The accusations and specualtions begin.....
Two-month lag in Afghanistan murder charge raises questions
By Sue Bailey, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Tough questions are being asked about how a military force that learned the dark lessons of Somalia could have taken more than two months to reveal details of a suspected murder in Afghanistan.
News that Capt. Robert Semrau has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a presumed enemy fighter made shocking headlines Friday.
"The biggest concern is the delay," says lawyer Paul Champ, a human rights specialist.
"The allegations are that a Canadian officer - a mentor, at that - shot an unarmed man over two months ago. And we don't have any information about why it took so long for that allegation to come forward or be investigated.
"That has to be the gravest concern which most closely parallels Somalia."
Champ cited similar reporting delays in the 1993 beating death of Somali teenager Shidane Arone by members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
"There was also a delay in the investigation by military police in what was clearly a brutal murder."
Retired military officers bristled at such comparisons and stressed that Semrau is innocent until proven guilty.
He is accused of shooting, "with intent to kill," an unarmed man in Helmand province "on or about" last October 19. Afghan soldiers, their Canadian mentors and British troops had defended the capital of Lashkar Gah from insurgent attack, retaking the Nad Ali district after a three-day fight ending Oct. 18.
Afghan and NATO officials said at the time that at least 100 Taliban died in the fighting.
Semrau is a member of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team, the Canadian military unit that guides the fledgling Afghan National Army.
Champ, who has led Amnesty International's legal bid to extend human-rights protections to detainees handed to Afghan security forces by Canadian troops, says the murder charge raises disturbing questions.
"Was this individual being held in custody when he was killed?
"Very little is disclosed by the military. And when we see an incident like this, it highlights why transparency is so important."
Steven Staples of the independent Rideau Institute, which focuses on defence and foreign policy, echoed that concern.
"We've been repeatedly assured that processes have been put in place that would ensure we would not have a repeat of Somalia," he said in an interview.
"I think Canadians harbour a fear that as we get more drawn into Afghanistan that we could have a repeat of that terrible situation."
Staples questioned the timeline described Wednesday in which Col. Jamie Cade, acting commander of Task Force Afghanistan, said he learned of the death on Dec. 27 - just after Defence Minister Peter MacKay left Kandahar following a Christmas visit.
"The question will be asked whether it was merely a coincidence that the timing of the investigation spared the minister from having to respond to reporters' questions about the incident."
It took several weeks for the Canadian public to learn what happened in Somalia, where Canadian soldiers were deployed on peacekeeping duties.
The affair damaged the credibility of the Canadian Forces and prompted the federal government to order a public inquiry. Despite the fact it was cut short by the government, the inquiry found problems in the military's leadership.
Retired Col. Chris Corrigan of the Royal Canadian Military Institute says the military has changed since Somalia.
"Continuing the belief that there's a coverup just astounds me - that people are still propagating this sort of stuff. The system totally changed as a result of Somalia and the commission" of inquiry.
Those changes included the creation of the national investigation service, a more defined separation between military prosecution and the chain of command, and what was supposed to be a more transparent public reporting system.
Critics note that the military has clamped down on public requests involving Afghanistan through the Access to Information Act.
Corrigan says justice must be allowed to run its course as the facts of the case come to light.
"That Canadian soldier has a right as well to being protected by our legal system."
Corrigan says he can see why it took two and a half months for the allegations to surface.
"There have been a lot of inquiries, a lot of investigations going on during this timeframe that involved our own people dying. So I can fully understand why this may not have risen to the top of the command chain in Afghanistan. They were dealing with other life and death issues."
Copyright © 2009 Canadian Press
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