MP Gallant Combats Opposition Allegations About Canadian Soldiers Serving in Afghanistan

November 19, 2009

PETAWAWA, ONTARIO… MP Cheryl Gallant, (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke) responded to unsubstantiated allegations of mistreatment of Afghan prisoners by Afghan authorities in receiving confirmation, under oath, before a Parliamentary Committee, from witness Richard Colvin, who is the only individual making these claims, that Canadian soldiers are not implicated in the prisoner’s complaints.

“It was important, in the midst of the Opposition attacks directed by the Liberal party, to have the witness confirm to all Canadians, that his unsubstantiated allegations of mistreatment of Afghan prisoners have nothing to do with the fine work our women and men in uniform are doing on behalf of all Canadians in Afghanistan,” stated Cheryl Gallant, MP.

Hansard, November 18, 2009.
Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, Conservative): So these allegations that are being discussed here today would not even hold up in a court of law. So the fanning of the flames of outrage over allegations, however unproven, are really having the desire effect on the Canadian people of wanting our troops to return even quicker.     Canadian forces did not harm our prisoners. In fact, when the defence committee visited KAF, we saw Taliban prisoners who had been wounded and who were being treated with the same care that our very own soldiers, whom they shot, were being treated. So we have to make this very clear, that our soldiers have had nothing to do with these allegations of torture.

Mr. Richard Colvin: If I could just on your previous points confirm that I never heard a hint of a Canadian who's been involved in any of these things. My sense of the Canadian Forces is that they're extremely professional, very well trained, and maybe one of the best militaries in the world. So I would share your high view of them. “What I am also concerned about, and I put this on the official record, is how individuals in this country can be used by the Terrorists as propaganda tools.  Hopefully, my exposing these tactics in a public forum will render them less effective,” said Cheryl Gallant, MP.

Hansard, November 18, 2009.
Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, Conservative):
Through you, to the witness, insurgents are practised in the dissemination of false information and propaganda exercises. The Al Qaeda handbook devotes an entire chapter on getting information by pretending to be someone you're not. So while the story of Fatima was quite touching, it is really quite typical for Taliban to send a seemingly innocuous individual in to gather information on where their fighters are being held. In fact, this entire exercise of attempting to draw a link between the Canadian Forces and prisoner treatment without a shred of evidence is playing right into the hands of the insurgents, which is the departure of security forces so that the Taliban can retake Afghanistan to return it to training terrorists and forcing the people to grow opium to fund that illicit activity. So these allegations that are being discussed here today would not even hold up in a court of law.