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THE LAST WESTERNER held at Guantanamo Bay, arrested as a teen warrior for Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, returned to his native Canada yesterday, after years of delay from Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.
Omar Khadr spent a decade at the prison at the US naval base in Cuba starting when he was just 16, making him the youngest detainee held there.
The controversy over his young age made him of Guantanamo’s highest-profile detainees. First sent to the detention center for having killed a US soldier during a 2002 fight in Afghanistan, Khadr is set to serve in Canada the remainder of an eight-year prison sentence for the crime.
But under Canadian law, Khadr could be paroled in as early a one year. Canadian officials, however, said any decision about Khadr’s future will be determined by the independent Parole Board of Canada.
Khadr’s lawyers said his release came after they took Public Safety Canada to court to force it to have their client repatriated.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews “completely mishandled” Khadr’s case, attorney Brydie Bethell told AFP.
“We think the minister knew that he was going to be embarrassed in court and that we’d win,” she said. “No doubt he probably received some good legal advice and that’s the result.”
Khadr, who left Guantanamo aboard a US military plane, was sent to the Millhaven maximum security prison Bath, Ontario. A total of 166 detainees still remain at Guantanamo.
Background
The Toronto native was only 15 when he was shot and captured by US troops in 2002 during a four-hour US ground and air attack in Afghanistan.
Now a tall man with a heavy beard and a scarred face, Khadr has been eligible for a transfer to Canada since October 2011 after pleading guilty in 2010 to five war crimes, including for throwing the grenade that claimed the life of Sergeant First Class Christopher Speer.
He filed a formal transfer request with US authorities in November.
Both Ottawa and Washington had approved his plea deal, but a final nod was delayed as Ottawa and Washington bickered over details.
“Omar Khadr is a known supporter of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network and a convicted terrorist,” Toews, the public safety minister, told reporters.
Khadr has pleaded guilty to murder, providing material support for terrorism, attempted murder in violation of the law of war, conspiracy and spying.
Toews said Canada’s prison system could administer Khadr’s sentence “in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed and ensure the safety of Canadians is protected during incarceration.”
Met Osama bin Laden
Born in Toronto in 1986 to a family of militants, Khadr went with his family to Pakistan as a child to help with reconstruction along the Pakistan-Afghan border following the withdrawal of Russian troops, according to an online family biography.
After 1996, the family lived in a compound in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where a young Khadr allegedly met the late Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Khadr’s case “underscores why Guantanamo should close – not tomorrow, but today,” said Amnesty International USA’s Suzanne Nossel, urging Obama to “live up to his promise to close the book on the Guantanamo chapter and ensure that all detainees are either charged and fairly tried, or released.”
President Barack Obama has pledged to close the prison but the process has been delayed amid challenges identifying a willing host country, concerns about sending them home and fierce opposition from lawmakers and other senior politicians to trying the “war on terror” detainees on US soil.
Khadr’s Canadian family welcomed his arrival and said they would visit him in prison.
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If only people could organise like the water protesters and go enjoy our museums and donate €1 each. A positive thing rather than a negative would make everybody feel better
A sensible comment at last
+1
That is a good point indeed.
Can we please not drag water meter protests into everything else.
I’ll be in Dublin early on Wednesday, might pop in for a visit before lunch…
@ Mathew
The point is the protestors could give themselves some positive PR and do some good. It might also help them to remember they actually like the country regardless of an unpopular charge.
It is the kind of thing that helps our happiness index and would make a big point.
JOHN MCNULTY was an awful loss to the Museum …..
That was imma not the national museum
@Kal
You can always start a campaign yourself to encourage people to visit museums and give a donation. Getting a sly dig in at water protesters, who have cut water charges in half for 4 years and shone the spotlight on the incompetent Irish Water, is hardly a positive contribution.
There is nothing stopping them all doing that – there is a donation box at every NMI site, I’m sure those euros would be gratefully received.
If they weren’t closed bank holidays and only open 2-5 on sundays they might get more visitors…
And if they could put on touring shows from overseas that would draw the crowds and coffers. They should be teaming up with the V&A, Smithsonian etc.,
Leave them open. Leave it free.
Do not give money to rugby grounds, strand, shopping centre until people have income again.
@ Mike
It isn’t a sly dig, the water protestors have a PR problem. No matter whether the protests are successful or not they don’t make people happy. It is a negative feeling people end up with.
Doing a positive makes people feel better and a sudden mass funding linked to water protests would send a very big message. It would likely get mention in international media too.
It is a suggestion that I might take up but maybe the already organised protest organiser could see the benefit and do it on the 10th.
Look at comments on the water charge survey. They aren’t happy positive people. A change in attitude and positive actions are good for mental health which is a problem in this country.
The number of visitors isn’t the problem Marko, they have plenty of those! It’s the fact they don’t have enough money to pay the staff to keep the sites open the times they are open now. What magical place are they going to get the money to extend open hours?!
@Kal
That’s quite a lecture. Feel free to contact Irish Water and tell them you insist that you want to pay the original charges they issued as you have such a problem with the big reduction the actions of mainly peaceful protesters secured!
Museums are a thing of the past!
Good one Mary, probably lost on most people though judging by the red thumbs!
I got around the museums in Dublin a few times a year. They are amazing places! From the bog bodies (which are still weird to me) to Michael Collins’ uniform, there’s thousands of years worth of history there that should be kept open for people to see.
If there’s no museums, it would be like part of our culture has been forgotten.
I just can’t see an outcome were the nation museum will be closed, not going to happen.
This carry on would never be seen in places like New York.
The seriously wealthy there have no problem donating huge chunks of their cash to the museums in the city they live in.
If the seriously rich here did tge same we wouldn’t have this in the news.
How about have a €1 entry fee for everyone….that way way everyone who goes contributes…..
Its not as simple as users paying.
This government have been neglectful of arts and culture.
The cost of such places shutting down is reflected in tourism.
I’m not sure massive tax evasion enabled by arts based charitable trusts is something we want to copy.
Take the Waltons for example. The trust earns a greater return than the amount disbursed to projects but still retains the charitable status and they can spend the money themselves.
They get to be lauded as patrons of the arts and also not pay any tax and it also doesnt actually cost them anything.
I completely agree Tony. Arts and Heritage should be supported through Government as it attracts badly needed foreign and homegrown tourist Revenue for the sector….but to expect just the “wealthy” to pay for a sector is silly. I think most people would not mind also paying a nominal fee for entry to a museum as its not unreasonable….
True. Unfortunately the rich here tended to be the most pig ignorant- just look at the ugly houses they live in. Farmers who made it big in the building game etc., they did nothing with their money but hoard it or gamble it. Maybe buy the odd Paul Henry on the advice of their accountant.
Museums and Galleries can be big attractions- just look at london- but you need to put on good international shows and change exhibitions regularly.
Our museums are more like museums of museums…
Go to a New York museum and you will see they are expensive to enter. Ours are free, that is the big difference.
We as a nation have poor appreciation of the arts in general. I remember that when the Renoir was returned to the Hugh lane after 7 years in London, someone mentioned that ” no one missed it” and could we not sell it (seeing as it was besqueath to the people, no). Art is ubiquitous yet not valued. The rich should come out and support it
@David,
That sounds like a loophole that the Revenue should close. Of course they’re too busy auditing the local corner shop.
Think about it.
It is a day out for some and people are poorer now.
If the money spent on government advisors was spent on these historic museums would it not be money well spent?
No.
Philistine.
We need museums. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana. An ignorant population is easily manipulated. Although, given the continued support for FF, FG and Labour, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we have pretty short memories already…
The irony of a Shinner saying that is unreal.
Thanks for the baseless assumption there David. I’m actually an optimistic socialist. But if YOU think I should, I’ll bump those “with the courage of their convictions” up to first preference. Good luck flipping the fg/ff coin thinking they’ll do something different, or in the actual interests of the citizenry.
And all the money we through down the drain to pay bond holders and bail out banks. Just think about it. What all that money could have done for everything. Mental health, homelessness, loans to save small businesses. And the museums we really were taken for mugs.
Isn’t that the sort of thing the property tax was supposed to be for? If this is allowed to happen, libraries will be next.
If the libraries go that is it for the rurals.
There has long been a culture of benign neglect of the National Museum, which includes the government buildings slowly encroaching and enveloping it over time. Up until the 1960s there was a Fossil Hall connected to the Natural History Museum that was demolished to make way for the Dail canteen, most of those objects have been in storage since. Numbers of staff are allowed to dwindle, money is withdrawn, continuously promises are made to improve facilities (extension on to Natural History, purpose built storage in a Collections Centre in Collins Barracks) just to be pulled away after months or years of hard work and development being put in.
With that museum having been the 3rd city museum of the British Empire until the 1910s (after London and Edinburgh) some of the collections it holds are magnificent, if only it was given the tools to unlock them. I’m not holding my breath though.
True, the Natural History Museum is a great attraction and should be fully on display as a preserved bit of Victoriana – but in reality it is a museum of a museum, not a Natural History Museum.
I’m sure kids like looking at the old stuffed animals etc., but it is way out of date educationally.
We really could do with a science museum. I know people like the science gallery thing, but it isn’t really kid friendly or detailed enough- too much art, not enough science.
I couldn’t agree with you more, there have been several proposed Science Museums over the years, the last one was supposed to be out near Heuston at the Chocolate Factory but it all just faded away.
The problem with NH is that whenever changes are proposed there is a huge outcry of “don’t change a thing”. It is a museum of a museum, but it is one of very few remaining examples of one – the Pitt Rivers being another. That’s why a side extension to the building is proposed to house education events, new displays, a lift etc. But back in 2008/2009 the 15 million that was earmarked for it disappeared along with all the other money.
I would also disagree about the SG, I find it too kid/family orientated (bar the current Blood exhibition), being a single adult or even a group of adults, children’s interactions are given priority, so visiting that way can be quite unsatisfying (at times). The joy of NH at the moment, is that you can enjoy it by yourself as an adult. In the UK and US there has been a move away from big interactive, push button exhibitions as while *some* children and families enjoy them, they can exclude more than they include.
Basically, it’s complicated!
They have a full sabre tooth tiger that hasn’t been put together cos they cannot afford the expert to come in and restore it together. They got it in 1910. Its such a joke, this country. Collins barracks has a lot of space that could be used if the other courtyards were renovated.
That was the plan Keith, there was full planning permission for a whole collections centre there with more display, conservation and modern storage facilities. Funding never materialised, so the PP expired, such a crying shame, as it would save more of the Collins Barracks buildings from being in disuse and would have made a cohesive museum site.
They have been lazily run for decades unfortunately. No one ever goes back to them as they have the same exhibits unchanged for decades. They should be getting in touring exhibitions from around the world and charging in to see them.
It’s the same with the galleries- there hasn’t been a decent Art show here for decades. More money goes into the upkeep of the old buildings than getting in decent exhibitions.
Speak for yourself Marko; I regularly pop into them. Its hard to say they have ‘the same exhibits unchanged for decades’ when two of the four museums in question were opened in 1997 and 2001. Collins Barracks in particular is regularly improving its displays, insofar as its limited funding allows. Museums of the national collections arguably have a different remit to art galleries- touring shows are less important than presenting the nation’s history, which these museums do quite successfully.
If money didn’t go into the maintenance of the buildings (which a lot more should! Has everyone forgotten about the cars getting hit by the lead flashing that came off the Natural History Museum’s roof a few years ago?!), we would have no collections to display. Displaying and maintaining collections takes money, resources, suitable buildings and most importantly people – and people have been in very short supply in the museum for many years now.
Collins Barracks is continually putting on new exhibitions, especially to do with Military History, the Albert Bender collection was put back on display in the last few years, a temporary exhibition of Natural History was mounted before it reopened, the casts of High Crosses were then displayed.
The “Treasury” was redone in the last few years in Kildare Street, as that exhibition hadn’t been refreshed in a few years.
The National Gallery has a long tradition of bringing in international art, my favourites from the past few years were the Finnish art exhibition and the Monck display, which included a “Scream”.
I really don’t know what places you’ve been visiting, but they’re not the same ones I have!
Collins Barracks, like IMMA is half empty most of the time.
Depends on the time of year, Collins Barracks drew in great crowds for the Asgard and other big exhibitions, and is continuously used by school groups – given that is have a huge and very comprehensive exhibition on the military history from the Jacobites to the present day in Ireland, it is massively relevant for primary and secondary level students. If you go there on a school day in Sept/Oct or June/July it can be overrun with people. Both those sites suffer a little from their location. If the Collins Barracks site had been developed, like had been planned, it could be a lot more popular in general. However it is never going to have the incidental footfall that Natural History or Kildare Street get, that’s just geography though.
If you go there on a week day in December it could be quiet, but so would Kildare Street or even the Leprechaun Museum! They don’t have to be heaving all the time to be successful.
Relocate a museum within 20-30mile distance of EVERYWHERE in Ireland. Bring them down south. If you can put on a bus then there us a lot of us that would cherish them.
This is a national disgrace……Kenny is telling us that things have turned around, business isbeginning to boom again……don’t know what part of Ireland he is living in……not in Molesworth St thats for sure!
You forget FG has no time for the Arts or Culture. The nation to them is just a balance sheet. We are all just PPS numbers.
And not rural South.
Corporate and diaspora sponsorship should be considered……
That old elephant in the room. Wages. Lets continue to ignore that eh?
Let’s talk about the wages then. The vast majority of the museum professionals who work there are at low level grades, despite needing multiple specific qualifications and having years of experience, and on wages barely above the minimum.
Not to mention the huge loss of staff through retirement and other “natural wastage”, which means that the staff that do remain are not only underpaid for their skill levels, but massively over stretched too.
They don’t have the money to keep the Museums open, but they can waist €86 million on Irish Water
I think the museums should just close I think we should give everything we’ve got to the IMF they are a wonderful organisation that do good wherever they go. I would like to pay more taxes to give to them. Might u suggest a window tax or a bycycle tax ? I don’t think we need museums or anything else for that matter it’s just pure greed in the part of the people !
I think they should cut down all those big trees that surround and completely block the beautiful architecture of the museum and Oireachtas and replace them with more size-appropriate trees that will enhance rather than obscure it. In summer you can’t even see the museum for the wall of foliage! Ditto Foster Place where the Wax Museum is located.
Sheldon – They need to plant a few money trees.
Wouldn’t that be great?!…
Hey, Apple could fund it as part of their tax payment here
How about Bono donating enough to keep the museums going instead of wasting it on people in countries that could be better off getting their butts into gear and helping themselves
The largest collection of prehistoric gold work in Europe is in the National Museum of Ireland. These museums we have are amazing and should not be neglected. And contrary to some of the comments on here draw in large visitor numbers all year round.
Instead of pumping money into them if they’re failing, why not pay willing private collectors to display their collections? Different eras or themes would draw different people.
Or, for instance, there’s a painting that was gifted to Ireland by Mussolini that hangs up in the office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, get stuff like that on display and advertise it better and it might draw more people.
What a truly awful idea. Pay already rich people more money. Well done. You’re all clever and stuff ….
They’re not ‘failing’ due to lack of visitors- they have free admission! The problem is the government subsidy for running costs has been cut by up to 40% since 2008.
How many things do you buy that perpetuates people’s fortunes? Even by using Facebook or Twitter which are free, you’re being counted in terms of revenue for advertising. Why is that okay but paying people to view their art collection is now somehow a problem?
Do you go to concerts? Those are rich people you’re making richer. What’s the difference?
There is a difference. The poorer people use the free things and rely on them for enjoyment, entertainment and pleasures. Haven’t you seen enough taken from us yet?
But you are missing the difference between a museum collecting and preserving a nation’s history and treasures and providing them to the public, and a business. Two very different things.
Or maybe you are actually a rich art collector in disguise who wants public museums to close down so people have to pay you to see some art, and your comment is part of your cunning plan to further this aim……
Hmmmm…..
;)
That’s way to clever for me, Brenda.
Seriously though, where will it all go? I’ll offer them a tenner for the Caravaggio and get my collection started to work on that plan you just gave me.
And if they close what is the point in having them? We’d still be paying for their upkeep and wages etc, a stupid notion. Then again if the government just put up the cash as somethings have no price.
But then again there are somethings politicians shouldn’t be allowed near, arts and culture are a few for starters.
Fantastic places don’t think most people would have a problem paying a small admission fee.
Last year at the height of the tourist season the only part of the National Museum at Collins barracks that actually generates revenue- the Museum Shop, was closed. That’s bad management.
Choices, it’s all about choices. Fund the arts through progressive taxation, or give the pretence of funding through charging for entry.
There must be loads of 1916 artifacts memorabilia which people would pay to see
Where is the government suddenly getting all the money they are giving out lately,
is it part of the election cache ?
I’m starting to really despise this country .. They should cut old age pensions by 20 quid if they want to save a Ton of money painlessly.. Then money could be our towards the likes of the national museums .. And taxes could be lowered, freeing up disposable income for struggling working young people to get through life .. My 88 year old granny lives off the pension and she thinks it’s far too high, along with all the other benefits … That such a painless source of saving money hasn’t been utilised yet just illustrates that the politicians care more about their political careers than the actual best thing for the country ..
Part of this government’s wider policy of cultural and historical vandalism.
let people vote with their feet and their pockets, if people cant cover the costs they don’t really value it or the costs are out of control, try a different model, turn it into a charity and use more volunteers instead of high cost civil servants. I believe one of their issues is pension costs.
So no one should be paid for working in arts and heritage? That’s an enlightened view – what are these volunteers supposed to live off? Fresh air?
retired people for instance , thousands of very knowledgeable older people out there that are considered useless to society once they hit 65
Have the fossils work the fossils!
Okay, so you are referring what would be called docents. That’s all well and good, but there are plenty of jobs in a museum that require expertise and skills that people should be paid for: specialised educational needs, exhibition development, graphic design, pest management, environmental controls, documentation… all of these things come at a cost, and for good reason, you want our national treasures to be well looked after. The museum holds everything from precious minerals to recent excavations from road works, from lace samplers to mummies, do you really think a volunteer force would solve the problem?
Volunteers have their place, but convincing yourself that you can run a national museum with them is just not realistic.
Does your granny say why she thinks pensions are far too high. It is not as though the cost of living these days is getting any cheaper. Does she pay for her own food, gas, electricity, heating oi, rent, water, bin collection etc.
I wouldn’t mind if they charge say one or two euros per visit. But inevitably if they’re given permission it’ll be 17.50.
have your say