canadians. Mac- hope you are in no way defending the initial or subsequent actions by the US? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Let's see, Canada, labled him as a terrorist, the US responded, interrogated him, and could not prove he was guilty, and released him...now, let's suppose he just disappeared...never found, no fuss, no muss...instead, the process worked, and released him. Maybe he was tortured, maybe he wasn't...but the Canadians started it, and should pay. The USA investigated, found nothing and released him...if they had done something like torture him, do you think they'd let him live to tell of it? discuss...see, here, Canada is the bad guy, NOT the USA, we set him free! Canadad made a mistake and still the USA is the criminal...always wrong...oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted January 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 I know you're just stirring the pot on this OH, especially after your posts about US Customs. Not always wrong. But severely in error in this case. Again, the issue is the deportation to Syria. Recall, he is a Canadian citizen (I might be wrong about this). If Canada has a problem with him, deport him- to Canada. And your scenario in which he was not found guilty after interrogation- are not the findings of guilt/not guilty what trials are for? This guy was interrogated for 11 days with no charges ever being filed. The choices have always been: No charges, release. Charges, then trial. The Bush option is now: charges (by a foreign government, no less), then torture. And don't anybody even try to say "well we didn't know what the Syrians would do". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Unless, the Americans had reason to suspect he was involved in something...Perhapes the Syrians wanted him...? Remember, the Canadians had him labeled as a terrorist, and perhapes didn't want him back...who knows? I tend to think there is a bit more here than we know. Doesn't syria hate us as well? if so, how is it we have a torture place there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 << Mac- hope you are in no way defending the initial or subsequent actions by the US? >> Not at all. But it was the Canucks who fingered the guy. Otherwise, all that followed would not have happened. << "On behalf of the government of Canada, I want to extend a full apology to you and Monia as well as your family for the role played by Canadian officials in the terrible ordeal that you experienced in 2002 and 2003," Harper said. >> << Arar said his case has forced some Canadians to question their relationship to the United States, noting U.S. authorities declined to participate in Canada's federal inquiry. "It's a question that touches all Canadians," Arar said. "Can we really trust the Americans to be our partners in the fight against terrorism?" >> Uh, maybe he hasn't noticed it was the RCMP that branded him a terrorist? Maybe Canadians can't really trust the RCMP. re: deportation. Dual citizen? Does seem most peculiar. As OH says, something is missing from this story. Maybe the Canadian govmt did not want him back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 p.s. And yes, GWB is a twat. But that's not the issue here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted January 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 No, his twatness is not an issue in this case. However, His Twatness laid much of the foundation for this, Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, et al. Mistakes do happen. An isolated case here and there would not be as large an issue. But acts of this sort are no longer mistakes- they now seem to be the accepted modus operendi. I read it as Arar was questioning why the US would not even participate in an investigation, leading him to question their general trustworthiness. And, in my post above, I am not sure what leads to deportation or if any kind of trial or hearing needs to be held. Seems immi has a lot of power, although I doubt it was immi who directed this. The fact that the power to withold people indefinitely without trial has recently been extended to US citizens, I find extremely disconcerting. But, then again, I shouldn't worry if I've got nothing to hide, right? 11 days of interrogation? WTF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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