“Investigation Into Allegations by Afghan Language and Cultural Advisor Concluded - PR Inside” plus 1 more |
| Investigation Into Allegations by Afghan Language and Cultural Advisor Concluded - PR Inside Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:16 AM PST 2011-01-18 17:15:52 - OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 01/18/11 -- The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS), the independent investigative arm of the Canadian Forces Military Police, has concluded its investigation into the allegations made by Mr. Ahmadshah Malgarai before the House of Commons' Special Committee on Afghanistan on April 14, 2010 with respect to his time spent employed as a language and cultural advisor in Afghanistan from July 2007 to July 2008. The CFNIS investigation determined that no service or criminal offences were committed. Following his testimony, the CFNIS launched an investigation into the following: Mr. Malgarai stated that during a Canadian operation, an unarmed Afghan male was shot by Canadian Forces (CF) personnel, and that a weapon was subsequently planted on this unarmed male by Canadian soldiers. The investigation revealed that there was a Canadian led operation in the area on June 18 and 19, 2007 that resulted in the death of a 17 year-old male. Based on interviews with those individuals directly involved including Afghan witnesses, and a detailed examination of the evidence, the individual was determined to be an armed threat and a legitimate target. No criminal or service offences were committed in relation to this incident. Mr. Malgarai alleged that during a meeting between an official of the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) and Canadian officials from the Canadian Forces and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the NDS refused to accept a sick detainee. According to Mr. Malgarai, when the Canadian officials insisted, the NDS official removed his pistol, proposed that the detainee instead be killed and offered to cover up the incident. The CFNIS interviewed the CF and DFAIT persons directly involved, and they confirmed that a meeting had taken place with a NDS official where a question was raised about a detainee's medical condition prior to transfer. However, neither CF nor DFAIT officials present had any recollection of a gun being exhibited nor that the detainee's life was threatened during this meeting. This detainee remained in Canadian custody and received medical care until he recovered sufficiently to be transferred. Mr. Malgarai alleged that another detainee's medical condition was made worse as a consequence of the CF refusing to accept medication brought for his use by a member of his family. The name of the detainee and the details provided by Mr. Malgarai to the House of Commons' Special Committee were not accurate. The CFNIS investigation determined from interviews with medical professionals and medical records, that during this timeframe, there was a detainee with a different name who underwent life-saving surgery to remove a kidney due to a pre-existing medical condition that no medication could have treated. As such, the CFNIS found no evidence that actions by CF personnel could have adversely affected the detainee's health. Although the CFNIS contacted Mr. Malgarai during this investigation, Mr. Malgarai declined to provide any additional information other than what he had stated in front of the Special Committee. "The Military Police take all allegations of offences by Canadian Forces personnel very seriously. The Canadian Forces Military Police, as the police agency of primary jurisdiction, thoroughly investigated the allegations made by Mr. Malgarai," said Lieutenant-Colonel Gilles Sansterre, Commanding Officer of the CFNIS. "Thorough interviews were conducted with members of the Canadian Forces, DFAIT, as well as Afghan civilians. In the end, no evidence was found supporting any wrongdoing by Canadian Forces personnel, and no charges were laid." The CFNIS is an independent Military Police unit with a mandate to investigate serious and sensitive matters in relation to National Defence property, DND employees, and CF personnel serving in Canada and abroad. For more information about the CFNIS, please go to www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelle .. : For more information about the CFNIS Investigation Process, please go to www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelle .. : Contacts: Major Paule Poulin This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Relatives of LA's earliest settlers oppose cultural center construction - San Jose Mercury News Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:30 AM PST Descendants of the city's original founders have joined Gabrielino Indians in opposition to construction of a cultural center being built in downtown Los Angeles on top of a 200-year-old graveyard, it was reported today. Relatives of the Pobladores - the 44 people who founded the Pueblo de la Reina de los Angeles in 1781 - have teamed with the Gabrielinos and the Roman Catholic Church to formally object to continued construction of La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, the planned Mexican cultural center across from Olvera Street, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. "These are my great-grandparents," Maria Benitez of Irvine said. Benitez said she has blood ties to the Pobladores, including 18 relatives who are buried in a cemetery unearthed last year during construction of the new center. Workers first found human bone fragments in late October, briefly bringing work to a stop. Construction resumed after La Plaza officials contacted the Los Angeles Catholic archdiocese and the county coroner's office, according to The Tribune. But excavation in the construction area continued uncovering full burial sites that included complete human skeletons, coffins and artifacts. The discoveries led to angry reactions from the Gabrielino Indians, who produced records showing up to 300 of their relatives were buried in the 600- grave site. The Pobladores joined the Gabrielinos over the weekend. The groups plan to speak at today's Board of Supervisors meeting. Archdiocese officials recently penned a letter to the plaza's developers asking why no one told them that grave sites were turning up en masse.La Plaza officials said Friday they stopped construction after the archdiocese and Gabrielinos complained. La Plaza CEO Miguel Angel Corzo told reporters that archaeologists are on site cataloguing everything they find. Those descended from the Pobladores want their ancestors' remains left undisturbed. They also want access to the construction site. "I think they should rebury them with a memorial with all the names," said Paul Guzman of Tujunga, president of a group representing the Pobladores. "We have the names. They should show proper respect to the deceased." The cultural center is planned on property owned by Los Angeles County, next to the area's oldest Catholic church, La Placita. The Pobladores and Gabrielinos will hold a peace pipe ceremony before the Board of Supervisors meeting today. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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