Hypocricy, thy name is Conservative
First, it was the flag flap. The Conservatives refused to carry on with the Liberal-instituted practice of lowering the flags on federal buildings, including the Peace Tower, for our fallen in Afghanistan. According to the Conservatives:
"Proper military protocol has been restored and that, for most of the military, that is something they support" - Peter Van Loan, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs.
Now while I strongly disagree with that descision, at least the return to tradition has some merit. It is a good arguement, even if it is not supported but some of the families - Lincoln, father of Cpl. Matthew Dinning, wrote a letter to Stephen Harper asking for the practice to be reinstated, in a bitter irony, only 2 weeks ago.
But that was then, this is now.
According to my tree-ware version of The Ottawa Citizen this morning (for some reason, the story is not online yet - the version that is there is different than the one in print), Harper and O'Connor have banned the media from being at Trenton to cover the soldiers return home. From O'Connor:
"The repatriation of our fallen soldiers back to Canada is a private and solemn event between the families and the Canadian Forces."
No, according to the hard-copy Citizen, this is "unprecedented" - never before in Canada has the media been barred from such an event. The story indicates that General Hillier was not informed and actually expected the media coverage. DND has reported that they have not requested any change in media for privacy reasons. Further, DND refused to run the announcement on their website. DND spokespersons indicate that this came soley from O'Connor and the government and not from them.
In short, the Conservative government today, is changing a long-held tradition without the support of the military for political reasons.
Though this is only speculation, they appear afraid to show caskets and casualties for fear that support for the mission will erode. In otherwords he is doing exactly the thing that Bush did - trying to hide the truth and sweep reality under the carpet. Look how well it turned out for Bush.
Yesterday, they had to adhere to tradition at all costs. Today, its to hell with tradition, we can't trust the Canadian public with the truth.
Hypocrites. The whole damn lot of them.
Next time the government goes on about openness and transparency in government, remember this day. Remember how they choose to stiffle freedom of the press and to deny Canadians not only the truth, but the chance to grieve alongside the families, even at a distance.
Update:
An anonymous poster has called me partisan and sadomasocistic for wanting the press there, ignoring my reasons of wanting to share in the grief of the family and show my respects to the fallen by observing them coming home for tha last time. Andrew at BBG has pointed out to me that I am not alone in this sentiment:
"Lieut. William Turner was my cousin. I didn't really care too much about the flag not being lowered at Parliament Hill. Lots of other places have flags lowered. What really concerns me though is that I heard today that the media is not going to be allowed to film the coffins coming home and that this is a new permanent rule. As a member of one of the families I can tell you that I and some of my other family members have been glued to the TV and the internet, downloading pictures and stories of Bill. We have to wait along time until we can have his funeral and the media coverage has brought a lot of comfort to us. They have all been very respectful when told "No comment" and they have respected our privacy while still giving us a window into his time in Afghanistan. I will not be at the tarmac in Trenton just as I was not on the tarmac in Khandahar. I would dearly love to see him arrive home just as I was able to see him loaded onto the plane this morning. However, I will not be able to and the reason, I believe is political and not out of respect for the families. Honouring their sacrifice is what is respectful to the families.
Posted by: Kim | Email | 4/24/2006 9:57PM"
I wholeheartedly agree Kim. Please accept my condolences and pass them on to your family, as a grateful Canadian and supporter of the mission.
Out of respect for the families, the government still has until 18:30 this evening to change its mind and make this right.
posted by Mike @ 8:46 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Are you some kind of sadomasochist? Do you get your jollies from seeing caskets being taken off a plane? How would you feel if you saw a relative's casket on the news? And your leader, Jack Layton, yesterday accused Harper of taking the American approach to dealing with the lowering of the flag. How disgusting are you, the NDP and your leader by trying to take the lost lives of our Canadian soldiers and using it to score political points? You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.
Go away American from North Carolina, Charlotte (Duke Power Corp).
I am the brother of a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. I support our mission in Afghanistan. No one is trying to make this political except Stephen Harper and Gordon O'Connor. Most Canadians wan to pay their respects to these soldiers by observing the solemn service, as they always have in these situations.
It is Harper that has choosen to emulate the Bush descision to cover up the truth. If he want's to act like Bush, he should expect the same backlash and the same appoval ratings (32%, and all-time low).
The entire descision was made without consulting the families or the military. The Conservatives are afraid. It is they who a remaking this political. Jack Layton is right and every newspaper in the country is also drawing this parallel.
First of all, the only reason every newspaper in the country is objecting to this is because they are ticked at Harper for not allowing them full run of every single meeting and decision in parliament. This is their way of putting pressure on him to ease up on access.
Secondly, I am not an American. I am a Canadian whose brother fought in the war too. Would you appreciate it if your brother, heaven forbid, was killed and paraded around in a coffin for all to see just because the media wanted to make it an "event"? On one hand you say this is not political, and then you slag Harper and O'Connor and myself for being "American". That's showing a lot of respect for your brother and all the other men and women trying to make a differnece for the people of Afghanastan.
These newspapers are reporting the parallel because it is an exact parallel. Event to pro-Conservative rags like The Ottawa Citizen are doing it.
"Would you appreciate it if your brother, heaven forbid, was killed and paraded around in a coffin for all to see just because the media wanted to make it an "event"?"
Uhm, yes. Because the media has made it nothing - it is an event. And given that the media has covered this, and covered it solemnly and respectfully, every time it has happened. I would appreciate the support and respect all Canadians across the country would pay to my brother, as they did for each and every other casualty brough home from Afghanistan.
"On one hand you say this is not political, and then you slag Harper and O'Connor and myself for being "American". That's showing a lot of respect for your brother and all the other men and women trying to make a differnece for the people of Afghanastan."
This did not come from the families nor from the military, it came directly from O'Connor and Harper. Since it didn't come from from the families and the military, the descision cannot be made for the reasons the gave. It was made for political reasons - Harper and O'connor made this political. I never sadi this wasn't political, I said it was Harper and O'Connor, not the opposition, making it so.
I think the kind of coverage we have always had for these kinds of things shows a lot of respect for everyone trying to make a difference in Afghanistan. Covering it up, hiding it does not.
I support the mission and I can tell you that doing this kind of thing - hiding the truth and muzzling the press - will erode support, not increase or maintain it. If we can't have freedom of the press in Trenton, what the hell are our guys dying in Khandahar for?
PS. I thought you were American because my logs indicate you came here from a US IP address rather than Canada. My apologies. Harper and O'Connor get no such apology - they are trying to follow a failed policy of Bush and that is just stupid.
Agreed just wondering who best to send a letter of objection to any suggestions. I makes me sick to think we are following in the steps of the US.
I would recommend calling your local MP (especially if they are a CPC MP).
I would call Gordon O'Connor himself and let him know:
(613) 992-1119 (Parliament Hill)
(613) 592-3469 (Constituency Office)
or drop him a line:
oconng@parl.gc.ca
or
mp@gordonoconnor.ca
Call in to your local call in radio show and let them know too.
anonymous,
What you might call "scoring political points" might in another light be referred to as "keeping reality in view". What we are doing in Afghanistan, right or wrong, is going to produce dead Canadians. If Canadians forget this, we are more than likely to keep on sending more over there and we'll produce more dead Canadians, whether the missions makes sense or not.
If we keep the cost of the mission in mind as well as its goals and progress, we are able to make sensible decisions as an electorate.
If you don't think we should be able to make these decisions, hell, hide the bodies. Hide the budget. Hide any reference to the military and Afghanistan from the media. Hide it all, 'cuz we're idiots that don't have the right to decide where our brothers, sisters, and tax dollars go, right?
In November 2000, it was Bill Clinton (not Bush) that banned the media from repatriation of soldiers.
But any excuse to compare Harper to Bush, even if you have to make it up.
wislon61,
Provide evidence of that silly assertion. In November 2000, the US was not at war, Thus there would be no repatriation of soldiers. Bush started his ban with the commencement of the War in Iraq, in 2003.
wilson61,
You appear to (surprise!) have this totally backwards. From here I quote:
South of the border, U.S. President George W. Bush invoked the ban on media coverage of returning coffins in 2003 on the eve of the invasion of Iraq.
Since then, a few photos have emerged in the U.S. media through access-to-information requests, but the dead soldiers remain unidentified.
According to media reports, the U.S. ban was inspired by current Vice-President Dick Cheney in 1991 when he was defence secretary to former president George H.W. Bush. A ban was invoked at that time after U.S. television networks showed split-screen images of the president and returning coffins.
The ban was eased under Bill Clinton's administration and for the first two years of George W. Bush's administration.
I'd say "don't believe everything you read", but you'd have to read something first.
Yeah, Peter, fuck the families and what they want, eh? Harpo and Gordo know what's good for them so there's no need to ask or anything. Hell, they don't even need to ask the military, just command it. (Nice to se you actually read the post and lines...or not)
Nothing like open, accessible, transparent government.
BTW. Not once, NOT ONCE, have the media acted like 'jackals' in the past during these things. They have been respectful of the CF and the famiies and shown the ceremony in very stoic and respectful terms. Never has their been a complaint by a family. Never. Infact, as I have shown above and have been shown elsewhere, many families actually liked and appreciated the coverage and indeed wanted it.
Of course, Harpo and Gordo's attempt to keep the cost of Afghanistan from the Canadian people has totally backfired:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060506/conservative_poll_060506/20060506?hub=TopStories
Brilliant guys, just brilliant. As a supporter of the mission, I am angry because this hamfisted attempt at censorship and secrecy has put the mission in danger - the public is no longer supporting it and support is futher eroding.
(and as an added bonus, the CPC is down from 40% to 35%)
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