Irrespective of his skin colour, religious background or political view, Omar Khadr will always have a very special place in my heart - simply by virtue of being a child soldiers who became vulnerable to the "schemes" of adult. He is the only person I have blogged about twice. My most heart wrenching sounds of Khadr is when sobs as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service notoriously use duress to siphon information out of this young 15 year old in support of alleged war crime acts perpetuated by the US. This video was only released on 23rd May 2008 after the Supreme Court of Canada orders disclosure records pertaining to interviews with Khadr.
Wait a minute! The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom states:
s7: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
s15: Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Does it surprise you that a country, such as Canada (mostly the Executive Branch), claims to be so civilly advanced and democratically controlled yet has the audacity to disregard the Highest Court of Canada decision in violating Khadr's rights for almost a decade. Well, the moralistic part of me wants to say BULLSHIT! JUST CUT THE CRAP!!! FOR MANY THERE IS NO EQUALITY, JUSTICE...BLA BLA BLA - IF YOU ARE SEEN AS A "MUSLIM TERRORIST" WITH FAMILIAL LINKS IN EGYPT, PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN! Yeah right whatever...as if our Catholic Priests haven't done likewise. Unlike the Catholic Priests, Khadr was caught up on a battle front where there was combat exchange. In humanitarian law (the Geneva Conventions), it is called war. So, to capture an unarmed, wounded soldier, no matter his age and charge him with murder - seems to me a travesty of international humanitarian law. Hence, the rules will always be different for some - especially when one American soldier is killed against all others in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Libya.
NOTE: For those ignorant yappers who will not lift a lid to ingest critical knowledge, according to the Optional Protocol to the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child (see the preamble and Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4), Omar Khadr was under 18 years, and thus by virtue of this Convention - which Canada ratified on 17 July 2000 (but of course the hypocrite United States of America is NOT) - he was a child soldier.
NOTE: For those ignorant yappers who will not lift a lid to ingest critical knowledge, according to the Optional Protocol to the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child (see the preamble and Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4), Omar Khadr was under 18 years, and thus by virtue of this Convention - which Canada ratified on 17 July 2000 (but of course the hypocrite United States of America is NOT) - he was a child soldier.
Nevertheless, the hopeful part of my being says, what about Khadr's lawyers, professors, friends, and real people who care about true justice? They are the reason, I have hope for Khadr today. Sadly, we do have to contend with perverts of justice, Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney, and Vic Toews. Regardless, there is a small jubilation here. After a decade in Guantanamo Bay, on 26 September 2012 - youthful Khadr - all grown and sophisticated - return to this place he calls home. I can only hope that his inner strength and will power to survive and be resilient takes the better part of him. Having gone through war myself, I know what it means to hurt and be traumatized especially when you're so young, innocent but yet vulnerable to all kinds of abuses due to absolutely no fault of your own.
WELCOME HOME KHADR and I look forward to your million dollar lawsuit in the near future against the Canadian Government. Too bad the perverts of justice will not be around then.
