Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: I migliori amici

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=945830
Canadian FM puts Israel, U.S. on torture watch list
By Reuters
Canada's foreign ministry has put the United States and Israel on a
watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured and also
classifies some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture, according to
a document obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
The revelation is likely to embarrass the minority Conservative
government, which is a staunch ally of both the United States and
Israel. Both nations denied they allowed torture in their jails.
The document - part of a training course on torture awareness given to
diplomats - mistakenly provided the document to Amnesty International
Canada as part of a court case the rights organization has launched
against Ottawa over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
Amnesty Secretary-General Alex Neve told Reuters his group had very
clear evidence of abuse in U.S. and Israeli jails.
"It's therefore reassuring and refreshing to see that ... both of
those countries have been listed and that foreign policy
considerations didn't trump the human rights concern and keep them off
the list," he said.
Other countries on the watch list include Syria, China, Iran,
Afghanistan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
"If Israel is included in the list in question, the ambassador of
Israel would expect its removal," said Israeli embassy spokesman
Michael Mendel.
Under "definition of torture" the document lists U.S. interrogation
techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and
blindfolding prisoners.
"The United States does not permit, tolerate, or condone torture under
any circumstances," said a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier tried to distance
Ottawa from the document.
"The training manual is not a policy document and does not reflect the
views or policies of this government," he said.
The document mentions the U.S. jail at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where a
Canadian man is being held.
The man, Omar Khadr, is the only Canadian in Guantanamo. His defenders
said the document made a mockery of Ottawa's claims that Khadr was not
being mistreated.
Khadr has been in Guantanamo Bay for five years. He is accused of
killing a U.S. soldier during a clash in Afghanistan in 2002, when he
was 15.
Rights groups say Khadr should be repatriated to Canada, an idea that
Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejects on the grounds that the man
faces serious charges.
"At some point in the course of Omar Khadr's detention the Canadian
government developed the suspicion he was being tortured," said
William Kuebler, Khadr's U.S. lawyer.
"Yet it has not acted to obtain his release from Guantanamo Bay and
protect his rights, unlike every other Western country that has had
its nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay," he told CTV television.
The awareness course started after Ottawa was criticized for the way
it handled the case of Canadian Maher Arar, who was deported from the
United States to Syria in 2002.
Arar says he was tortured repeatedly during the year he spent in
Damascus prisons. An inquiry into the case revealed that Canadian
diplomats had not received any formal training into detecting whether
detainees had been abused.

 a document obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
Scusate, ovviamente era uno spiacevole sbaglio, e il Canada ha gia'
messo tutto a posto.
Il che prova che USA e Israele non torturano.  Mai!    Lo ha capito
anche il tizio che ha compilato la lista, dopo
un po' di trattamento speciale!
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1762987120080119?rpc=64
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure
from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove the United States
and Israel from a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being
tortured.
Both nations expressed unhappiness after it emerged they had been
listed in a document that formed part of a training course manual on
torture awareness given to Canadian diplomats.
Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said he regretted the embarrassment
caused by the public disclosure of the manual, which also classified
some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture.
"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies.
I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten," Bernier
said in a statement.
"The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As
such, it does not convey the government's views or positions."
The document -- made available to Reuters and other media outlets --
embarrassed the minority Conservative government, which is a staunch
ally of both the United States and Israel.
U.S. ambassador David Wilkins said the listing was absurd, while the
Israeli envoy said he wanted his country removed.
Asked why the two countries had been put on the list, a spokesman for
Bernier said: "The training manual purposely raised public issues to
stimulate discussion and debate in the classroom."
The government mistakenly gave the document to Amnesty International
as part of a court case the rights organization has launched against
Ottawa over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
AMPLE EVIDENCE OF ABUSE
Amnesty International Canada, which says it has ample evidence that
prisoners are abused both in U.S. and Israeli jails, said it was
disappointed by Bernier's announcement.
"When it comes to an issue like torture, the government's main concern
should not be embarrassing allies," Alex Neve, the group's secretary-
general, told Reuters. The U.S. embassy did not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
Under "definition of torture," the document lists U.S. interrogation
techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and
blindfolding prisoners.
It also mentions the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in
Cuba, where a Canadian man is being held.
The man, Omar Khadr, has been in Guantanamo Bay for five years. He is
accused of killing a U.S. soldier during a clash in Afghanistan in
2002, when he was 15.
Other countries on the watch list include Syria, China, Iran,
Afghanistan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
The foreign ministry launched the torture awareness course after
Ottawa was criticized for the way it handled the case of Canadian
engineer Maher Arar, who was deported from the United States to Syria
in 2002.
Arar says he was tortured repeatedly during the year he spent in
Damascus prisons. An official inquiry into the affair showed Canadian
diplomats had not been trained to detect whether detainees might have
been abused.
(Editing by Philip Barbara)


 un po' di trattamento speciale!
Il Ministro degli Esteri canadese non ha compilato nessuna "lista",
povero *FESSO* di un Torrieri.
Al contrario afferma che non rappresenta in alcun modo la posizione del
governo.
-Stefano