harper blocks public hearings into war crimes - again

For the third time, the Harper Government is trying to block public hearings on whether it knew that Canadian Forces were transferring prisoners to Afghan authorities, despite knowing they could be tortured.

The hearings, which would be conducted by an independent federal policing watchdog, the Military Police Complaints Commission, were due to begin Dec. 4.

The Justice Department filed an Oct. 30 application seeking a Federal Court order "prohibiting the chairperson [of the MPCC] and the commission from investigating" the allegations, the Globe and Mail reported Friday.

Government lawyers have argued that the commission should only be allowed to investigate specific cases of torture, not all prisoners that were under a torture risk, according to the Globe and Mail.

The government has issued two previous calls to the Federal Court to stop the public hearings — the first occurred in April, the second in September.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had previously pledged the government's co-operation in the probe, said in April he believed the commission was acting outside its jurisdiction.

Government lawyers argued in April the handling of detainees is a military operation — not a policing issue.

Both review applications are still in the procedural stages and are yet to be heard in court.

It is now unclear when — or if — the MPCC hearings will be held.

Report suggests government knew of possible abuse

In February 2007, the MPCC received a complaint from Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Union over the treatment of transferred detainees, saying Ottawa was violating the Geneva Conventions.

Under the conventions, it is a war crime to turn over prisoners to a party who might abuse them.

In April 2007, the Globe published a report it had received under the Access to Information Act that suggested the government knew prisoners in Afghanistan jails could be subject to poor conditions.

Although parts were blacked out, the newspaper said it was able to confirm that these blacked-out sections showed that the Canadian Embassy in Kabul had alerted the government last year that prisoners could be tortured once transferred to Afghan detention centres.

What is Stephen Harper afraid of? Why can't the public hear the evidence?

Harper won his first minority government by repeating the words "transparency" and "accountability" over and over. Apparently that only applies to Liberal governments. For Conservatives, secrecy and lies are standard operating procedure.

It is sickening to think that Canadian Forces are complicit in war crimes. But it's the reality we must face, as long as Canada stays in Afghanistan.

Canada out of Afghanistan now.