How Not to Conduct an Inquiry
Is the inquiry into possible abuse and torture of prisoners turned over by Canadian soldiers to Afghan custody about to go the way of the Somalia Inquiry?
It looks that way.
The Somalia Inquiry into the 1993 torture death of a prisoner by Canadian soldiers was shut down by the Chretien government in 1997 before it reached a conclusion – or before it discovered what led to the beating death of Shidane Arone.
The lead prosecutor in the court martial of Trooper Kyle Brown and others for the murder of Arone was Lt.Col. Peter Tinsley – who until this week was chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) investigating whether prisoners turned over to Afghan custody by Canadians troops were abused and tortured.
The MPCC has been steadily stonewalled by the government.
Tinsley, who retired after 28 years in the army, was appointed to head the MPCC in 2005 – the fourth chairman since the creation of the MPCC in 1998.
To some, Defence Minister Peter MacKay should be replaced – rather as David Collenette was bounced as Defence Minister during the Somalia Inquiry by then-Prime Minister Chretien. His replacement, Doug Young, was a hatchet man who aborted and shut down the Somalia Inquiry, fired Gen. John Boyle as Chief of Defence Staff, and put DND into full damage control.
Dirty work done, Young was replaced by Art Eggleton in June, 1997.
Much of the present Afghan fallout could have been averted if Canada had an Inspector General, as the U.S., Australia, Germany and others have – a trusted, independent, knowledgeable source to investigate and report.
Instead, we have generals ducking for cover over whether a prisoner was ever beaten by Afghans. This inconsequential incident has surged out of control, with the government’s reputation in shreds – not to mention the army’s chain of command.
An inspector general could do what the powerless MPCC is unable to do.
While some regard Col. Tinsley as a fall guy, others may remember that when he prosecuted Kyle Brown for the Somalia murder, he argued for a sentence of 15 years-to- life, mercilessly depicting Brown as something of a sociopath “to harass and assault . . . causing severe pain . . . acts of torture . . . intent to kill . . . lacking credibility,” and so on.
Sentenced to five years, the prison psychologist and others found in Brown “no sadism, no authoritarianism, no need for power over others, no potentially dangerous features, that he was realistic and responsible . . . had skills and judgment.”
Tinsley’s evaluation was cruel and wrong. Brown got full parole the day he was eligible. His record since constitutes a rebuke to prosecutor Tinsley’s judgment and assessment.
Retired Col. Michel Drapeau, now Canada’s top lawyer on military justice, feels if the Somalia Inquiry hadn’t been aborted, it likely would have come up with recommendations that might have forestalled a repeat in Afghanistan. It would also have discovered the soldier who caused the torture in Somalia but was never called to account.
Drapeau is concerned with what he calls the “militarization” of the grievance system – Ombudsman, MPCC, the Armed Forces Grievance Board – all loaded with retired military people, which defeats the intent of justice being seen to be done.
Loss of civilian oversight happened on Peter MacKay’s watch – another reason why he may be replaced.