MacKay dismisses diplomats’ concerns over Afghan detainee affair

OTTAWA – Defence Minister Peter MacKay on Tuesday dismissed a letter from more than two dozen former diplomats stating that the government’s treatment of the envoy who triggered the Afghan detainees controversy wrongly cast doubts on his personal integrity and could put a chill on what public servants tell the government.

MacKay dismissed the letter by saying such current diplomats as David Mulroney, ambassador to China, Gen. Walt Natynczyk, Canada’s chief of defence staff, and former top general Rick Hillier had "rejected and refuted" Richard Colvin’s November 18 testimony before a House of Commons committee about alleged torture of detainees transferred by Canadian Forces to Afghan security forces.

"We have disputed the credibility of the evidence, not the credibility of the individual, I want to be clear about that," MacKay said in the House of Commons. "We have acted upon credible evidence. We have heard now from a number of senior bureaucrats, senior military upon whose advice we acted."

MacKay faced MPs from all three opposition parties who cited the letter and accused the government of "gagging" a public servant, censoring records and smearing an individual whose message the government does not like.

The minister responded to Bloc MP Francine Lalonde by saying Colvin was "one lone witness" who made unfounded allegations. "Why would members opposite not accept the evidence given by those credible individuals closest to the ground, closest to the mission, all giving advice to the government upon which we acted to improve the situation in Afghanistan?" he asked.

The open letter from former diplomats, including veteran ex-envoy and former deputy defence minister Robert Fowler, was distributed by Gar Pardy, former longtime head of the consular branch of the Foreign Affairs Department, and said "the issues raised by the Richard Colvin affair are profound."

It said Colvin, a former diplomat in Afghanistan who now serves at the Canadian embassy in Washington, "was unfairly subjected to personal attacks as a result of his testimony provided in response to a summons from a parliamentary committee."

"While criticism of his testimony was perfectly legitimate, aspersions cast on his personal integrity were not. A fundamental requirement of a Foreign Service Officer is that he or she report on a given situation as observed or understood. It is only in this way that any government can draw conclusions knowledgeably and make its considered decisions, even if at variance with the reports received.

"The Colvin affair risks creating a climate in which Officers may be more inclined to report what they believe headquarters wants to hear, rather than facts and perceptions deemed unpalatable."

MacKay also dismissed opposition concerns about a case that appeared to prove he was wrong to say there is no evidence of even one case of a Canadian-captured detainee being abused by Afghan security forces.

MacKay noted that Natynczyk testified at a Commons committee earlier in the day that a detainee who had been rescued by Canadian soldiers from a beating by Afghan police had never been detained by Canadians in the first place.

Natynczyk said Canadian troops had stopped to question him but had not detained him. Afghan forces, who the Canadians were helping, detained the man. Canadians intervened when they found him being beaten.