A coalition of arms control advocates urges Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to order an independent investigation into allegations that Saudi Arabia used armored vehicles manufactured in Canada to commit human rights violations against its civilians. published in a letter sent to Freeland on Tuesday – is the latest development of the lingering controversy of Canadian arms sales to Saudi Arabia, whose human rights record has led to closer scrutiny the way the government controls arms exports. Terradyne Gurkha RPVs, manufactured by Terradyne Armored Vehicles of Newmarket, were sold to Saudi Arabia and reportedly used in a violent crackdown on civilians in 2017. An internal report by Canadian government officials found "no conclusive evidence "The vehicles, an example of is shown here on a photo on the Terradyne website, have been used to commit serious human rights violations. [19659004] An unknown number of Teradyne Gurkha RPVs, manufactured by Terradyne Armored Vehicles, of Newmarket, were sold to Saudi Arabia and reportedly used in a violent crackdown on civilians in 2017. An Internal Report by Canadian Officials found no conclusive evidence, an example of which is shown here on a photo on Terradyne's website, has been used to commit serious human rights violations. ( Kennedy, Brendan / terradyneinc.com )
Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Plowshares, is part of those calling on Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to order an independent inquiry. allegations that Saudi Arabia used Canadian-made vehicles to crack down on militant demonstrations. ( Supplied )
Attention was focused on a $ 15 billion contract signed in 2014 whereby Canada sold an undisclosed number of light armored vehicles manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems in London, Ontario. , to the Saudi security forces. But Ottawa has also approved the export of other armored vehicles, such as the Terradyne Gurkhas, which are manufactured by Terradyne armored vehicles from Newmarket.
Some of these Gurkhas were deployed by the Saudi Armed Forces during a security operation in July 2017 in the city of Al-Awamiyah, in the east of the country, whose population Shiite majority has long harbored grievances against the Sunni government of Riyadh. Video interviews and eyewitnesses allege that the Gurkhas were used to encircle the city and, while they were trying to rout an armed group that was hiding in the community, they fired at populated areas and killed several civilians
. "In-depth" internal investigation into the allegations. She said in February that there was "no conclusive evidence" that the Gurkhas were used to commit human rights violations.
Some of Canada's largest human rights and arms control groups say that the government's investigation was seriously tainted with irregularities and that an independent inquiry is needed before that other weapons be shipped to Saudi Arabia. The letter to Freeland – signed by among others the executive directors of Amnesty International Canada, Oxfam Canada and Project Plowshares – indicates that the investigation suffered from "major" shortcomings
"These Gaps suggest that a thorough review conducted by an independent and impartial expert is now required to adequately address serious issues and concerns that remain unresolved.
Of the charges in the letter, Canadian officials who conducted the investigation relied on a source funded by the Saudi royal family, that they were looking for conclusive evidence of the alleged abuses rather than to badess the potential risk that Canadian exports could be used in future abuses, and that they believed that Canada's trade relations with Saudi Arabia were a relevant factor
. buyer of Canadian arms and other military products, after the United States last year alone, Canada exported more than 497 million dollars of arms and others military equipment in the country. These sales account for nearly half of all military exports outside the United States.
"Frankly, it was a botched report," said Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Plowshares. "It relies on clearly biased sources – which stand out for their lack of independence – and despite the faltering credibility of some of the sources, the conclusion still ignores the risks identified by the report itself."
The department is also criticized for what some see as a mid-way approach to strengthening arms controls in Canada. The Liberal government has committed Canada to the Arms Trade Treaty – an international agreement regulating the global arms trade – while continuing not to disclose its arms exports to the United States, which is about the same. half of Canadian military exports.
Jaramillo stated that the government's report showed a "clear prejudice" to the Saudi explanation of what had happened in Al-Awamiyah while "sanitizing" the corroborated violence by human rights organizations. "The Canadian government continues to adopt an indifferent attitude towards arms exports to Saudi Arabia," he said.
Canadian export controls limit the sale of weapons or other military products to countries of the human rights of their citizens, unless it can be shown that there is no reasonable risk that the property can be used against the civilian population. "
But Jaramillo said that one of Il's biggest problems is focused on verifying the evidence of the alleged incident, but did not address the issue whether Canada should have sold the vehicles to a country with a dismal human rights record in the first place: "If a violation of human rights has already been committed, it is too late." [19659013] Terradyne's president, Durward Smith, said his company was following Canadian export laws and that the government decided to ban the sale of In any country, the company "would of course respect this decision. "
Smith stated that the Gurkhas are not combat vehicles and that they were not armed when they were exported.The government's investigation revealed that some of them "could have been modified" with mitra "You can mount a weapon to anything," said Smith, adding that what happens once the vehicle is shipped is "out of the control of the manufacturer."
Smith declined to disclose the value of its agreement with Saudi Arabia. It also does not say when the deal was concluded, how many vehicles have been shipped and whether the company currently has contracts with Saudi Arabia.
With records from the Canadian Press
Brendan Kennedy is an investigative journalist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @BKennedyStar
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