I, like most Canadians I think, have mixed feelings about Afghanistan. On the one hand there is a horribly impoverished country, ravaged by (literally) decades of war. A country that is clearly in need of help of some kind. At the same time I can't help wondering if the country that Canadian soldiers are building is one worth protecting. I mean, if we can't turn prisoners over to the local government for fear of their being tortured and a 23 year old Journalism student can be sentenced to death in a secret trial for "distributed a paper that humiliated Islam." How much better than the Taliban can this government possibly be? The paper that humiliated Islam, by the way, was apparently on the role of women in Islamic socieites.
Surely, if Canada wants to get into the business of propping up heavy handed, oppressive religious fundamentalists we can find plenty of countries more pleasant and less embattled than Afghanistan to support.
I am well aware that you can't change the society, culture, beliefs or customs of a people quickly, and definitely not at the point of a gun but I believe issues such as this should enter into the debate on Afghanistan going forward. At the very least Stephen Harper should offer to grant the young journalism student asylum in Canada.
In the meantime please consider
Singing this petition and adding your name to over 12,000 worldwide urging the UK Foreign office to intervene.
You can also "Have Your Say" on the Independent's blog.
If you have a facebook account there is also a group you can join to stay informed on the issue.
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