There was a muted response from Canada Tuesday over Afghanistan's execution of 15 prisoners.
A short two-line statement by the Foreign Affairs Department re-stated Canada's position that prisoners captured by NATO and handed over to Afghan authorities may not be subject to the death penalty.
But the statement did not criticize the Afghan government over its execution of more than a dozen prisoners on Sunday.
The statement only noted that Canada expects Afghanistan to respect international obligations on human rights.
Earlier in the day, Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre said he was "concerned" by the Afghan government's action after the recent end to a three-year moratorium on the death penalty.
Coderre, who is in Afghanistan as part of a two day fact-finding mission, echoed the United Nations position saying he was troubled by the state-sanctioned executions.
"It is obviously an internal matter, but I'm like the United Nations, I am concerned with that way of proceeding," Coderre told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday from Kandahar.
Afghan presidential spokesperson Humayun Hamidzada said Tuesday that the country will continue the death-row executions as a deterrent, "for those who are committing such crimes, as murder, kidnapping, adultery and rapes."
After the first, and last, government executions in 2004, Karzai pledged a moratorium on the death penalty to the international community. Human rights groups here in Canada say they are extremely disappointed by the reversal.
"To see (the moratorium) come to an end with such a vengeance is very troubling," says Alex Neve, the Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.
Neve told CTV.ca that Canada is in Afghanistan in part to protect and strengthen human rights.
"We see this as a development that goes counter to that," he says.
Afghanistan's hard-line Taliban carried out a number of public executions, many of them at the war-ravaged Kabul stadium, but the practice was quashed after the regime fell to U.S.-led coalition forces in 2001. Officials confirmed no Taliban or al-Qaeda militants were among those killed on Sunday.
The government's official announcement of the executions came on state television Monday evening. it said Karzai ordered the executions following a decision by a special commission he set up to review rulings by the Supreme Court.
"After all the discussions and after looking back over the cases ... in order to prevent future crimes, such as murders, armed robberies, kidnappings, and to maintain the stability of the country, (Karzai) approved the prisoners' death sentences," the statement read.
Transfer of detainees
The recent executions threaten to complicate the NATO combat mission for nations opposed to capital punishment. Many foreign troops surrender prisoners to the Afghan government, raising the question of whether these nations will be comfortable doing so knowing prisoners may face death.
"I'm against capital punishment so I'm very, very concerned,'' Coderre said on Tuesday. "The Taliban were doing that. It's the same thing.''
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, who recently wrapped up a 36-hour visit to Afghanistan, has yet to comment on the executions.
Afghan officials said they will continue to execute prisoners, but NATO-detained militants will be spared a death row sentence.
Human rights groups have maintained Afghanistan's troubled human rights record poses a serious threat to Afghan detainees. Amnesty International and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association are fighting to halt the transfer of prisoners from Canadian troops to Afghan authorities.
Neve told CTV.ca that Canada should work with Afghan officials to create a joint facility that would hold prisoners captured by NATO forces.
Neve said the slate of executions "is just one more reason that Canada should stop transferring prisoners (to Afghan authorities) until we see durable human rights reforms in that country enshrined in law, and that includes the abolition of the death penalty."
NATO support
The state-sanctioned executions may also hinder NATO's efforts to motivate member nations to send more troops to Afghanistan.
NATO has some 40,000 soldiers, including 2,500 Canadian soldiers, in the war-ravaged country but commanders complain they need more resources and troops to train the Afghan army if stability is to ever take hold.
"The fact that we have not fully been able to live up to the promises that nations have made is a point of concern for me," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Monday in Denmark.
Coderre urged other NATO members to take up the front-line responsibilities and stressed that the Canadian government is not abandoning the Afghan people or Canadian troops.
"I made a promise last spring saying that I would be here on behalf of my party and on behalf of my leader Stephane Dion to send them (soldiers) a clear message of solidarity and our support," Coderre said Tuesday.
"So no matter what will happen after February 2009, it's pretty clear that we have to send a message that we are supporting them no matter from which part of the parliament you are."
During his visit, Coderre reinforced his party's position that Canada's Afghan combat mission must come to an end when the current mandate expires in February 2009. The Liberals have pledged to vote against the Conservative government's plan to extend the mission.
With files from the Canadian Press
