Sent to Amnesty International and Hon. Ralph Goodale.
Re: Omar Khadr
Some people are expressing outrage because the government is offering a financial compensation and an apology to Mr. Khadr.
He was a child soldier. He was involved in a skirmish not of his making, in which he was quite badly wounded. Put yourself in the place of a 15-year-old, bleeding and in pain, in a state of panic. He threw a grenade; I doubt he took careful aim.
Are we to charge everyone who kills in battle with first degree murder? It would set an interesting precedent.
He spent many years in prison, the years when most young men complete their education, begin their career, get married, start a family. He has lost all those years. We can’t give them back to him. In our society, where everything has a dollar value, financial compensation is the best we can offer.
He pleaded guilty on the advice of his lawyer, because the United States would not repatriate him to Canada unless he did so. He was found guilty by court martial. Until he made this plea, he was held without charges.
Yes, Canada should have made more aggressive efforts on his behalf, but his treatment by the United States was unconscionable. He was denied a speedy trial. Guantanamo Bay is outside of the U.S. — on the territory of a sovereign nation which the U.S. still refuses to recognize. The thinking is that the Constitution does not apply because the prison is not in U.S. territory.
Mr. Khadr says he wants to become a nurse, because he wants to help people. I think that his having emerged from his ordeal with so little anger and bitterness is remarkable. If money is all we can give him in compensation, then so be it.
Maggie Carew
New Hazelton